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Allsports has not written anything in the sports news or sports on the web in a few days because he was feeling a little under the weather but this post has been on his mind for the past week. I don’t know if you watched the hockey game on ” Hockey Night In Canada” a  week ago Saturday and in particular “Coaches Corner” during the first intermission.

Coaches corner last Saturday

So from the video you can see that Don is all for the City of Winnipeg to get an NHL franchise back.  Allsports agrees as I wrote in my post back on April 2nd titled, “Allsports wonders how the NHL Owners like Mr. Bettman now” . As Don states in the video, the NHL may think that Winnipeg is too small with only a population of around 700,000 . Maybe that is a bit small but there are 650,000 hockey fans there. Way more than Phoenix ever will have. It would make economic sense but who ever said Bettman uses good sense. That clown will try and keep the team in the desert so they can loose money every year. The owners have to realize Bettmans agenda is not good for the league and say ENOUGH Gary, you are GONE.

Brian Burke

If you watch further in the video near the end, Don starts talking about Brian Burke stating that back in the old NHL you could bear hug and opponent near the boards so you were not face planting him into them. With the new rules any of that stuff would be considered a penalty. It just seems to Allsports that they have to keep making more rules to counter the rules they put into place without much thought. I wrote about this exact thing way back on January 24th 2009, with my post titled, “Allsports thinks there is Method to fighting in Hockey“

Coaches Corner

The segment I am referring to is located near the end of the article under the spinning hockey puck. Here is the quote I am talking about from it if you don’t want to check the link.

“with the NHL being so critical of little hooks and holds it takes some defensive mechanisms away from the players. That being when you used to go into the boards to fight for the puck you could take one hand off your stick and “wrap” the other player up. You would take the opponent out of the play with a hit into the boards but in doing so you could put an arm around him so he would stay on his feet and not be propelled into the boards. You took him out of the play effectively but both players remained on their skates, the hit was made but the risk of neck and head injures was eliminated. Allowing the players to do this minor bit of holding within 3 feet of the boards would really reduce the risks. Then of course once contact is made the slight hold is removed and the battle for the puck can continue. The ref can then call a penalty when the hold stays in place to long. One or two seconds along the boards could make a huge difference in safety”.

It is satisfying to Allsports when hockey people as astute as Brian Burke and Don Cherry start to mention things that allsports has brought to the table in the past. Hey who knows maybe their reading my articles, LOL.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

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If your following the sports news or sports on the web you will know that there is a movement going on right now to get Pat Burns elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame before the ravages of Cancer take him from us.

Hockey Hall of Fame building in Toronto

Allsports can’t think of a more deserving inductee into the hall. Burns has won the Jack Adams Trophy as coach of the year three times in his hockey career, with I might add, three different teams. He won the award coaching Montreal, Toronto and Boston, the most times of any coach in NHL history. Add to that a Stanley Cup victory with the 2003 New Jersey Devils and it becomes quite clear that he belongs in the Hall.

Before his career in hockey, he was a police officer in Gatineau, Quebec. He was resently honoured with An arena to be built to honour his career, at Stanstead College, a private boarding school in the Eastern Townships. The arena is slated for completion  by 2011.

Hopefully, god willing, Pat Burns is around to see it finished

Burns announces arena in his name in March

A campaign has started on Facebook to get Pat elected into the Hall as quickly as possible. Allsports would like people to go there and sign up to show their support. Momentum is building for the cause and to date there are over 40,000 people who have pledged their support.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

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So it has been a few days since allsports has posted anything in the sports news or sports on the web. I have been wondering about this topic for a while now (since the trade deadline) and was curious as to how the NHL owners were viewing the fact that the Phoenix Coyotes were one of the busiest teams at the trade deadline. They must have found this a little hard to swallow considering the NHL owns the franchise right now as I wrote a few months back.

Garry Bettman

It is kind of ironic that Bettman is trying to get players that will give the Coyotes a chance to win in the playoffs, bidding against the other owners in the league with their money. Thinking that by doing so he will be able to drive the value of the franchise up with a winning team. Well wake up Gary that franchise is worth very little if it remains in the desert. Look no futher than what has gone on this year. The Coyotes are a very good young team that is right in the mix to win the Presidents Trophy as the team with the most regular season points and yet they are lucky to get 8,000 behinds in the seats to watch them play. The fan support is even more abysmal than it was last year.

Jim_Balsillie

This team would be a gold mine in Canada but is worth zip in Phoenix. Bettman will not get close to even what the NHL paid for it and that price was 100 million less than what Jim Balsillie offered. The team would have been huge in Hamilton and would have contributed revenue to all of Bettmans other sad sack franchises in, are you ready, Atlanta, Nashville, Florida, Tampa Bay,  and the jury is still out on the likes of the New York Islanders, Dallas Stars and the St. Louis Blues.

Phoenix_Coyotes.logo

It is time for Mr. Bettman to put his ego aside and admit his ill fated expansion plan is a bust. Now even if they do sell and move the Coyotes, the NHL will not get close to what Balsillie offered. Bettman is putting his personal feelings ahead of whats best for the league. He should be held accountable by the owners.

Now stories are surfacing that Canadian billionaire David Thomson and the city of Winnipeg are throwing their hat into the ring to purchase the Coyotes and move them back to Winnipeg where they were and where they belong. Of course Bettman and the NHL are denying this claim. David Thomson by the way has very deep pockets with an estimated worth of about 25 billion dollars.

The city of Winnipeg could support an NHL franchise and generate some solid revenue for the league. Allsports advise to Gary is admit the writing on the wall and sell to Thomson. He would be a great owner and a team in Winnipeg would be strong. It would be one less team to worry about, Lord knows there are many more in difficulty that need attention. Swallow your pride and do what is best for the league.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

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Did you hear either on the sports news or sports on the web that Alexander Ovechkin was suspended for two games because he hit Brian Campbell from behind the other night. If you have not had a chance to view the video yet, here it is.

So allsports has to ask the question, what was Ovechkin thinking when he pushed Campbell from behind? There was no where for Campbell to go except into the boards. Campbell suffered a clavicle fracture and a rib fracture on the play and will be lost to the Blackhawks for seven to eight weeks. Ovechkin got off easy on the play, if it had of been some run of the mill player he likely would have got at least 5 games but since Ovechkin is a star player, he only got two games.

Brian Campbell

Colin Campbell was caught between a rock and a hard place for his ruling too. Since Ovechkin is a star player no matter what way Campbell ruled there would be some back lash. Allsports thinks Ovechkin got off light considering he could have ended Campbell’s career with the bone head play.

Colin Campbell

So allsports thinks that Ovechkin better start to watch his step. It is not the first time he has been ejected for a questionable hit. The other guys in the league are taking notes and may decide to put him out of commission before he starts taking runs at them. Ovechkin has to tune it down a little, don’t get me wrong, he is an exciting player to watch and does play the game with exuberance but that is not a good recipe for a long career in the NHL. Someone will either hit him or he in turn will hurt himself with all the crashing and banging . Something will have to give, the body can only take so much abuse. Sometimes Alex needs to think before he acts.

Alex Ovechkin

“No Gut No Glory”

Walt Webb

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So did you happen to see Coach’s Corner last night during the first intermission of the Toronto Maple Leafs game? If not I can show you the segment courtesy of sports news and sports on the web. You can find anything on Youtube.

Now Don Cherry was being politically correct when he was on and that was likely pretty hard for Don to do because the last thing you would think about Don Cherry is that he is politically correct. That’s what you have to love about him, he usually speaks his mind and it has got him into a little hot water over the years.

So read between the lines here people. Cherry mentions that the weasel Matt Cooke would have never tried any of his crap on Wayne Gretzky or Steve Yzerman because of the fact that then he would be dealing with either Dave Semenko or Bob Probert if he did. In other words he is saying that if the instigator rule was not in place this stuff would not happen just like allsports indicated in his previous post. He just can’t come right out and say it. He has spoken out about the stupid rule in the past and had his wrist slapped by Mr. Bettman for doing so.

Steve Yzerman

In the video Cherry makes a good point also and that is if you re going to introduce this head shot rule that the GM’s are talking about, you had better get it done now and not wait till the summer, otherwise the can of worms that the NHL has opened will make it open season on head shots and there will be a whole slew of head injuries happening. He also mentions the look on Sidney Crosby’s face that is caught on the video. Crosby is disgusted with Cooke and knows that his actions could come back on him and Malkin, Pittsburgh’s two best players.

Pittsburgh comes to play in Boston next Thursday and the game should be quite volatile. Allsports thinks that the Bruins have to much class to target Crosby and Malkin but it will be open season on Matt Cooke. He will definitely have a target on his back. That is if Cooke has the balls to play in the game. Then again the Penguins may sit him out to avoid an incident. The NHL may tell them to.

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Allsports has been thinking about what to write about for the past while because after the letdown of the Olympics being finished and the veritable cornucopia of events taking place, there was not too much in the sports news or sports on the web which allsports was too interested in.

Marc Savard

Then the weasel, Matt Cooke reared his ugly head with another cheap shot on the Bruins Marc Savard and allsports figured it was time to react. It is too bad someone could not punch his lights out without getting an instigator penalty for doing so. As people well know allsports is of the opinion that there is a place for fighting in hockey as I wrote way back on February 24th 2009, with the post titled “Allsports thinks there is Method to fighting in Hockey”

Here is the video

So what did Matt Cooke get for this incident in which Savard was knocked cold? Nothing because as far as the rules go it was a clean hit. Never mind that Cooke was predatory in coming up on Savard’s blind side. Never mind that Cooke has already done this little act twice before. So now the NHL brain trust is discussing that a penalty should be given when a hit to the head occurs. That’s it put in another rule. Make it so the players will be afraid to give a hit and the game will turn into a non contact old timers league. Take fighting out too and then Bettman and company will have succeeded in making hockey really BORING.

Matt Cooke

No sometimes less is more people. Never mind adding another stupid rule, take one away. That rule is the stupid Instigator rule, which most players in the league detest. If there was no instigator rule do you honestly think that pests like Cooke would be running around targeting the best players on the other team. Not a chance, the fear of getting his lights punched out would keep him honest. Without the instigator guys like Cooke would either be playing with better intentions or dare I say it, not in the league at all.

Dave Semenko

Why do you think Wayne Gretzky very rarely got hit? Two words people, Dave Semenko. If you didn’t play nice with the great one you would be sure to have to deal with Semenko. So guess what the weasels did. They backed off. The instigator rule is foolish and was brought in by people who just don’t understand the dynamics of hockey.

So for now the Boston Bruins are without their best offensive player and will be hard pressed to make the playoffs while a cheap shot artist gets off scott free. Maybe Chara should tear Cooke’s head off the next time the teams meet.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

So the new Toronto Maple Leafs made their much anticipated debut last night at the ACC. If you follow the sports news or sports on the web you will find that Jean-Sebastien Giguere shut the door on the New Jersey Devils with a 3-0 shutout victory.

J.S Giguere was not the only star in this game as both newly acquired Dion Phaneuf and Freddie Sjostrom also received game star honors. Sjostrom assisted on Nikolai Kulemin’s opening goal and played well, being noticed for his effectiveness when penalty killing. Phaneuf made sure the Devils had their heads up when coming through the neutral zone. A couple of big hits and a fight near the beginning of the game for Phaneuf made his teammates take notice and play a spirited game.

With Phaneuf, the Leafs get their stud defenceman that will keep the opposition honest and with J.S Giguere they get a goalie who is steady, consistent and does not get rattled. J.S Giguere never really gives up a weak goal which is something the Maple Leafs have lacked since the Ed Belfour days.

Allsports believes that the Maple Leafs will make Dion Phaneuf the team captain before the start of next season.

“No Guts No Gory”

Walt Webb

So are you Maple Leaf fans out there paying attention to the sports news or sports on the web? Brian Burke has been a busy boy the last few days. The Maple Leafs and Calgary Flames both got a face lift yesterday when Burke and Darryl Sutter negotiated a blockbuster deal.

Going to Calgary are Matt Stajan, Nick Hagman, Jamal Mayers and  Ian White. Hagman was the only Leaf under contract for next year. Allspports was sorry to see White go but you have to give something up to get anything back and the other three players will help to shore up Calgary’s forward lines.

In return, Toronto gets Deon Phaneuf, forward Fredrik Sjostrom, and defenceman Keith Aulie. Phaneuf was the center piece in the Deal and Burke had been trying to land him for some time now. Aulie is the dark horse here as he is only 21 and played for Canada”s junior team last year. At six feet six inches this kid could be a bruising NHL defenseman for years to come. Sjostrom is a steady player with speed that also played in the world junior for Sweden a few years back. The deal could benefit both teams as Calgary will bolster their forward line up and the Leafs get their franchise blueliner in Phaneuf who palys with an edge and has one of the hardest shots in the league. At 24 Phaneuf has many great years ahead of him but his 6.5 million salary may have been a bit much for the Flames to handle.

Burke was also busy on another front, sending Jason Blake and Vesa Toskala to the Anaheim Ducks for J.S. Giguere.

Giguere could be the Leafs number one goalie but will also be of great value in mentoring Jonas Gustavsson. Toskala will be a good back up for the Ducks and needed to get out of Toronto. Blake’s speed will help the Ducks and he always worked hard in Toronto but never saw the results on the score sheet. So again there is merit for both teams.

Allsports wishes nothing but the best for the departing players and hopes they have success with their new clubs
For video of the press conference click Here

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

So after being thrashed by the Philly Flyers last week and loosing to the Hurricanes a couple of night back which you would know if you follow sports news or sports on the web. The Maple Leafs turned the tables on the Flyers at the ACC last night with a 4-0 victory. Allsports figures it was the Leafs most complete game in quite a while. No early goals given up, no power play goals against and Vesa Toskala was strong in the net. Deserving of the shutout.

Recent call up Tyler Bozak got the Leafs started with a high light reel goal and seemed to wake up a slumbering Phil Kessel. Bosak’s play since his return to the big club has given the team a much needed shot in the arm and he should not be going back down to the farm anytime soon.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

So if there was a low point in the Toronto Maple Leafs season allsports thinks it came last night at the ACC. If you’re following the sports news or sports on the web you may have seen that the bottom dwelling Carolina Hurricanes came into the Maple Leafs home barn and escaped with a 4-2 victory.

It was the same old tired story for the Leafs. They carried the play and out shot Carolina by a margin of 2-1. Cam Ward played great and was the only reason that Carolina got the two points. Mental mistakes cost the Leafs again (wow what a broken record).

I guess Ron Wilson is working with guys that are mentally challenged because it is January and the same mental errors are happening now that happened in October.

The penalty kill let them down again on the Canes first goal last night. John Mitchell was off on a phantom interference call (how can Mitchell be called for interference when Sutter on the Canes ran into him and fell down?) and Eric Staal got the chance and made no mistake. He usually never does and that’s why he will be playing for Canada in the Olympics. So the Leafs were down AGAIN at the beginning of the game.

The Leafs fought back and actually held a 2-1 lead in the second period but Ward closed the door until the Leafs screwed up and let the Canes back in. Toronto had 40 shots and the Canes had 18, but it seemed to be enough.

So now the Leafs are just four points up on Carolina for the basement but Carolina has two games in hand. With Ward and Staal back for the Canes allsports thinks they are going in the right direction while the Leafs need a compass and have little. The Boston Bruins must be rubbing their hands together at the thought of the Leafs #1 pick which they gave up to sign Phil Kessel.

Can you say Taylor Hall is the newest Boston Bruin come entry draft time. Burke should convince the Bruins they need Kaberle and try to get his pick back.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb