New York Teams Sleep Through Trade Deadline

(Originally published 3/2/11 in "The Montclarion")

The NHL trade deadline came and went, and if you weren’t paying attention, you would have no idea the deadline had even passed. The three local hockey teams spent a few extra hours sleeping, finding nothing worthwhile, and no one to help their club.

The New York Rangers didn’t gain a ton of help by the trade deadline, with their only acquisition being Bryan McCabe from the Florida Panthers.

There was one trade apiece by the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers, with the Rangers having the only significant trade: acquiring veteran defenseman Bryan McCabe from the Florida Panthers for Tim Kennedy and a third-round draft pick. The New York Islanders sat on their hands and kept the same team they had entering the final weeks of the deadline. They couldn’t have gotten much worse and ought to have taken a stab at somebody, but their desire to improve is as high as their place in the standings, and that’s never too high.


The Devils could still make the playoffs, needing only nine points to tie the eighth-seeded Carolina Hurricanes, but their chances are slim. Four teams sit between them and the Hurricanes and a lot needs to go right for New Jersey to grab a spot in the postseason.

The Rangers, on the other hand, are currently the seventh-seed in the Eastern Conference, but are five points from slipping out of the race. By acquiring McCabe, the Rangers fortified their defense and solidified their team. They aren’t much improved overall, but they don’t seem to be going down anytime soon. New York can easily topple sixth-seeded Montreal and even surpass fifth-seeded Washington, with only six points separating them.

Playoffs aren’t going to be too exciting for local hockey fans. Any team can win, but the Rangers are going to have a tough time squaring off against the top few teams in the conference, depending on which seed each team gets at the end of the year. The Rangers are only 1-7 against the current top three seeds: Philadelphia, Tampa Bay and Boston, with their one win coming against the lowest of the three, Boston.

This leaves the Devils and the Islanders to duel for which team is worse. The Devils should easily win this game, meaning they will not be the worst team. But each time you feel like the Devils are ready to turn it around or put together a winning streak, or at least provide some decent hockey, they fail to come through.

At the rate they’re going they just may have a worse 2010-2011 hockey season than the New York Islanders, something no one would have predicted at the beginning of the year. Their $100 million free-agent signing along with fan favorite Patrik Elias and the always reliable Martin Brodeur should have done much better than the basement. Brodeur has been outplayed by Johan Hedberg, who has as many wins as Brodeur, but eight less losses. Hedberg’s goals against average is four-tenths less than Brodeur an he also has a .015 percent better save percentage (small decimals, but a big difference).

Of the 32 players on the Islanders that posted stats this season, only five have a plus-minus better than 0 and two of those five have a plus-minus of one. For the Islanders it seems like we’re looking ahead to next year. Then again, we’re always looking ahead to next year.

If this is how a Devils team will look with Kovalchuk as their star, fans better hold on tightly – you’re stuck with him for the next 15 years. By then the Islanders may have avoided looking like NHL’s version of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Rangers are on even ground; they can improve with some smart moves or join their NY/NJ friends with some poor ones. They have the postseason to look forward to for now and bragging rights when the season is over.

Big Names in Sports Make Big News in 2010

(Originally published 12/8/10 in "The Montclarion")

2010 has brought us another exciting, drama-filled year in sports. Locally, the Jets are running their mouths as the best team in sports and hold a 9-3 record, yet they have only beaten one team with a record above .500.

The Giants were outmatched by a quarterback who hasn’t started since 2006 and has served jail time in between.

Oakland pitcher Dallas Braden and his catcher, Landon Powell, share a hug after Braden’s perfect game in April. It was the first of two perfect games during the 2010 baseball season.

The Yankees just ended the circus free agency signing with Derek Jeter that was about as exciting as Ben Stein’s voice.


The Mets have added a Terry and a Sandy to their front office; and I don’t mean the ladies that appeared in Grease.

The Islanders and the Nets seem a little lost, which isn’t a surprise.

The Devils sit just above the Islanders, which is a surprise.

The only team that hasn’t given us anything to talk about are the New York Rangers … and that’s probably a good thing.

This year brought us a lot of positive things as well. The New Orleans ‘Aints helped a city stand on its feet with an unlikely victory over the Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl. The San Francisco Giants won their first World Series since they departed New York. The LA Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics in a rematch similar to the days of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. The Red Bulls came close to winning the MLS championship, but fell in the semi-finals to the San Jose Earthquakes. In an attempt to bring some excitement to the MLS the Red Bulls signed international French star Thierry Henry, a contract that cost less and provided a better turnout than the David Beckham signing that happened a few years back. Beckham’s career to Americans can be compared to Carmen San Diego or Waldo; where has it gone?

Baseball saw three perfect games in a season. Well, technically, there were only two: Dallas Braden of the Oakland Athletics and Roy Halladay of the Philadelphia Phillies. Armando Galarraga came close to being the third, but was denied a chance at history by umpire Jim Joyce. It was a game that’s sure to live in infamy with not only the players involved, but fans of the sport as well. It was a game that’s sure to lead to further use of instant replay in baseball, another thing that will be remembered by sports fans for years to come.

USC seemed on top of the college football world, but their coach bolted to the NFL and joined the Seattle Seahawks, and their starting player during that era was revoked of his Heisman Trophy. This led to the likes of Auburn, Oregon and TCU rounding out the top three teams respectively. The only classic powerhouse college team in the top ten is Ohio State.

What we didn’t see this year was the implementation of a playoff system for college football. But when every college football team plays in a bowl game there probably isn’t a need for a playoff system.

2010 also saw the rise of MMA, a fiercer form of boxing that lets fighters use every part of their body that isn’t just below the belt. Boxing’s biggest headline is their loss of fans and funds — the people that decided MMA was more exciting to watch. Maybe it’s because the most exciting thing to happen in boxing this year was the Manny Pacquiao/Floyd Mayweather fight that never happened.

2011 is sure to be as exciting as 2010 and the drama that will ensue will surpass that of all the MTV “reality” shows. Maybe Jimmie Johnson will win his sixth straight NASCAR title, or Tiger Woods will regain his number one ranking. Maybe Roger Federer will retake the number one tennis ranking from Rafael Nadal. At this point, everything is just speculation. There is always uncertainty heading into a new year. Something new and exciting is bound to happen soon after the ball drops. Until then, we still have the rest of 2010.