WEEK 12 NFL GAMES OF NOTE

Baltimore (5-4) vs. Miami (5-4): Two teams with good defenses and two teams with big issues at QB. The Dolphins figure to have Brian Griese on a short leash after coughing up 2 fumbles and tossing 3 picks last week. And that’s before he has to face Ray Lewis, Peter Boulware and Ed Reed. It could turn ugly fast for the Fish, especially since Ricky Williams seems like he is worn down from all the carries he had LAST season. The Ravens lost starting QB, Kyle Boller, to a leg injury and then watched his replacement, Chris Redman, play like he had post-traumatic stress disorder. So immediately they name 3rd stringer, Anthony Wright, as the starter for this week. Here’s a thought, Coach Billick (alleged QB guru/offensive mastermind), now that you’ve completely demolished any semblance of confidence in Redman, how do you think he will play if Wright ends up getting hurt? The Ravens better hope Jamal can carry the load and they can involve Todd Heap because their WRs appear to be allergic to catching the ball. BAL 19 MIAMI 13

Green Bay (4-5) vs. Tampa Bay (4-5): Two teams fighting for their playoff lives that have been playoff fixtures in recent years. The Bucs defense has been vulnerable to the run and the Packers should cram Ahman Green down their throats. On the flip side, the Packers are soft against the pass and if they give Brad Johnson enough time he can pick that secondary apart. The TD catch Keenan McCardell made last week against the Panthers was beyond superlatives. Hard to imagine Jon Gruden’s Bucs at 4-6, and they should be able to slug out a home victory. TB 27 GB 20

Carolina (7-2) vs. Washington (4-5): On paper it’s a non brainer, Panthers will steamroll the Redskins. Stephen Davis is juiced to prove his worth to his former team, while the Skins are baby soft up the middle. Add to that the Carolina’s defensive front four that has been wreaking havoc this season and Washington’s inability to protect the QB, it could easily be a blowout. The Skins squeaked past the Seahawks thanks to a call that required BALLS OF STONE from the Ball Coach. Going for it on 4th down in a tie game with six minutes left on your own 25-yard line. Crucifixion ensues if they don’t make it. But they do, and immediately the offense clicked and they got the game winning score on a trick play. They will be facing a much better defense this week, but if they can get their WRs involved against a rather weak secondary and Davis is so juiced he coughs up the ball, they have a chance to steal a road win. For the bettors: Washington has never lost to Carolina. WAS 24 CAR 21

New England (7-2) vs. Dallas (7-2): A schedule maker’s wet dream and easily THE game of the week. So far Bill Parcells has had to face all of his former teams this season. Took care of both the Giants and Jets and now it’s not only the Patriots, but against his former right-hand man, Bill Bellicheck. And not only is there bad blood between the two coach of the year candidates, but nobody expected both team to be 7-2 at this point in the season. Tom Brady should be able to handle the blitzes that Parcells will thrown at him better than Quincy Carter will adjust to the multiple looks he’ll have to deal with from the Pats defense. Neither team has much of a running game, so it could be a high scoring affair. NE 31 DAL 20

Time For Mike And The Mets To Part Ways

The big sports news out of New York this morning came by way of Newsday, which reported that New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza wants a trade -- preferably to an American League team that will let him catch enough games so he can pass Carlton Fisk to become the leading home run hitting catcher in Major League history, and spend the rest of his days swinging his bat as a designated hitter.

Newsday probably had the story for a little while, as columnist Shaun Powell had enough time before deadline to weigh in behind Piazza's wishes for a trade:

You know why Fred Wilpon is one sharp baseball owner? He wants to keep Mike Piazza around because Wilpon knows the importance of having a "face" for the Mets.

Forget about Piazza's advancing age. Forget his depreciating catching skills. Forget his lukewarm approach to playing first base and his monster paycheck. Wilpon believes Piazza's a keeper because the Mets so desperately need a smiling, dependable, fan-friendly mug to (mis)represent them during these kooky and confusing times.

As much as a Mets fan like myself would hate to see Piazza leave (and can't imagine it happening without the Mets having to continue to pay a huge chunk of his salary), the logic is becoming inescapable. And to give credit where it's due, let's jump into the wayback machine and whiz back to the 2001 trading deadline, where Slate's Hugo Lindgren proposed what at the time seemed like a radical idea, but today looks rather prophetic:

Sure, Piazza remains a brilliant hitter, hard worker, and if not exactly a born leader, certainly a positive presence in the clubhouse. The problem is that he has been thoroughly screwed by Mets management, marooned on a team that is very bad and getting worse. Piazza is in danger of becoming the baseball version of Patrick Ewing, another Big Apple superstar whose club surrounded him with spare parts, always coming up just short, and then unceremoniously dumped him when he passed his prime.

Which is just where the Mets now sit as we head into the Winter of 2003. Piazza is finished as an everyday catcher, and he knows it. He's willing to settle for playing behind the plate perhaps once or twice a week -- that is, until he passes Fisk for the career record in home runs. If he stays with the Mets, he'll likely be stuck in the middle of a rebuilding program that will probably take a few years to turn things around, spending too many days stuck at first base -- a position he doesn't want to learn this late in his career.

The Newsday report said Piazza would like to finish things out in Baltimore playing for Lee Mazzilli and the Orioles. It's a wish the Mets should grant him.

POSTSCRIPT: Mets fans who read Newsday seem to agree with me.

UPDATE: David Pinto has his own comments, including this interesting factoid:

Best hitter the Mets ever had? I remember a young man named Darryl Strawberry who was pretty good. In the six years Piazza has been with the Mets he's posted 123 wins shares, 101 on offense. In his first six years with the Mets, Strawberry posted 151 wins shares, 136 on offense.

Turning this inside out, that would also mean that Strawberry had 15 win shares on defense, while Piazza had 22. Would that mean that Piazza isn't as much of a liability in the field as some observers of the game would have led us to believe? Further, this would also indicate something that plenty of Mets fans suspected about Strawberry -- that despite his incredible athletic talent and grace, it never translated into superior performance with the glove.

Baseball And Steroids

Back in August 2002 when baseball owners and the players came to an agreement that avoided yet another strike, I said that the framework players and owners had agreed to in the area of steroids testing was a sham. Just yesterday, when word came that the results of the initial testing survey were about to be released at any time, I scoffed that anything would come of it at all.

I simply couldn't imagine that players wouldn't have taken the opportunity to get off the juice last season, in order to prevent more widespread testing.

So I was shocked when Major League Baseball announced that somewhere between five and seven percent of its 1,200 players tested positive for steroid use (the test was anonymous) -- triggering a provision in the collective bargaining agreement to make testing mandatory.

The press release announcing the results of the testing are here. You can read Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig's statment here. To take a look at steroids-related posts in my archive, click here.

Here's Jim Litke of the AP:

Bigger is better.

But not necessarily smarter.

What else should we conclude about all those baseball players who were still stubborn, desperate or just plain dumb enough to get caught using steroids even though they knew at least six months in advance that testing was on the way?

Which was exactly what I was thinking when I first read the procedure Major League Baseball was going to use. But then again, this first test is essentially a free pass, and now whoever is still using has all Winter long to either stop using, or start using some sort of masking agent to hide that use.

Here's Filip Bondy of the New York Daily News, who says Baseball is at its lowest point since the 1919 Black Sox scandal:

Next season, because the threshold was breached, Major League Baseball moves to a second stage of testing that is surely more effective, though not punitive enough. Players testing positive more than once will now be identified, their endorsements placed at risk. But they will be allowed to play on.

A track athlete gets suspended for two or more years when he or she tests positive for a steroid. Baseball players will get no suspension for a first offense, and no more than 15 days for a second offense.

"Hopefully this will, over time, allow us to completely eradicate the use of performance enhancement substances in baseball," Selig said.

He's a long way from such success. In light of the shocking results, the Players Association should step out of the way now when it comes to more aggressive testing and penalties. The lives of its membership are at stake.

Bondy's right that the punishments won't be punitive enough, but asking the Players Association to step out of the way is a little pie in the sky. At the end of the day, the Players Association is more interested in their membership's financial health than anything else.

Look for updates later in the day, as some of the bigger guns in sportswriting begin to weigh in on this story.

NHL Roundup

On Long Island, the Islanders played the trap to near perfection, frustrating the Canadiens in a 3-1 win. Jason Blake had an empty-net goal to cap the win for New York to make up for two earlier shots that rang off the post. Garth Snow had 28 saves for the winners, but only a little less than 13,000 fans saw the Islanders improve to 7-2 at home this season.

Across the river in New Jersey, the Devils posted a workmanlike 3-1 win over the Florida Panthers.

In Raleigh, the Carolina Hurricanes scored three power play goals to beat Atlanta 5-1. Only 8,674 fans showed up for the game, the fourth time in ten games the Hurricanes have drawn less than 10,000 fans this season. In Ohio, the Senators throughly dominated the Blue Jackets, 5-2. Marian Hossa had two goals for the visitors, as Ottawa's Patrick Lalime only had to make 15 saves to get the win.

In Nashville, the Predators took advantage of the Blue Jackets loss, beating Calgary at home 4-1, and moving out of the Central Division basement. Tomas Vokoun had 29 saves for the Predators. Less than 10,000 fans showed up for the game.

Branko Radivojevic scored the game winner in OT, helping the Coyotes to a 3-2 win over Colorado in Phoenix. Paul Kariya returned to the lineup for Colorado without recording a point, but Peter Forsberg missed his second straight game. Sean Burke made 27 saves for Phoenix.

Ty Conklin recorded 22 saves and got his first shutout for Edmonton in a 2-0 win over Minnesota. Edmonton took a 2-0 lead in the first period off goals by Ethan Moreau and Mike York and never looked back. In LA, the Maple Leafs roared back from a 3-goal deficit in the third period to tie the Kings, 4-4. Alexander Frolov had two goals and an assist for LA.

In San Jose, the Blues blew a 3-0 lead with only ten minutes remaining, only to win in OT, 4-3 over the Sharks. Petr Cajanek got a breakaway goal with only 14.8 seconds remaining for the win.

And in news from Europe, Hailey Wickenheiser, the first woman to ever score a goal in a men's professional league, walked away from her team in Finland's second division to return home to Canada:

Head coach Matti Hagman said he was surprised to learn of Wickenheiser's decision, despite the fact she played sparingly this season.

Last week, Wickenheiser played with the Canadian national women's team in a tournament in Sweden, and announced her decision to leave after that, Hagman said.

"It seems she would not have been happy with her current role in the team and the time she could spend on the ice, playing on the fourth lineup," Hagman said.

Hagman said Wickenheiser played about 10 minutes in 10 of the team's 16 games this season.

"I don't want to be mealy-mouthed about it: the level of play in this league was very tough for Hayley," Hagman said. "It was an enormous step up from the previous season."

Whatever the reason, Wickenheiser has nothing to be ashamed of. Here's hoping she's happier back home.

UPDATE: In my early morning rush to post the update, I forgot the most exciting game of the night -- Philadelphia's 4-3 OT victory over the visiting Canucks. Simon Gagne had the game winner 1:47 into OT, keeping the Flyers unbeaten at home. Todd Bertuzzi sent the game into OT, putting the puck past Robert Esche with only 7.2 seconds left.

Despite the loss, the Canucks still lead the NHL with 23 points. Philly trails them with 22.

For Wiemer, The Unkindest Cut Of All

The Minnesota Wild claimed forward Jason Wiemer off waivers from the New York Islanders this afternoon. Islanders beat writer Alan Hahn had this to say:

The move was made in an effort to shed the team of Wiemer's $1.6 million salary. There could be a few more deals made in similar payroll-trimming fashion, but Milbury has said it is not to be construed as a fire sale. Instead it is simply a reaction to the emergence of a few talented prospects, such as rookie Trent Hunter, and the progress of second-year forward Mattias Weinhandl, who is expected to return to the lineup soon.

Last I looked, the definition of fire sale meant that you disposed of an asset quickly, and at a price far below either it's actual value or the price that you paid for it. Wiemer was acquired before the 2002-03 season as a way to toughen the Islanders lineup after they were bludgeoned into submission by the Maple Leafs in seven games in the previous playoff.

In exchange, the Islanders gave up Branislav Mezei, a young defenseman with a lot of upside (not like the Islanders have given up on any of those -- Bryan McCabe, Eric Brewer, Wade Redden, or Brian Berard) who is playing in Florida. Mezei is 6'5" and 236 pounds, and is averaging 20 minutes a game with the Panthers.

By placing Wiemer, a consumate professional who never took a shift off, on waivers, you essentially have given away Mezei for nothing. Further, it's only been a week since Wiemer's hard work had been rewarded when he was promoted to the team's second line where he played with Michael Peca and Mark Parrish.

Sounds like a fire sale to me -- something which may obviously make it harder for the Isles to get anything in return for other players they might want to move (Peca and Parrish among others).

As it stands now, Wiemer's game fits in too well with Minnesota's overall philosophy, and something tells me we'll see him score an OT game winner in the playoffs against some other unfortunate Western Conference squad with a far higher payroll. As for the Islanders, I think owner Charles Wang has some explaining to do.

Odds And Ends

Since the end of October, the Washington Post has been running a poll on the best sports rivalries. Click here to cast your vote.

By now, you probably know that Kellen Winslow, II won't be starting this Saturday for Miami, and head coach Larry Coker says it's because of the taunting penalties the tight end took last week against Tennessee. Don't believe it.

Had to share the following quote from Satchel Paige that Ira Berkow used in the New York Times in a profile of Chargers quarterback Doug Flutie:

"How old would you be if you didn't know how old you was?"

Major League Baseball will be announcing the results of its first round of steroids testing in the next few days -- and don't expect it to top the five percent figure that would trigger a permanent testing regimen.

And in Major League Soccer, the playoffs are now down to the final four, with Chicago and. . . uh. . . hmm.

Well, I'm not really sure. You know a league has problems when a fan that's gone to not one, but two seperate MLS title games, can't tell you who's left in the playoffs. And you thought the NHL had problems.

The Bayonne Bleeder Asks For A Cut

From the lawsuit file:

Former heavyweight boxer Chuck Wepner is suing actor Sylvester Stallone for a share of the profits from the "Rocky" movies, claiming the series was based on Wepner's career.

Wepner, who went nearly 15 punishing rounds in a 1975 loss to Muhammad Ali, claims in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Superior Court in Jersey City that Stallone repeatedly credits that fight as the inspiration for the film.

"Stallone has been using Chuck's name -- and continues to this day -- in promoting the 'Rocky' franchise without any permission or compensation," said Wepner's attorney, Anthony Mango.

The film won the 1976 Academy Award for best picture.

Mango estimates the five "Rocky" films and associated products have brought in over $1 billion. Wepner is entitled to part of that, the attorney said.

As a non-lawyer, I have no standing to evaluate Wepner's claim, but I know one thing: Stallone has never hesitated to cite Wepner's fight with Ali as the inspiration for Rocky -- something I've seen Stallone do in numerous interviews. A member of the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame, Wepner now sells liquor in his hometown on Bayonne.

NHL Roundup

In Rochester, or "Sunny Roch," as the locals call it, the Devils and the Sabres skated to a 2-2 tie. Moving the game to Rochester, home of Buffalo's minor league affiliate, the Rochester Americans was the idea of new Sabres owner Thomas Golisano, and part of a campaign to >restore some regional pride to that part of Upstate New York. Maxim Afinogenov had the game-tying goal in the third period for Buffalo.

In Manhattan, Marc-Andre Fleury got hammered by the New York Rangers, giving up six goals on 42 shots in a 6-2 Rangers win. Mark Messier, off to another hot start, had the game winner for New York, his seventh of the season. Eric Lindros left the game in the first period with an eye injury, as did the Penguins Rico Fata, who injured a hamstring after colliding with Lindros.

Eric's return to the lineup was brief

In Chicago, Calgary jumped all over the Blackhawks, winning 6-2. Rookie Matthew Lombardi had a hat trick for Calgary, and goalie Jamie McLennan stopped 27 shots for Calgary.

In Dallas, the Red Wings won their second straight, blasting the Stars, 6-2. Steve Yzerman and Pavel Datsyuk had two goals a piece, and Dominik Hasek got his second straight victory in goal for Detroit. For more detail, check out On The Wings.

How much does Dallas miss Derian Hatcher? So much so, that puck moving defenseman Sergei Zubov is now -13 for the season. If only Stars owner Tom Hicks wasn't paying Alex Rodriguex all that money, he would have been able to afford to keep Hatcher in Dallas.

In Anaheim, the Ducks smacked the visiting Maple Leafs, 5-1. Sergei Fedorov had two goals, and J.S. Giguere 29 saves for the Ducks. Steve Ovadia thinks the Ducks may be turning it around.

Finally, here in Washington, the Capitals revived from their season long coma, and beat down the Hurricanes, 7-1. At one point in the third period, the Caps and the Hurricanes scored 4 goals in 1:16, a new NHL record. Robert Lang (who is finally playing up to his fat contract) had a hat trick, and Olie Kolzig 29 saves for the home team. But excuse Kolzig if he's refusing to get excited:

"I'm disappointed with where we're at, but I'm not going to get too excited about this win,'' Kolzig said. "We're in no position to be overconfident. We're a long way from where we want to be.''

In response to the team's woes, one of my readers says he's starting a new, "Save The Caps," campaign (scroll to the bottom of the box to find his entire post). In a comment to a post I left on October 31, Pat Malone had this to say:

With the NHL coming close to a possible lockout in September of 2004, a deep pall has been cast over the entire sport. Hockey is in trouble, but worst of all, once again, as a fan, my team is in trouble, yet once again.

I am going to officially propose that we, as Caps fans, do it again, and have a "Save the Caps II" campaign. Ted Leonsis has poured his money, heart and soul into this franchise. As fans of the sport it's the least we can do to support our team, through thick and thin.

If you're a Caps fan like I am, and you would like to support the effort to bring about a new version of the "Save the Caps" campaign, once again, please e-mail me at malonemarketing@aol.com.

Take care and "Let's go Caps!"

Good luck to Malone and anyone else who jumps on board.

UPDATE: Over at Hockey Pundits, John Campea doesn't think that increasing the size of the net would cure what ails the NHL:

Would scoring improve if the net size was increased? Yes, without a doubt it would. But the game would still be slow, boring and ground to a halt. The only difference is that 4 of the 20 shots per game would go in instead of the 2.5 per 20 shots that we see today.

As a matter of fact, if the nets were bigger, it would only encourage teams to lock down on their defense even more than it is today. If more shots are going in, then teams would focus on shutting down the shot total, and thus the "solution" only perpetuates the problems.

Does something need to be done about the state of the game? Yes, absolutely. But increasing the size of the nets will only leave us with an unsatisfying game with a final score of 5-3 instead of an unsatisfying game of 3-1, and all that ultimately accomplishes is decreasing the length of our nap times between goals. That's my two cents worth.

The Toronto Sun's Al Strachan has other ideas:

"...In today's NHL, there may be a half-dozen teams who are willing to get into a shootout. If two of those teams are facing each other, the result is usually entertaining. But there are 24 other teams whose primary aim is not to allow the first goal. They want to open the scoring and defend that precipitous lead...

So focused is their defensive approach that the half-dozen offensive teams can't open up against them and are forced to assume the same tactic. Should they fall behind against these defensively obsessed teams, they'll be checked into oblivion. Either way, the result is a borefest, with most coaches playing not to lose, rather than to win."

At USA Today, Ted Montgomery has published his annual list of overrated and underrated NHL players.

Thanks to Tom Benjamin for multiple links.

*CORRECTION: Originally, I had written that the Caps had scored 4 goals in 1:16.

Burying The Lede

In the New York Times, Bill Pennington has an interesting piece on the explosion of elite youth sports programs, and how some parents and school administrators are rebelling against schedules that have their children playing sports year round and out of season (say, Soccer in the Spring when it conflicts with Baseball). In general, the piece is written in the tone that parents ought to be wary of the rise of these elite programs, but then you find this interesting tidbit buried in the middle of the story:

High school teams may have the most to lose from the explosion of travel and elite teams, many school athletic officials say. While youth sports were originally intended to be feeder programs for high schools, they could end up devouring the sports programs they were created to serve.

"In the next 10 to 15 years," said Bob Kanaby, executive director of the National Federation of State High School Associations, "as we continue to cut educational budgets, it is inevitable that some school official will say: `We've already got these clubs running the sports in town; why not let them take over our teams? We can save on equipment, coaching salaries and insurance. We can even make money renting the high school gyms and fields to them.'

"It has already been discussed in places. That is the Euro-Asian model. Local clubs run the sports in town for high school-age athletes."

Not only does this have the potential to save money for school districts, but it also has the potential to shift the burden for funding youth athletics to the parents of those participating. Pennington does point out that one drawback of this shift would be the fact that schools could no longer threaten students with loss of playing time due to misbehavior or failure in the classroom -- something that you think that parents of those athletes would engage in on their own anyway.

Aparrently, the only thing standing in the way of this trend, is the fact that high school football is so popular across the country. If anything, it sounds like a trend that ought to be encouraged. And if parents are worried about wearing their kids out, then let them start leagues that have the aim of increasing participation, rather than promoting an elite level of competition.

NHL Roundup

In Boston, Joe Thornton had a goal and an assist to lead the Bruins over Edmonton, 4-3. Andrew Raycroft had 31 saves for Boston, as he helped the team withstand a third period Edmonton surge for the win. Raffi Torres had another goal for the Oilers.

In Montreal, Rick Nash's second period goal gave the Blue Jackets a 1-1 tie with the Canadiens. Columbus has yet to win a game on the road yet this season. After a strong start, Montreal has just two wins in their last nine games.

Godard and Brashear got re-acquainted in Philly last night.

Philadelphia won its fourth straight game, beating the Islanders 2-1. The game featured two fights, with Donald Brashear and Eric Godard throwing down in the first period, while Eric Cairns and Todd Fedoruk tangled in the third. Said Islanders head coach Steve Stirling:

"It's tough. They're big, they're strong, they're quick," Islanders coach Steve Stirling said of the Flyers. "They're a speed and power team."

The Senators stopped their five-game losing streak, beating the Thrashers in Atlanta, 5-3. Bryan Smolinski had a pair of goals for Ottawa.

In Florida, Rick Dudley's debut behind the bench for the Panthers was a success, as they shutout Tampa, 4-0. Roberto Luongo had 26 saves, while Valeri Bure had a goal and an assist. In St. Paul, the Wild briefly derailed the Vancouver Canucks express with a 1-0 victory. Sergei Zholtok had the game winner for the Wild. Minnesota goalie Dwayne Roloson has only yielded 4 goals in his last five games.

In his first game back in San Jose after leaving for Colorado as a free agent, Teemu Selanne had the game winning goal in a 4-3 win for the Avalanche. Joe Sakic added a goal and an assist for Colorado, unbeaten in their last five.

Finally, today's Washington Post takes a harder look at why the Washington Capitals have fallen so far this season, both on the ice and at the box office. Paired with the story is an online poll where readers can grade owner Ted Leonsis. To hear what Ted has to say, click here for the latest edition of his monthly column at the team's Web site.

Over in the Washington Times, anonymous club officials also gave a vote of confidence to Coach Bruce Cassidy, saying holding him accountable for a poor record under the current circumstances would be unfair -- something that was echoed in the Post article as well.

UPDATE: Steve Ovadia speaks out on Joe Thornton's retirement plans. Hope his 401k is fully funded.

Jeb Runquist on whether it was intolerance or just inconsistent play that led to Anson Carter's trade from Edmonton to New York.

Pete at Hockeybird is getting tired about all the talk concerning the Rangers' line combinations. And he's worried that ex-Ranger Rico Fata is probably going to score against his ex-teammates tonight, just like Radek Dvorak did earlier this week.

Pete, you have reason to be afraid. And speaking of Pittsburgh, Mario Lemieux is still sitting out with a hip injury, while the front office is tying itself in knots about whether or not to return goalie Marc-Andre Fleury to his junior team. If he plays tonight, that will make 11 games this season for Fleury, and a lucrative bonus package that Pittsburgh probably can't afford to pay, kicks in. Of course, the Pens are already paying big bucks to Sebastian Caron -- more bucks they can hardly afford considering his horrid play so far. Stay tuned.

Steve MacLaughlin, rapidly falling into denial now that Glasgow Rangers are plummeting in the Scottish Premier League, has his own thoughts on the future of the league. Needless to say, he isn't very sanguine.

ANOTHER UPDATE: TSN in Canada is reporting the Penguins will start Fleury tonight, triggering the guarantees in his contract.

No Pepper Moves On Up

Brad Dowdy's excellent Atlanta Braves blog, No Pepper, has moved. Update your bookmarks accordingly.

Tuesday Morning Quarterback Returns!

Gregg Easterbrook and Tuesday Morning Quarterback have returned. Congratulations to Easterbrook, and to Football Outisders, his new online home.

British Selective Memory

Over at the BBC, the sports editors have come up with a list of the top 100 sports moments from the 20th Century, and they're asking their readers to vote for the top 10. As you might guess, the list is very U.K.-centric, but has one glaring omission: the incredible U.S. upset of England at the 1950 World Cup in Brazil, 1-0. The American goal was scored by a Haitian immigrant who worked as a dishwasher, Joe Gaetjens -- a man who met an unfortunate end in his native land in 1964.

Immediately following the game, delirious Brazillian fans stormed the pitch to carry the Americans off the field. Though almost completely forgotten here in the States, the game is remembered as one of the greatest upsets in World Cup history, and will be the subject of a feature film, The Game Of Their Lives, set for release later this year.

Thanks to the hive mind at Sportsfilter for the link.

Thanks To Our Vets

On this November 11th, Off Wing Opinion sends best wishes to those who have served in the uniform of their country.

In the U.S. -- Happy Veterans Day.

In the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand -- we remember with you.

NHL Roundup

If a record of 5-8-2 gets you fired in Florida, then why in the world hasn't a record of 3-11-1 gotten Washington Capitals head coach Bruce Cassidy fired in the nation's capital? The hockey misery continued at the MCI Center last night as the LA Kings beat the Caps, 3-2. The Caps have dropped 10 of their last 12 games, and the fans are staying away in droves. Trent Klatt had two goals for LA.

In Manhattan, the Rangers blew a 2-0 lead, then lost to Edmonton, 5-4. Raffi Torres, acquired from the Islanders along with Brad Isbister at the trading deadline from the Islanders last Spring, had two goals for the Oilers. Ex-Ranger Radek Dvorak also had a goal in his first game at Madison Square Garden against his former teammates. Rangers center Bobby Holik wasn't happy with the effort his teammates put out:

"We do think sometimes that we can beat someone on talent only. It just doesn't work that way," he said. "I don't know when we're going to learn."

For a roundup on all the Rangers coverage, check out today's post mortem on Hockeybird.

At the Joe Louis Arena, the Red Wings righted their ship for one night, dropping the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-0. Dominik Hasek had 21 saves to get the shutout for Detroit.

POSTSCRIPT: Liz from Breakfast of Losers wants to help Jaromir Jagr find a new girlfriend. I nominate Liz.

Attendance, which we've already noted is way down in Washington and on Long Island, is suffering in San Jose as well. Thanks to PJ Swenson at Sharkspage for the link.

Jim Kelley takes a look at the possible lineup for Team USA at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey -- and the Americans are looking a little old on the blueline.

World's Worst Hockey Logos

So horrible, they must be seen to be believed (pictured above, the Ft. Wayne Komets, circa 1968-69). Thanks to the Hockey Pundits for the tip.

Congratulations Bengals!

2003 AFC North Champions!

What, you say I'm jumping the gun? Perhaps I should congratulate the Steelers or the Browns instead?

Why? Well, only minutes ago, news came out of Baltimore that rookie quarterback Kyle Boller will most likely miss the rest of the season with a torn quadricep muscle -- an injury he suffered in the first half of the Baltimore Ravens 33-22 defeat at the hands of the St. Louis Rams last night.

His backup, Louisville product and former Johnny Unitas protege Chris Redman, put the "S" in stink last night when he replaced Boller in the second half, throwing only seven completions in 12 attempts, including two interceptions and a lost fumble. The longest drive he led lasted only five plays and travelled just 32 yards -- and that came in the game's waning seconds when the outcome was no longer in doubt. Redman did actually lead the team on a scoring drive -- one that lasted four plays and travelled five yards after the Ravens special teams recovered a fumbled punt on the Rams 28 yard line.

With Redman at the controls, it's entirely possible that the Ravens may not win another game for the rest of the season. Lying in wait over the next three weeks are Miami, Seattle and San Francisco. Then comes a home game against the Bengals, followed by road games at Oakland (perhaps the only possible win left on the schedule) and Cleveland, before the Ravens host Pittsburgh in the season finale on a Sunday night.

Right now, the Ravens lead the AFC North with a 5-4 record, only one game ahead of the surging Bengals. Both Cleveland and Pittsburgh lie in wait two games back, with one more meeting with Baltimore on each of their schedules.

The Rambling Wreck is not located in Atlanta anymore. It's in the AFC North, where we are probably about to see a sub-.500 team win a division title this season.

Don't Mess With The Prowler

Here's something I missed from NFL Week 9:

The Panthers held a 20-14 lead with 10:12 to play Sunday when a member of the Carolina staff sought out the fan of the game and selected a man in the stands dressed as a cat who identified himself as the "Carolina Prowler."

Handed the microphone as he was being broadcast live on the stadium scoreboard, the fan didn't hesitate to address the Bucs and defensive tackle Simeon Rice's guarantee that they would beat Carolina.

"Simeon Rice and Warren Sapp, you guaranteed a win," he yelled through his whiskers. "Well, we guarantee we're going to kick your butt."

The crowd went wild, the Panthers looked on in stunned belief and Rice and Sapp began to point at the scoreboard.

Rice then registered two sacks, the momentum swung toward Tampa Bay's side and the Bucs quickly took a 24-20 lead before Carolina rallied for the 27-24 victory in the closing minutes.

"That guy, we need to seek him out and revoke his season ticket privileges," Carolina center Jeff Mitchell said. "You've got to find that guy and get him out of here. What are you doing? It's third-and-long and you're calling out the defense?

Actually, the Carolina Prowler did nothing wrong whatsoever. The mistake was made by the Carolina staff member who made the mistake of handing an open microphone to someone he didn't know from Adam. And besides, if the team had made a first down in the wake of the Prowler's antics, he'd be hailed as a hero who managed to rile up the crowd into an energized frenzy.

If you want to blame anyone for Rice's two sacks, blame whoever blew their blocking assignment, not an excited fan who only delivered just the sort of entertainment the NFL encourages for the television cameras, but apparently can't handle with the volume turned up.

Sorry, but this is no Steve Bartman moment.

Pinto Campaign Update

On Friday, I launched a campaign to get David Pinto of Baseball Musings, hired by the New York Mets as their full time statistical analyst. Thanks to West 116th Street and the D-Rays Blog for picking up on the effort over the weekend.

But our little effort isn't over yet -- not at least until we get David an interview with Mets GM Jim Duquette. I'm still trying to get through to Duquette, and would appreciate any help that my vast and intelligent readership might be able to lend me. Have an idea? Send me an email, or drop your comments in the box below this post.

UPDATE: David informs me that he's talked to the Mets directly, and that they say the position has been filled -- though they didn't say who with.

NHL Weekend Roundup

NOTE TO READERS: I update the daily NHL Roundup posts throughout the day, so check back often for new tidbits, links and cool info.

On Friday night in Calgary (always a hot night spot), the visiting Wild blanked the Flames 3-0. Dwayne Roloson had 34 saves for Minnesota, which was outshot by Calgary, 34-20.

On Saturday in Boston, the Bruins beat the Stars, 4-1, extending Dallas' road trip misery. On their current East Coast trip, the normally high-flying Stars were 0-3, and were outscored 11-2.

On Long Island, the Islanders blew a 2-0 lead, and eventually dropped a 4-3 decision to the Thrashers. Serge Aubin had the game winning goal for Atlanta in the third, and Pasi Nurminen had 27 saves for the Thrashers. Rookie Trent Hunter continues to play well, and scored his fifth goal for New York. Meanwhile, big changes in the roster appear to be in the offing, as ownership looks to cut the team's payroll, and the team struggles at the box office.

In Washington, the Sharks finished off an eight game road trip with a 3-2 win over the Capitals. The Sharks went 2-1-3-1 (oh, will someone rid me of the troublesome regulation tie?) on the trip, getting a point in every game they played. Washington's woes continued, as they dropped their third of four games. There's more bad news on the injury front, as man-mountain defenseman Nolan Yonkman prepares for surgery.

In Tampa, the Lightning got over their mini-funk with a 9-0 destruction of the Penguins. Sebastian Caron gave up eight goals on 37 shots for Pittsburgh, before being pulled in the third period in favor of Marc-Andre Fleury. Mario Lemieux has missed three straight games with a hip injury, games the Penguins all lost. Vincent Lecavalier had a hat trick for the hosts.

And on Sunday in Chicago, Steve Konwalchuck scored twice for Colorado, including a goal with 5.5 seconds left in OT, to give the Avalanche a 4-3 victory over the Blackhawks. Colorado is unbeaten in its last four games.

POSTSCRIPT: For some thoughts on Mike Keenan's firing from ESPN.com's Jim Kelley, click here. David Neal of the Miami Herald writes:

Short as the Panthers' Mike Keenan Era was, it was longer than the Keenan Era in Boston or the one in Vancouver.

That and the improvement of Olli Jokinen are two of the few unquestionable facts of Mike Keenan's 23 months as Panthers coach. Almost everything else could be a Point-Counterpoint topic.

The Panthers improved under Keenan, but would they have improved more quickly under another coach? Did Keenan help Roberto Luongo become one of the NHL's best goalies or did he simply not mess up Luongo's evolution?

And what really happened between Keenan and the Rangers in April 2002, a month after Keenan was the point man when Pavel Bure was traded to New York?

And here's a story about Keenan I hadn't heard before:

Depending on which Flyers book you want to read (or the "Six Shooters" book about the Sutter brothers), Keenan had a party for the players--you know, one of those "all the wood behind one arrowhead" type of things.

Pelle Lindbergh didn't survive. Cast the blame where you will--a Porsche that was modified beyond control, too much alcohol, whatever, but Lindbergh sustained a serious brain stem injury, and after a few days, the doctors turned off the machines.

The press caught up to Keenan, and he was quoted as saying "How am I going to win the Stanley Cup now?!?"

I'll give Keenan points for being totally distraught, and not having his brain properly engaging his mouth.

But after that, he couldn't properly coach a goaltender. He picked up a rep for being particularly abusive to his goaltenders, talking to the press about how they weren't so special.

Something tells me there are plenty of current and former NHL players who didn't exactly feel special after playing for Iron Mike. And something tells me they won't be the last either.

UPDATE: Lots of cool stuff from Larry Brooks today, including more Jagr to New York trade rumors (might Jamie Lundmark come to D.C. in any trade?), as well as locker room dissension in Detroit fueled by Dominik Hasek and Curtis Joseph! Who would have guessed it could happen? Primary assist to Steve Ovadia for the link.

As for dissension in Detroit, dropping a game that you led 3-0 going into the third period to a team like Nashville is not exactly a good recipe for team unity.

The astute Tom Benjamin comments:

Yes, the team has had injuries. Yes, the goaltending is a huge distraction. No, Dave Lewis is not Scotty Bowman. None of that changes the fact that Detroit does not look like a good hockey team these days. Veteran teams that win are lauded for their experience. Veteran teams that lose are too old.

The Red Wings are looking their age and for hockey, that age is close to death.

A technology professional I once worked for once said, "nothing happens overnight, it only seems to." Looks like a great description for what's ailing the Wings, and fixing it might take longer than the front office in Detroit is willing to admit. To get a closer look, start here with a post-mortem of the Nashville game from On The Wings.

Sometimes You Just Get It Wrong

For some time now, there's been a post of mine that I've been meaning to update. One, where to be charitable, I was pretty spectacularly wrong, or at least needlessly dismissive, of some pretty impressive statistical analysis applied to professional football. I'm talking about a post I titled, "Now Calling The Plays, Alan Greenspan," and I meant to get around to amending my thoughts, but Jim Henley beat me to it, calling my argument concerning a serious study on how often coaches should go for it on fourth down, "weak".

In retrospect, you'll have no argument from me there. But to be fair, since I made that post 14 months ago, I've undergone a pretty dramatic conversion of sorts on the subject by way of my reading of Michael Lewis' book about Billy Beane and how he runs the Oakland A's, Moneyball. For a number of years, the use of statistical analysis in the sports world was something that was only on periphery of my awareness -- and at times, I was just as casually dismissive of those findings as many of those folks who had a vested interest in shooting them down.

Since reading Lewis' book, however, I've been preaching the gospel of Sabermetrics with the zeal of the newly converted -- and that includes a willingness to take a hard look at any sort of numbers that might shed some light on how things work on the playing field.

Adiós, Sr. Keenan

I wish I could say I was surprised at the news of Mike Keenan's dismissal as head coach of the Florida Panthers. After all, GM Rick Dudley, who is expected to name himself coach later today, gave Keenan a pretty good signal the organization was running out of patience when it started replacing Keenan's assistant coaches last season.

It probably hasn't helped that cross-state rival Tampa Bay is off to the best start in its history, and that Keenan has consistently been unable to show any progress with a young and talented squad that ought to at least be challenging for the lead in a consistenly inconsistent Southeast Division. And with the Southeast completely up for grabs this year (Tampa Bay's early success nothwithstanding), as in any other, it's easy to see how firing the coach to light a fire under your team may well be the boost it needs to slip into the playoffs.

What is puzzling is the fact that Keenan hasn't been able to recreate the success he enjoyed in Chicago, Philadelphia and New York (three squads he took to the Stanley Cup Finals), seemingly anywhere else. Perhaps the efforts of the draconian taskmaster with a penchant for blowing up whatever roster he's handed has run out of steam?

Despite this, there's little doubt that Keenan will end up somewhere else, perhaps even before the end of the season. Then again, it might do him some good to step back, take a broadcasting job (ESPN would probably hire an ex-Rangers coach in a New York minute), and get some distance from the game before he tries to return once again.

Not Worthy Of The Name Winslow

Running through this morning's paper, you might have come across accounts of Kellen Winslow, Jr.'s post-game tirade following Miami's upset loss to Tennessee at the Orange Bowl yesterday.

And in reading those accounts, you might get the impression that a frustrated Winslow was working hard to light a fire under his teammates. But if you watched his comments on SportsCenter, what you saw was the ravings of an ill-mannered man-child railing against the inherent unfairness of the world.

And as I watched that tape yesterday, I couldn't help but think that his father, Kellen Winslow, Sr., a member in good standing of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, wasn't cringing in embarassment while he was watching at home. If anything, the son's tirade was a stark contrast to everthing his father stood for during his NFL career. All mention of accountability and responsibility, qualities that his father embodies to this day, were lost in a flood of meaningless invective.

Something tells me Jr. had a few messages waiting for him on his voice mail after the game.

MONDAY MORNING UPDATE: Winslow has issued a statement apologizing for his comments.