I want to be the first to welcome the fans from Minnesota. The new NHL is definitely not the one I grew up with. My Flyers used to rough up everyone that came to the spectrum. Hartford Whalers and Minnesota North Stars will be missed. I mean, the Flyers make a trade with Nashville. And the worst thing is that Nashville is the better team. If you have an opinion of the “new” NHL, please leave a comment so I know I am not alone. God, I miss fighting. So here is a big salary cap salute to the quicker, faster, more skill, less fighting pansy hockey. Bring back the fighting.
This is my once a month logging of how bad the Philadelphia Flyers are doing under the current CBA. This salary cap has been destructive to a team that has little team speed, lacks leadership (keith and eric, we miss you) and plays with goaltenders that lack confidence. Moving often injured Peter forsberg is the only bright spot. Not that I think we should trade him, just that the NHL playoffs would seem amiss without him. This is a cry to the people who make the decisions. Draft speed, speed and more speed. Also, some one who can find the net might be a good idea too. This team gets a solid “blech” in my eyes. Stupid salary cap anyway.(this is being bitter and I know it, so there)
Salary cap has to wonder about college football’s BCS system. I know that there are many ideas out in the public concerning this topic, but I am going to try and break it down into the simplest form, money. A playoff system has merit and would solve many problems, but the money is the biggest issue.
The bowl games generate over 100 million dollars a year. The tradition and revenues are so big that the NCAA has no idea how to appease all of the stadiums. Also, the BCS has made a rule that only 2 teams from one conference can go to a BCS game. How do you appease the Big Ten with three teams in the top 7? Wisconsin gets screwed out of big money because Michigan and Ohio State are getting the bids. In turn, Penn State has to settle for a lower bowl bid along with Iowa. The playoff system would solve many problems in college football, but I don’t see a new system like this in the next decade.
Also, I am very happy Notre Dame lost. Overrated!
As a long time philadelphia sports fan, I am completely soured on the chances of seeing a championship team this year. I have been patient. I have been vocal. I prayed to God. I cursed God. I am now to the point that I am completely numb to all sporting events that have a philadelphia team in it.
Whenever I look back at all the near misses in the 23 years of no championships, I start to tear up. I know that my suffering doesn’t compare to Cub fans, but my city has all four major sports teams(football, baseball, basketball, hockey). The sixers last won in 1983. OMG, this is just ridiculous. The SIXERS?!! The Phillies did it in 1980.(by the way, that year is the only year all four teams in the major sports from one city have ever been in the finals) Sadly, only the Phillies won their final. The Flyers last won in 1974-75. Bobbi Clarke was the captain, not the burnt out GM. The Eagles, well, they are still looking for a Super Bowl win.(won the Championship in 1960 before it was called Super Bowl)
My point is that I am tired of all the excuses that seem to go along with Philadelphia sports teams. They had injuries. They had one bad play. Mitch Wild Thing Williams was pitching. Always something to tell the fans about why they didn’t get the job done. How long before fans stop showing up to games? How much of this can one endure? If you have the answer to any of these questions, please feel free to let me know. Check out the poll and let me know when a Philadelphia team will win.
General manager Bobby Clarke has finally realized that playing hockey is easier than managing it. With the ultimate goal of the Stanley Cup now farther away than ever, Clarke decided that he had messed the team up enough to move on. Clarke is personally responsible for the failure of this team. His decision to bring in hard nosed Ken Hitchcock ( who got canned too) as completely destroyed player morale and effort. In the boldest move before leaving, Clarke released three players because of lack of effort. Why would you want to play for people who yell at you all the time? And expect an out of date mentality managing stlye to help you compete in the ever changing NHL. The philadelphia flyers used to be able to spend freely without worrying about the salary cap constraints. I guess time catches up with everyone. ESPN has a great article about what happened.
New Jersey Devils have been searching for a way to get under the salary cap all summer. Ever since they signed Patrick Elias to a 7.5 million dollar contract and an arbirator awarded Scott Gomez 5 million dollars, the Devils have been over the 44 million dollar salary cap. So, in true Devil stlye, Lou Lamoriello(the president and GM), has traded defenseman Vladimir Malakhov to the San Jose Sharks. This leaves some questions left about the Devils and the salary cap.
I want to be the first here to say that I cannot stand the Devils. So, I might have a little anomisity towards them and their handling of their salary cap issues. But, I think this was the best thing they could have done for their team in the current situation. The Devils get rid of a suspended player to a team they will only play once. In return, they get nothing. I would have to say that Lou worked a little magic on this trade. The bigger question will be how to handle Brian Giotta’s contract when the sign him. The Devils are out of money for him this year unless they trade someone else away.
Two things to mention about this whole salary cap idea in the NHL. First, I thought the NHL was broke. But, last report was that the NHL made money from last year. Scoring was up and people came back to watch. Devoted hockey fans are hard to get rid of I guess. I would put hockey fan devotion up with the people that still have the Number 3 on all their stuff.(Dale Earnhardt, God rest his soul) So the NHL has made money. Second, the NHL is the only league that has a hard salary cap. Meaning, if you go over, you need to cut or trade somebody. Yes, I know the NFL is close to this too, but the NFL has so many rules to get around this that you can keep a winning team together for years before paying the price. The NBA salary cap has been a joke since Jordan. I guess Jordan rules apply to salary caps too. Don’t get me started on Baseball. I am just rambling at this point, but I think Hockey’s salary cap should be imposed on the other sports.
Does anyone have OLN so I can watch the games?
The New Jersey Devils are in salary cap hell and I for one am loving it. I am a Philadelphia Flyers fan and I hope that the Devils have to lose at least 2 players for their poor managing. If you want to read more, look at this article about it.