R.I.P Chris Henry

I know this might sound like broken record, but the NFL sadly had to say goodbye to another member of their elite fraternity recently. Unfortunately, this goodbye had to come much, much too soon.

Sure, Chris Henry had his issues. Who doesn’t? But the magical part of life comes in the form of second chances. The NFL is no stranger to such events. Players like Pacman Jones and Tank Johnson come to mind. Chris had his problems, but every man deserves a second chance.

Some will waste them (see Jones, Pacman), yet some will heed the mistakes of others, and look to make changes. Chris was of the latter. He was on his way. On his way back. Trying to fix his life, and do things right for himself, and his family.

Life is so commonly unfair. Things don’t always work out the way they should, or the way we desire them to. Chris has lost his life at too young of an age. These things, we cannot change. Things we can change however, is how he will be remembered during his earthly life. Sure, Sportscenter might give him a segment on their daily broadcast, the Bengals could retire his jersey, and we could give him countless “moments of silence”. But Chris should be remembered for something other than his football skills. He should be remembered for a gift he was granted, continues, and will continue to grant to numerous young, troubled athletes trudging down their own paths.

Chris should be remembered for second chances.

Bye Bye Go-Go!

It looks like the Minnesota Twins are looking to get back in the Joe Mauer business. Earlier this morning, the Twins announced they have traded speedy center fielder Carlos Gomez to the Milwaukee Brewers for shortstop J.J. Hardy. This move marks the second trade the Twins have made in the last 6 months. Both of which have occurred on behalf of the shortstop position. The frequency of these roster moves are typically uncommon for a Minnesota team that prefers promoting from within the organization instead of looking for help from outside sources. Clearly, Twins management is doing everything they can to keep one-in-a-million catcher Joe Mauer happy behind the plate as his contract draws agonizingly closer to its conclusion.

More importantly, however, is the immediate impact this move will have on the rosters of the clubs involved. In Milwaukee, the answer to the question “Who is going to play shortstop for the Brew Crew this season?” was effectively answered Friday morning. Waiting in the wings was standout prospect Alcides Escobar, whom has been ready for big league action for some time now. Looks like he’s about to get his chance. For Minnesota, the movement of Gomez has two effects. First, the Twins have now cleaned up their crowded outfield a little more. This move solidifies Denard Span as the team’s ongoing centerfielder, and gives them the options of Michael Cuddyer, Delmon Young, and even Jason Kubel (if need be) in their outfield. Secondly, this move finally brings stability into a Twins infield that sees more players than a college scout. Essentially, Minnesota had 3, sometimes 4, players on rotation on the left side of the infield. Between Brendan Harris, Nick Punto, Orlando Cabrera, and Brian Buscher, the Twins can now designate one of those players to play third (Harris) and now have a solid, everyday shortstop in J.J. Hardy (this all assuming Cabrera will not be returning). In baseball, consistency is king, and keeping the same players in the lineup most of the time will help this team in the long run.

Dez Bryant Suspended for the Year

Early this morning, during my daily Sportscenter period, ESPN ran a headline discussing Oklahoma St. wide receiver and his recent judgment by the hands of the NCAA. They have decided to suspend Dez Bryant for the rest of the season, and next season, until September, 2010. The decision was made based on evidence that Bryant lied to the NCAA about the extent of the relationship he had with a former NFL superstar. We all know him as “Primetime” Deion Sanders.

As usual, ESPN hosted their college football analyst, Todd McShay. McShay gave his own personal insight on the reaction to the news. Keep in mind that McShay has picked Bryant as the #1 receiver prospect in the upcoming NFL draft. McShay was disappointed that the NCAA suspended Bryant for such an extensive amount of time. Also arguing that LeGarrette Blount (the Rocky Balboa wannabe from Oregon), was going to be able to possibly return to college football this season, and Bryant has to sit the rest of the season out. Good point McShay, but try this one.

Let’s set the record straight. For ANYONE that has played competitive sports in their lives, we can all relate to LeGarrette Blount’s situation. The only difference being that those games most likely weren’t broadcast on national television. But think back to those days. Undoubtedly, there were opponents on the other side of the field that you wanted to punch. As an athlete growing up, there were people I wanted to hurt. It’s a fact of life. If you have passion for what you’re doing, you won’t take any jive from a cocky whiteboy from Boise, Idaho. Just like LeGarrette, the passion of the sport got to him. I’ve personally seen more brutal fights in a high school hockey game. Those players sat out 2 games and were right back at it. It’s a competition, and only the strong survive. So, I can sympathize with Blount. That Boise St. Player who shall not be named was talking smack, and Blount smacked it right out of him. Too aggressive? Yes. Unacceptable? Yes. Understandable? Absolutely.

Now, we get to Dez Bryant. Instead of a quick lapse of judgment, Bryant INTENTIONALLY violates NCAA policy. Then, INTENTIONALLY lied about violating said policy. This was no one-and-done moment. This was a planned meeting, and a planned cover up from the Bryant camp. Premeditation, baby. If this was a court of law, Bryant would be getting 50-life for 1st degree arrogance. He’s talented, but, he comes off as just another arrogant college athlete that thinks he’s bigger than the system. Those rules are there for a reason, and they aren’t meant to be broken. No matter what you think Mr. Bryant. Shame on Deion Sanders for doing this to the poor kid. You went to college Deion, you know what’s right and what’s wrong. You screwed the guy.

So, for whichever team ends up picking Bryant in the first round this April, I hope that his NFL career gets started better than his college career ended.

(see Bryant’s interview following notice of the ruling)

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4601251

Bring Back Jacques!

Marty Havlat returns to his former home. Jonathan Toews got roughed up like a peewee at Bantam practice, and watched the game sharing a box of popcorn with Brent Seabrook, who also didn’t dress. Everything looks poised for the Wild to take this game away from a hungry Chicago crowd. Well, we forgot to mention that the Wild are still missing one of their biggest assets. An asset they have been missing since the beginning of the season; a head coach.

Todd Richards, who to this point should still be coaching in the AHL, must have forgotten all the defense that made him a standout during his days under Doug Woog at the University of Minnesota. Following this glorious defeat, the Wild have fallen to 0-8 on the Road, 3-8 on the season, and most importantly, dead last in the Northwest division. Three ENTIRE games behind Vancouver.

Following a disappointing season, where the Wild missed the playoffs by a slight margin, the calls came calling. The fans of the State of Hockey wanted Lemaire gone. They said the program wasn’t going anywhere. It was stuck in neutral. Marian Gaborik doesn’t want to play for a defensive minded coach, blah blah blah. Whatever the case, Gaborik didn’t want to play for ANY coach in Minnesota. He wanted out, we let him go, and now he’s scoring at will in the Big Apple. Tough break, we lost our franchise player, too bad. But that happens, you have to adjust, and strive to get better. So, Lemaire resigns amid pressure from the public and front office, and we bring in offensive minded Richards to get this program on the right track right? Not even close.

“A team’s best offense, is a good defense.” You’ve all heard it. Well, Todd Richards has thrown defense out the door completely. The Wild are being outscored 23-35 this season. Man, it sure is tough to win games being behind all the time isn’t it? The underlying problem behind all of this madness is simple. The Wild do not have the right personnel to compete like this. They just lost the most prolific scorer in franchise history, and replaced him with, well, Martin Havlat and Petr Sykora. They’re trying, but it just isn’t going to take. The farm team is tapped, there is no legitimate scoring threat on the team (sorry Mikko), AND the defense is getting shelled relentlessly. Things are not looking good in Minnesota. Hey, maybe if they played every game at home they would at least have a chance.

(information in this post was provided in part by http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/standings)

(watch Patrick Kane silence the Wild’s “offensive minded system”)

Watch AP Run Over William Gay like a Truck. Literally.

I don’t know which part is my favorite. The “trucking” of Gay, or how he steps on him afterwards. Just get out his way.

Ugh, just pure beauty.

Brian Michaud’s Contributor Profile – Associated Content

http://www.associatedcontent.comuser/637707/brian_michaud.html

Coaching Devastates Again

Recently, I came across a posting on ESPN.com’s rumor mill. There were reports that Brad Childress, the incomparable head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, was rumored to be receiving a contract extension as early as this week. My jaw dropped. Literally hit the floor with more force than a Pat Williams tackle. Luckily for my mandible, Chili Dog proved to me once again that he just doesn’t get it. Not at all.

I don’t know who’s fault it was. Third down inside the 20 with a minute and 45 seconds on the clock, and 2 timeouts. I don’t know who looked at their play sheet, saw “slip screen” and said to themselves, “What the hell huh? Let’s give ‘er a go!”. At the same time, thousands of Vikings faithful had to watch the disaster unfold. Why Brad? Why are you throwing the football? Brett Favre had thrown about 50 passes before hand, I think he’s loose. Let’s keep it on the ground, run some more clock out, and score a touchdown to take the LEAD (not the Childress strategy, I know). Instead they decided to painfully struggle their way through a screen pass, and give Steeler Defense fantasy owners another 6 gift points. I sincerely hope, from the bottom of my heart, that Mr. Zygi Wilf reconsiders, doesn’t jump the gun, and waits this out. I couldn’t take another 3 years of not wanting to win.

Danger in Denver

What could Josh McDaniels possibly be thinking? Honestly, I would thoroughly enjoy spending one day in that man’s brain. Seriously? Considering TRADING Jay Cutler? Wow, just because Matt Cassell was finally discovered as the poor man’s Tom Brady doesn’t mean that EVERY quarterback Josh McDaniels touches turns to gold. Does he really feel that he can reconvert Patrick Ramsey into starting quarterback form? Or maybe he has his heart set on spleenless Chris Simms. Either way, Josh McDaniels may have fatally wounded his career in Denver basically before it even began.

Now that a Jay Cutler trade is a realistic possibility, let’s take a look at the facts. Comparing Jay Cutler’s numbers over the past two years with the leagues top quarterbacks, any sports fan can notice a very striking resemblance.

Rank:

Passing Yards – 3

Yds/Game – 3

TD – 7

INT – 2 (behind only Brett Favre)

Individual:

384 of 616 (62.3%) for 4,526 yards.

25 TD’s – 18 INT

86.0 overall quarterback rating

Let’s not forget the fact that he made the Pro-Bowl this year, and the fact that he is only 25 years old.

I don’t know what Josh McDaniels is thinking, but replacing a player like this is the complete opposite of improvement. Finding another diamond in the rough like Jay Cutler is a one-in-a-million chance that any first year NFL head coach would be absolutely insane to take. Take yourself back to the 2006 draft. Players like Matt Leinart and Vince Young are the highly touted quarterbacks in the draft class, mainly due to their success in the season and the outcome of the most epic Rose Bowl in recent history. While most of the football world was shocked at how far Matt Leinart had slipped down the draft board (10th overall), Jay Cutler was anxiously awaiting his turn to take the stage (didn’t take long, Cutler went 11th). Widely regarded as the third best quarterback in the draft that year, Jay has developed quickly into obviously the most successful quarterback from that year. Ron Jaworski had this pegged, and he was right.

Cutler has stepped onto that field, wearing a Denver Bronco jersey, from day one and has proven himself the entire way. Just like any other young NFL player, he has had his ups and his downs but he has proved stoic enough to catapult himself amond the NFL elite. Somehow, Josh McDaniels thinks Matt Cassell would be a better fit. Somehow, McDaniels thinks a one season wonder, who’s total potential isn’t completely known, would be a better fit than an established and proven young talent like Jay Cutler. I really hope Denver ownership knows what their doing. Because without Jay Cutler, what have they got left?

(statistics from this report were gathered from NFL.com.)

UPDATE

Recent web postings from Jay Cutler’s agent Bus Cook report that the relationship between Jay Cutler and Denver Broncos management began deteriorating immeditely following the firing of previous coach Mike Shanahan. It is widely known that Shanahan and Cutler had a strong relationship, and that Jay was distraught after the dismissal of his mentor. Cook reports that on December 30th, several days after the firing of Mike Shanahan, Broncos owner Pat Bowlen met with Cutler to discuss concerns regarding the infastructure of the offense. Cutler left the meeting with assurance from Bowlen that much of the offense would remain the same. However, shortly after the meeting, Josh McDaniels was hired as the new head coach and he immediately began cleaning house by wiping out much of the offensive staff. Now, in light of new requests to be traded arising from Jay Cutler headquarters, Bowlen is denying the fact that these conversations ever took place.

“I really have had no discussion with Jay or the agent. Mike was fired right after the season. At that point, there was no need to have a discussion with Jay. Now, actually, to be fair, I don’t think I had that discussion. I don’t recall it. I know I’m getting up there in age, and I am not sure of that discussion.” Bowlen reported to NFL.com

As previously reported, Jay Cutler has informed his agent to request a trade from the Denver Broncos. Unknown previously however was the fact that as recently as last Saturday, Cutler reported to Cook that everything would be “OK” and that he and new head coach McDaniels would work things out. Unfortunately, that was not the case and the trade allegations have come full circle in Cutler’s demand to leave.

All is not well in Denver, Colorado. Jay Cutler has seemed to commit to the Denver Broncos, the fact of the matter is that the Denver Broncos have not commited to Jay Cutler. Only time will tell how this saga will play out.

(information from this report was gathered from ESPN.com and NFL.com)

State Hockey Rewind (Class A Quarterfinal edition)

It’s in the books. Fourteen games later, the State of Hockey has crowned TWO new state champions. The 2009 Minnesota State High School Boys Hockey Tournament once again lived up to it’s reputation. Ripe with upsets and outstanding individual efforts, the 3 day spectacle once again brought the entire state of Minnesota together to celebrate the sport that calls it home. And The Frenzy is gonna bring it all back.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11TH. DAY ONE.

Day one opens with the first round of Class A action. The first game of the day pits #2 ranked St. Cloud Cathedral (representing section 5A) against the Mahtomedi Zephyrs, the surprising entrants from section 4A. The game begins as an even match, with the Zephyrs holding their own against gopher recruit Nate Schmidt of Cathedral. However, 11 minutes into the first period, with Mahtomedi behind on a 5 on 3, Cathedral capitalizes and tilts the score in their direction. Further into the period, with 40 seconds remaining, Nate Schmidt adds a shorthanded goal to put Cathedral up 2-0. Despite an early 2nd period goal by Mahtomedi’s Ben Holker, Jordan Palusky responds late in the period with his second goal of the game, and Cathedral takes a lead they never give up. Final score St. Cloud Cathedral 5 – Mahtomedi 2.

Game 2. Warroad vs. Hutchinson. Eventual second place finishers Warroad put on a show in their 7-1 domination of the section 3A champions from Hutchinson. Hutchinson assembled a 19-7-1 record in arguably one of the weakest sections in the state. Unfortunately, the Tigers fall behind right from the beginning. Warroad junior Brock Nelson nets his first of three goals shorthanded midway through the first period. Three minutes into the beginning of the second period, Warroad strikes again with a goal from Jake Mack. The lone Hutchinson goal comes later in the period, but was swiftly followed by a two goal eruption from Warroad. Both of which were scored on the powerplay. A one sided third period followed with the Warriors adding two more special teams goals and finishing the game with a final score of 7 – 1 in favor of the Warriors from Warroad.

Game 3. Little Falls vs. Virginia/Mt. Iron/Buhl. The headline of this game was completely overshadowed by Ben Hanowski. The Little Falls senior, despite being a leading Mr. Hockey finalist, scored FIVE goals in the contest to complement his previous 57 goals on the season. Little Falls dominated the game in all aspects, flexing their undefeated muscle against a solid team from Virginia/Mt. Iron/Buhl. Little Falls quickly jumps to a commanding 6-0 lead through the first 2 1/2 periods of play. Two late third period goals give Virginia a bit of life, but too little too late for the Blue Devils as they fall to the Flyers 6-2.

Game 4. The final contest of Day one of competition featured The Breck Mustangs of section 6A against the Eagles of Rochester-Lourdes High School. Although the Breck Mustangs become the eventual Champions of Class A, Rochester-Lourdes tests their metal by holding them scoreless for the first period. Early into the second, Breck contributes to the scoreboard by netting a goal 21 seconds into the period. The gameplay remains quite even until the Mustangs add to their 1 goal lead midway through the second period. Rochester battles, but they can’t overcome the deficit, and Breck goaltender John Russell earns the shutout as the Mustangs advance to the second round of the tournament.

(all statistical numbers compiled and gathered from www.pointstreak.com)

(additional information taken from www.mshsl.org *Property of the Minnesota State High School League*)

Failure to Launch?

Could there be any other team more disappointing than the Minnesota Vikings were this free agency period? The entire two week span, from the moment it began at midnight February 27th, football fans were glued to their laptops, blackberrys, TVs, sports pages, and penniless internet blogs waiting for that breakthrough signing that would put their teams over the top of the competition. While there aren’t many who could top the soon-to-be-bankrupt Washington Redskins, (Mr. Haynesworth has already been arrested on counts of drunk driving.), many teams made valiant efforts.

The Kansas City Chiefs went from cellar to stellar in one seemingly effortless trade by acquiring the best starter/backup quarterback in the NFL in Matt Cassel. The Pats were generous enough to donate them Pro-Bowl Linebacker (or tight-end) Mike Vrabel, just to sweeten the pot. Cost to Kansas City? One second round pick.

The Seattle Seahawks. Aside from being arguably the most boring and sparkless NFL franchise (sorry Bills fans) quite literally stole the best offensive free agent on the market right from under the nose of “dedicated” owner Zygi Wilf and his win now attitude. T.J. Houshmandzadeh not only brings an immediate impact to an injury ridden and unproven receiver corps, but also provides Tim Hasselbeck with an every down receiver. During his career, Houshmandzadeh has developed into one of the best possession receivers in the league. Although his YAC yards have decreased each year since 2004, he is still very capable of catching 90+ passes this season and giving Seattle the chance it needs to compete for a division title.

There. Two teams out to improve their depth chart by bringing in successful, and determined players destined to bring their successes with them to their new teams. They wanted their man, they went out and got them. Now, we move on to the free agent loser.

THE MINNESOTA VIKINGS. It is always heartbreaking when your hometown team tops this list, but let’s face the facts. The Vikings have made absolutely no attempts to make their team any better. More likely, it seems their dedicated to keeping their team exactly the same. Their offseason moves include resigning Jim Kleinsasser and special teams linebacker Heath Farwell. Don’t forget the blockbuster trade that involved acquiring Sage Rosenfels in exchange for a fourth round draft pick. But hey, he can fly. . . right? The fact that they would actually TRADE for a backup QB is absolutely mind boggling. Does this mean coach Brad Childress is putting the stake of the 2009 season back into the hands of Tarvaris Jackson? Even more terrifying is the thought of entertaining a position battle for the starting slot on the depth chart. Instantly images of off-balance, front footed, floppy passes fluttering through the air gracefully into the hands of the secondary come to mind. Complimented by an awkward individual rotating sideways through the air simultaneously forfeiting possession of the football to the defense. Man, it’s gonna be a long season. To put the ultimate cherry on top, the Vikings watched Pro-bowl center, and quite possibly one of the greatest interior linemen to ever play in the Twin Cities walk away via free agency. I think you all know who I am talking about.

To this day, the Minnesota Vikings, Indianapolis Colts, Carolina Panthers, and Pittsburgh Steelers remain as the only teams to not bring in a new face via free agency. One of these teams do not fit, I’ll let you decide.

(I’m sorry Purple, I only do it because I love ya.)