Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Number 68-So Great!!
For a number
of years, I have sent out little signals that Jaromir Jagr was not
quite finished as a hockey player. He proved that yet again last
Saturday night, when he moved into third place on the NHL All Time
Goal scoring list with his 741st and 742nd
goals. He now trails Gordie Howe and Wayne Gretzky. The Panthers
topped the Winnipeg Jets 3-1.
He held
court in his corner of the locker room for quite some time after the
game. He wore the “Spacey in Space” hoodie which is given to the
player of the game, as determined by his teammates. “When I got
birthday cake for my 44th birthday, you get the wish. I
said, “I wish to be a goal scorer. So it worked for me. Maybe I'm
going to catch Gordie and maybe Wayne Gretzky too!”
He held the
puck numbered “742”, and continued. “I don't really think about
it, to be honest with you. I don't feel I played well the last few
games, so I wanted to make sure I played a little bit better today. I
had a little bit more jump. I'm glad I helped the team win.”
Milestones
always feel better after a win.
Jagr's first
goal came on a tipped shot, a seemingly harmless shot from the point
off Kulikov's stick. 16 210 fans cheered for the oldest player in the
league, including players from both benches who stood to acknowledge
the feat. It was Jagr's 19th goal this season. Not to be
outdone, Reilly Smith also potted his 19th goal on a crisp
wrist shot, also assisted by Kulikov.
In the third
period, Jagr found a loose puck at the front of the net and wristed
it up to the top corner of the net, beside the proverbial peanut
butter. He did an emphatic fist pump to celebrate, a little out of
character. Again, both benches stood to pay respect.
Coach Paul
Maurice pulled the Jets goalie Michael Hutchinson with 2:32 remaining
in the game. Jagr made two trips to the ice to try to get the hat
trick goal, to no avail. As the final buzzer sounded, the fans
littered the ice with rats, again a customary gesture here in South
Florida.
Roberto
Luongo saved the Panthers bacon on several occasions in the game. One
reporter asked him about the two clear breakaways in the second
period. Luongo raised his eyebrows, smiled and said, “There were
three!” After a couple of tough games, he told the throng that he
felt good that evening. “My body was going toward the puck.”
He also
commented on Jagr's game. “It was awesome. He was flying tonight.
You could tell that he was on top of every puck.”
It was
centre Kyle Rau's first NHL game. He played at the University of
Minnesota, and was drafted by the Panthers in 2011. I congratulated
him. “I am really fortunate to be in this position at this time.”
Michael Matheson also played his first game for the Panthers.
The team
lost Jonathan Huberdeau in the first period. There is a serious
injury bug at this time for the Panthers. Currently in sick bay? Dave
Bolland (24), Willie Mitchell (12), Erik Gudbranson (7), Alexander
Barkov (5), Brandon Pirri (2), and Quinton Howden (2). Games missed
are in parenthesis.
That needs
to be straightened out before the playoffs begin. No kidding!
James Hurst
February 22,
2016.
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
The Chubb Classic-2016
Bernhard
Langer graciously accepted the award as the champion of this year's
Chubb Classic at the Twin Eagles Golf Club in Naples. He is no
stranger to the podium, as this was his third victory in the past six
years.
Bernhard Langer, waiting to putt, with the long putter
The PGA
players in the tournament are those who have reached the magic age of
50. Some players elect to enter the Champions Tour once they turn 50,
but not all. Some members of the tour decide, when they turn 50, to
play full time as opposed to previous stints as club professionals,
and the like. One of those players is Rod Spittle.
Rod Spittle
To refresh
your memory, Rod Spittle hails from Chippewa, Ontario, not far from
Niagara Falls, and the American border. He attended Ohio State
University, and settled there, working in the insurance industry.
Nearing his fiftieth birthday, he huddled with his family, and shared
his vision for the future. He wanted to play on the Champions Tour.
One does not
exactly pack one's clubs in the trunk of the car and step up to the
first tee on the Tour. It is something that must be earned, through
schools and other preliminary contests. He initially struggled, but
has done very well the past few years. Although he did not win any
tournaments last season, he managed to pocket more than half a
million dollars.
Spittle is a
very classy guy. Some pros have no time for any distractions during
the tournament. Spittle deals with them, as they arise. On one
occasion, a fan hollered, just after Spittle putted, “Hey
Chippewa!” Rod turned, smiled, and tipped his cap at the lout.
During his final round, he asked his caddy for an extra ball. He
flipped it to a little kid who was following him with his parents. He
tossed a signed ball and a glove at a fan after a round last year.
A gentle
giant at six feet five inches, and at about 250 pounds, he seems to
get along with everyone. His wife Ann accompanies him at every hole
on the course, as does her sister and brother-in-law. Another Buckeye
supporter also walks the course with Spittle's threesome: Harry Meek.
Although he would not disclose his age to me, Harry has seen
seventy-five candles on his cake. I must admit I have struggled to
keep up with him.
Harry Meek
The golf
they play is spectacular. Hole after hole, they drive almost 250
yards, seldom more than a few yards apart. Chip to the green, one or
two putts, and on to the next hole. Occasionally, one of those chips
bounces a couple of times, and rolls in the cup. A very long putt may
drop. Those two strokes saved might be the difference of many
thousands of dollars, at closing time.
Spittle
finished the tournament with three sub-par rounds: 71, 69, and 70. he
was six under par, trailing Langer by nine strokes. Fred Couples
charged at Langer in the final round, to no avail. He finished three
strokes back. Couples is very popular on the tour, and is followed by
a large gallery. In comparison, some pros are followed by half a
dozen members of their family.
Fred Couples, on the 18th tee
Spittle
played with Grant Waite in the final round. Waite had two rounds of
70 on the first two days of the tourney. I chatted with his wife
during the round. The Australian, who had won on the PGA Tour, had
two back surgeries during the off season. On the final round, he was
not sharp. One of his drives went out of bounds, the only one I have
witnessed on all the rounds I have followed on the tour. He ended the
day with an 80, and earned $ 2 720.
Spittle
pocketed $ 22 528 for the week's work. Langer got $ 240 000 for the
win, and moved into first place on the money list. At the end of the
year, the person on the top of the list get a Gillion Dollars, or
something close to that.
The Knudsens, in front, and the Tausendfreunds, Belleville
I ran into
several friends at the tournament. It was played in almost perfect
weather, although the breezes gave players fits on a few occasions.
It is a perfect way to enjoy the weather in South West Florida.
Joanne and Brian Fisher, from Tweed.
And if you
are about to turn fifty, sharpen your game. You never know......
James Hurst
February 16,
2016
Tuesday, February 09, 2016
The Crosby Show
Even if you have only read a few of
the columns in this space, you realize that I encourage you to attend
sports events. Above all, if it happens to be hockey.
You may be lucky enough to watch a
grandson or granddaughter playing in their first years. It may be a
junior game, with regrets to Belleville Bulls' fans. It may be at
the professional level, perhaps even the National Hockey League.
The Pittsburgh Penguins played the
Florida Panthers last Saturday night. That means that the best hockey
player in the world was on the ice. Sidney Crosby has stepped it up a
notch, recently, and his team has responded in kind. Despite a dismal
start to the season, the Penguins are now knocking on the playoff
door. Once that door opens, anything goes.
When the whistle blew at the end of
the game on Saturday, Sidney had left his mark in Sunrise, Florida. I
am certain you have noticed that the Panthers have enjoyed great
success recently. They enjoyed a 12 game winning streak. They lost a
few, then won a few more. They are at the top of the Atlantic
Division, in the Eastern Conference.
The Panthers have played inspired
hockey this year, under the direction of their coach Gerard Gallant.
Jaromir Jagr leads the team with his dedicated play, and the young
Panthers have responded well to his leadership. With every goal and
every assist, Jagr climbs the ladder of the all time leaders in the
NHL. He is three goals shy of Brett Hull to become third on the goals
list. His 1100 assist moved him into sixth place on that ladder. The
remarkable thing is that there is no loafing in his game.
The Panthers have been very strong
between the pipes this season. You would expect that from Roberto
Luongo, who passed Tony Esposito to become seventh in wins in the
NHL. But Al Montoya has played very well, winning 8 games in 11
starts this season, posting a Goals Against Average of 1.93, and a
Save Percentage of .931.
Aaron Ekblad celebrated his
twentieth birthday on Sunday. He was the Rookie of the Year in the
NHL last year, and he continues to play well. His plus 23 rating for
goals for and against while he is on the ice is the highest on the
team. The rest of the young crew? Jonathan Huberdeau-10 goals;
Alexander Barkov—15 goals; Reilly Smith-16 goals; Vincent
Trocheck-17 goals; Brandon Pirri-10 goals; Jussi Jokinen-10 goals;
Nick Bjugstad-9 goals. Lots of biscuits in the basket.
The Panthers led 2-0 well into the
third period on Saturday. They had outshot the Penguins 34-18 at the
start of the period. With 5:04 remaining in the game, Crosby threw a
long pass across ice to his defenceman, Chris Letang. Letang was
well-prepared to shoot the puck, and he hit the twine before Luongo
had a chance.
The Penguins pulled their goalie,
Jeff Zatcoff, with 1:22 remaining. Seven seconds later, Letang
blasted a point shot at the net. It went in off Crosby's pants. With
eight seconds gone in the overtime, Jokinen took a hooking penalty.
It took little more than a minute for Crosby to find Letang, again,
in exactly the same spot, with the same pass, to ice the game, in
dramatic fashion.
Zatcoff appreciated his moment in
the sun. “I got into a rhythm as the game went along. Most of their
shots were ones that I saw very well,” he told me after the game.
As I was leaving the dressing room, I spotted Crosby, by himself,
carefully filling his hockey bag with all of the paraphernalia.
I told him I was from the Belleville
area. “That's the home of Matt Cooke,” he said, in reference to
his former teammate. “And Cory Cooper,” he added. “I worked
with Cory at a hockey school.” He added: “We've given up a couple
of 'shorties' the last couple off games. We had to be careful on
power plays. But we worked hard. It was a case of not how hard the
puck was moving, but where it was going”. I completely agreed. No
point in arguing with a guy like that!
Last night the Penguins topped the
Ducks. Crosby had two breakaway goals, and two assists. His seven
game goal streak is the best in his career. Some player. A bit of a
travesty that he was not invited to this year's All Star game.
James Hurst
sportslices.blogspot.com
February 9, 2016.
Monday, February 01, 2016
The Wideman Hit
The
Wideman Hit
For any of you who have ever worn
stripes, or called balls and strikes, the behaviour of Dennis Wideman
of the Calgary Flames likely upset you.
A professional hockey player, with
several years in the NHL, with a reasonably good reputation as a
clean player. After being checked in the corner, he skated toward the
bench. Nearing the bench, he encountered a linesman standing along
the boards, with his back to the game, for some unknown reason.
And for another yet unknown reason,
Wideman crosschecked the linesman sufficiently hard to drop him. Guys
that do the lines in the NHL are not exactly shrinking violets. They
are all tough guys. They are required to skate miles every night;
they get cut with pucks and sticks and skates, and even errant
punches breaking up fights; they are in tremendous physical shape;
they are as strong as oxen; they also have to be peacemakers, on
occasion.
Not all officials are well liked by
the players. There may have been a history with Wideman, and Don
Henderson, but that is something that is not known at this time, and
may never surface. Personally, I do not find it relevant.
Before they ever take the ice, they
work out at the event level in arenas. They run, they stretch, they
quietly do what's necessary to do the job. What they would never
expect is the kind of thing that happened to Henderson. A cheap shot
from someone who knew better.
I threw it out there on FaceBook
after it happened. It has been widely viewed by sports fans. Most
hockey fans have taken the stance that the league has no option but
to follow the rule book to the letter. That would mean that Wideman
would receive a 20 game suspension. That would cost him a chunk of
change.
Others have taken the position that
Wideman may have been hit so hard by Mikka Salomaki that he had no
recollection of striking the linesman. I concur that he did take a
good rap on the head. But he did get up, slowly, and made his way to
the bench.
But before he got to his own bench,
he physically abused the official. For that he should be punished.
He was suspended by the NHL, and
awaits a hearing. Naturally, they will show video of the hit. There
will be several lawyers present. There will be individuals
representing the player, the teams, the officials, and others. They
will have to reach a conclusion. It may come in the form of a
suspension, or a fine.
The league has not had an easy time
lately, botching the John Scott affair. He is the player who was
elected to the All Star game, even though he does not have the skills
to skate with the fastest players in the league. With the
three-on-three format being used this year in the All star game,
Scott would be in very tough. But he was chosen by the fans, in a
format that I can guarantee will be changed.
Next year, the ballot should contain
the names of players who have the skills to play the small team
format. That is if the league wants the fans to vote on the players.
The inmates may not completely run the asylum, in that case.
It was great to see the league
handing over the cheque to John Scott as the captain of the winning
team of the All Star games. The players certainly “circled the
wagons” in support of one of their brother. Rightfully so! His
story is touching, and one to follow. It will be interesting to see
it all falls out.
The NHL meets with Wideman today to
discuss his situation. As always, the clock is ticking....
James Hurst
sportslices.blogspot.com
