Chris Tremblay draft analysis and other notes

Chris Tremblay Likes Roy's Chances

Today on CKDU Sports Chris Tremblay, Halifax Mooseheads insider, provided an analysis of this year's draft. Tremblay thinks Olivier Roy, goalie for the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, should be in the NHL playing for the Edmonton Oilers in several years.

Citing a lack of depth in the Oiler's minor league ranks, Tremblay says the fifth round pick should eventually get a shot at the big leagues after honing his craft in the AHL.

"Roy has Marc Andre Fleury type athleticism which should serve him well," said Tremblay. "However his height at 5'11" could hurt his chances."

Tremblay also thinks Simon Depres, Saint John Seadogs blueliner chosen by the Stanley Cup champion Penguins, should play in Pittsburgh eventually. "Depres is the total package; his only knock is a lack of physical toughness but that should change as he matures" said Tremblay.

Jays Slide Continues and Other Notes

Even the return of Doc Halladay couldn't get the Toronto Blue Jays back on track. Halladay pitched his first game in over 10 days, but 2 earned runs over 6 innings wasn't enough for the stagnant Jays offence to overcome. The once mighty bats of Toronto could only muster 5 hits and 1 run vs Tampa Bay Rays rookie Jeff Neimann who improved to 7-4 on the season......Brian Burke didn't make any friends over the weekend in Montreal. Booed lustily by Canadiens faithful as he approached the podium to announce Toronto's first selection in the NHL entry draft, Burke fired back at the fans to the media afterwards. "I will tell you this - the best hockey fans on the planet are not in Montreal, they're in Toronto," said Burke. "When we host this event in a couple years this will seem like child's play for the booing they get in Toronto."..........love the Magic trade for Vince Carter. They only gave up Rafer Alston, who was probably out anyway, and Courtney Lee, a tough defender but easily replaced. The deal makes a great Magic team that much better. Too bad Hedo Turkoglu isn't that excited. Hedo opted out of his final year with the Magic to pursue big dollars in this year's free agent market, which will be a lot thinner than the 2010 class. Next year's market will consist of Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh..........before the MLB season, Tom Verducci of CNNSI submitted his annual list of pitchers who were dominant in 2008, but based on thier increased workload, would be in store for a injury plagued season in 2009. Fireballer Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants was on the list, but I guess Lincecum didn't get the memo. After a rough April, Lincecum is now 8-2 with a 2.37 era and 3 complete games in his last 4 appearances, culminating with a 2 hit shutout of the St.Louis Cardinals earlier tonight. Sorry Mr.Verducci.

Islanders Take Tavares. Jays Striving For Mediocrity.

Isles Take Tavares; Pronger to the Flyers

As most expected, and every Islanders fan hoped, New York did select Jon Tavares with the #1 pick in this year’s NHL entry draft. We will never know if Garth Snow and crew were actually considering taking Swedish blueliner Victor Hedmon, or if it was all just media speculation, but Islanders faithful, 10,000 strong packed into Nassau Coliseum, were jubilant and delirious when Snow announced that the once proud franchise were selecting the all time leading scorer in the Ontario hockey League.
Hedmon was then plucked by the Tampa Bay Lightning with the second pick, followed by Matt Dechene by the Colorado Avalanche, who the media somehow convinced us the Islanders were considering picking as well (apparently Dechene grew up hardcore Colorado fan). Is it just a coincidence that TSN was covering the NHL draft and all 15 analysts they have were telling us that the Islanders first round selection was a three horse race? Sadly, no. However, it’s that much sadder that we believed them.

Are the Jays Coming Around?

Since starting the season at 27-14, the Toronto Blue Jays have gone 14-21 and have dropped from 1st place to 3rd. They’ve been showing some signs of getting back on track after a disastrous 9 game losing streak at the end of May, however a lot of the bats are still ice cold and the pitching staff is ravished with injuries. Cito Gaston has come under fire for mishandling his starting pitchers, and Vernon Wells had gone a month without hitting a home run, before knocking out a couple dingers this week.
So what’s happening? Well, the team would appear to be settling into the niche of mediocrity that this crop of Jays has been establishing for several years. This core of Jays, with the exception of Halladay, is painfully average. And in a division that consists of the Yankees, with the highest payroll in the majors, the Red Sox, with a core of players that have won a couple World Series, and the Tampa Bay Rays, who represented the American League in last year’s fall classic, mediocrity is going to get you nowhere. It’s only late June and the Jays’ hopes of ending their post season absence dating back to 1993, appears to be dissipating faster than a BJ Ryan

fastball (not very fast, but fast enough...to get beat).

Other Notes

The L.A. Clippers actually did something right for once and selected Blake Griffin with the #1 pick in the NBA Draft. Griffin is not the most ballyhooed #1 in recent times (see Lebron James), but is in the same class as Derrick Rose, last year’s top pick by the Bulls; a can’t miss prospect who will put butts in the seats and provide a solid base to build around.....the steal of the draft may have been Cleveland taking Danny Green of UNC. A late second round pick who won a title as a Tar Heel, has good size for a guard and a penchant for hitting clutch 3 point shots. Think the Cavs could have used him this year with all those missed jumpers coming off passes out of double teams on Lebron James?..........my San Fran Giants are leading the National League wildcard race! Only in the National League could a team with absolutely no offence be leading a playoff race halfway through the season. The Giants have 28th worst offence in the majors, surpassing only Seattle and San Diego. However, with Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain a combined 16-4 with era’s in the 2.30 range, followed by Randy Johnson and a steadily improving Barry Zito, the G-Men may have the best pitching staff in baseball.......Haligonia Sports is on a 3 week hiatus and will resume on July 10th. My guest for the Friday show will be Shaun Gillis, the voice of the Halifax Raimen, and John Campbell, the head coach of the AUS champion Dalhousie Tigers men’s basketball team.

Tavares or Hedman

Will the New York Islanders Take Tavares?
All logic would suggest that the Islanders will take Tavares with the number one pick in this year’s NHL entry draft. However, there is a growing suspicion that the Isles will take top defensive prospect, Victor Hedman, a 6’6” 220 pound blueliner from Sweden.
The knock on Hedman is that he’s not very physical. However, he has received comparisons to another Swedish defenceman whose won a few Norris trophies and Stanley Cups; Nick Lidstrom.
If selected, Hedman is up for the challenge, “I can score goals and bring other stuff to the team. Good leadership, and I can play a lot of minutes and kill penalties and shut down the other team's best guys. If I'm going to the Islanders, I'm not satisfied unless we make the playoffs next year."
Plus Hedman has expressed an appreciation for Long Island and marvelled at its physical beauty in an interview last week, “Long Island was a great area. The beach was great, the houses. I really love the water. I would love to live by the ocean. I got to see Rick DiPietro's crib, and it was real nice. I saw the Coliseum as well. It's pretty old, but it's got a great history.”
Smart talk from a pretty grounded young man who some are calling the best defensive prospect since Chris Pronger.
Ironically, it was 1993 when the Ottawa Senators had the first overall pick and selected Alexander Daigle instead of Pronger, who Hartford scooped up with the second pick. We all know how that worked out.
So the NHL draft could be a pretty intriguing storyline as the Commissioner takes to the podium to announce the New York Islanders selection. The Long Island faithful are begging the Islanders to take Tavares. Understandable considering the team’s leading scoring forward last year was Kyle Okposo with 39 points!
39 points!!
If you’re a fan you want to see offence and Tavares is the most talented offensive player in the draft. And at 6’0” 200 pounds he’s no Alexander Daigle. Offence or defence? Stability or flash? The last time the Islanders were faced with this decision they took Rick Dipietro, bypassing Dany Heatley.
The Islanders hope they don’t make the same mistake again.

Most Recent Milton Bradley Gaffe his Best Yet

Not Likely To Be a Poster for Under Armour Anytime Soon.

Considering he shares the same name as a major North American board game manufacturer, it would only make sense that Milton Bradley has given us so many hilarious moments throughout his career. Unfortunately for Milton, in every instance, we find ourselves laughing at him, and not with him. Years from now we won’t remember Bradley for his ability to hit 15 home runs a year (seemingly the same number of teams he’s played for) nor will we remember the ludicrous contract he signed with the Chicago Cubs over the off season, guaranteeing him 30 million over the next 3 years.
No, years from now we’ll remember all the head shaking, painful, and immensely funny moments he gave us. He is the Larry David of Major League Baseball, the Michael Scott of the sporting world. Reading Milton Bradley’s resume of gaffs and blunders is akin to watching the weekend long struggle of Gaylord Faulker in Meet the Parents.
In early 2004, Bradley was traded by the Cleveland Indians to the L.A. Dodgers, after Bradley and Indians manager Eric Wedge got into a heat argument concerning Bradley’s laziness in running out a dropped pop fly. Later that season, Bradley threw a water bottle at a fan in Dodger’s stadium. In Bradley’s defence the water bottle had been thrown at him first.
In 2007, Bradley, now a San Diego Padre, got into a heated argument with a first base umpire after he reached first base safely on a single. Manager Bud Black came out to intervene and tried to separate Bradley by pushing him away, in the process Bradley fell, tore his ACL, and had to miss the rest of the season in one of the most bizarre moments of all time.
Well this past weekend, Bradley outdid himself. You probably didn’t see it after devoting your night to game 7 of the NHL finals. Bradley misplayed a fly ball in a game at Wrigley field vs the Minnesota Twins. But that’s not the story line here. Later in the game, Bradley caught a fly ball and then posed for the fans in the outfield, trying to relay a message of relief of having made the catch. Bradley then tossed the ball into the stands for a souvenir. The only problem; there were only 2 outs!
And there were Twins runners on base. One run scored on the play and another player was able to go from first to third. Bradley could be seen with hands on head staring blankly at the infield as a jubilant Minnesota Twin rounded second base.
Good news for Cubs fans, however. The play did not factor into the score, and Milton didn’t get into a heated argument with an umpire, claiming that his catch should have been the third out. Nor did he get thrown out of the game or injure himself. Not a bad day for Milton considering he's had worse.

Datsyuk's back, Alright! (sing to tune of "Backstreet's Back")

Return of Datsyuk Sparks 'Tired" Wings

Heading into game 5 there was alot talk about Detorit being old, tired, and too slow for the speedy and youthful Penguins. We were all talking about how mature Pittsburgh has become, how focused they seem to be, and how Malkin and Crosby are too much for the Wings to deal with.

Well we can all just pause.

The Red Wings pushed back in the cozy confines of Joe Louis arena and sent a very clear message to the hockey world; we are the champs, we're the Red Wings, and we're still the best team in the NHL.The Penguins bore the brunt of the message, getting completely outplayed in every facet of the game en route to 5-0 loss, pushing the Pens to the brink of elimination.

Game 6 goes tomorrow night in Pittsburgh at 9:00 atlantic.

The absence of Pavel Datsyuk and the effect it had on Detroit was front and center for all to see. Datsyuk set up the first goal of the game by Dan Cleary, and his ability to dangle the puck for extended moments in the attacking zone was critical to Detroit's victory on saturday.

Something else happened on saturday night on a personal level. I found myself cheering without hesitation or regret for the Detroit Red Wings. I tried to remain impartial, and the Penguins are a pretty easy team to like as well.

But this Detroit team is undeniably likeable, from the gritty newf, Dan Cleary, to the classy old blueliner, Niklas Lidstrom. The Wings play hard. play together, and are completely focused on winning. They seemingly have no egos, no attitude, and genuinely enjoy playing with each other. They listen to thier coach, they cheer each other own, and do not bad mouth the other team to the media. Finally, they don't make excuses, and they don't get caught up wih Pittsburgh's antics at the end of games (see Talbott slash on Datsyuk).

Needless to say, I'll be rooting for red and white on Tuesday night.

Television Ratings for NBA down from last year, NHL ratings highest in 7 years.

You're not the only sports fan not watching the NBA finals. See below from the Associated Press;

"Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals has earned the series' highest cable television rating since 2002. The Pittsburgh Penguins' 4-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Versus on Thursday night drew a 2.8 rating and averaged 3.45 million viewers. The network said Monday that the average 2.7 rating for Games 3 and 4 was up 42 percent over the two games it aired last year. Versus showed Games 1 and 2 in 2008.
The 2.8 rating was the highest on Versus, beating the previous record set by Game 3.

Television ratings for Game 2 of the NBA finals are down slightly from last year.
ABC said Monday that the Los Angeles Lakers' 101-96 overtime win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday night earned an 8.2 fast national rating. That's down less than 4 percent from the 8.5 for last season's Game 2 between the Lakers and Boston Celtics.
Ratings represent the percentage of all homes with televisions tuned into a program"

One interesting observation of these numbers is that, even though he NHL's numbers are up, they're still 5.5 points below that of the NBA finals. 5.5 points in these ratings represent a huge gap. However, it's progress, and it's good to see that a few more people in the US are watching the game we love. If we can get close to the NBA, which alot of americans do not care about, maybe we will be considered a major market sport in the US once again.

Notes

Wonder why the Toronto Blue Jays have are 5-14 in their last 19 games? One major reason is a lack of productivity in the clutch. Whose the biggest offender? None other than franchise player Vernon Wells. V-dub is hitting .164 with runners in scoring position, with 3 homers and 25 rbi's. Even his parents are getting frustrated. Tonight in Wells' home state of Texas, Vernon struck out looking vs the Rangers, stranding Alex Rios at second base. Sportsnet's cameras flashed to Wells parents in the stands, just as his father threw up his hands, at a complete loss as to why his son didn't swing his bat, while his mother looked disgusted.........Think the Jays might trade Roy Halladay? Don't count on it. Halladay firmly established himself as the best pitcher in baseball with sunday's performance vs the Kansas City Royals. Halladay threw a complete game shutout, throwing only 97 pitches and taking only 2 hours, 20 minutes to collect his league leading 10th win of the season.........If the Red Wings are upset about Maxime Talbott taking a shot at Pavel Datyuk's injured right foot near the end of game 5, they certainly aren't showing it. To a man the Red Wings offered no response worth print when asked about Talbott's inexcusable hack.......Best name in MLB this season? Texas Rangers catcher, Jarrod Saltamacchia.........Just so you know, if the Pens win tomorrow night, game 7 of the Cup finals will be Friday night.........Brett Favre had surgery on his throwing shoulder, fueling suspicion he may still play this season with the Vikings. Vikings great Fran Tarkenton spoke out last week, saying that Favre is embarrasing himself and needs to give it up. I know Favre is stubborn, but if Fran Tarkenton is telling you to hang them up, you need to think about it.........the NHLPA has come forward and said that the NHL needs to leave Phoenix.......the Cowboys have denied any reports that they are looking to re-sign Adam "Pacman" Jones....... Confirmed guests for CKDU Sports next monday at 10:00 am include baseball analyst Steve Betts, and the Head Coach of Dalhousie Tigers men's hockey, Pete Belliveau. Speaking of Dal hockey, a second Tanguay will be playing in Halifax. Alex's little brother, Maxime, has committed to the Tigers this season. Maxime was a draft pick of Chicago and scored 66 points last season with Victoriaville of the Q league.

Penguins Win! Blue Jays Back on Track.

Pens Pass Gut Check

It was gut check time tonight for an aspiring stanley cup Penguins team that found out over the weekend they still had alot to learn about how to win hockey games in June. After being outplayed in nearly every facet of the game through 2 games in 24 hours over the weekend, Pittsburgh found themselves behind 2-1 in game 3 at Mellon Arena in front of a silenced crowd.
It seemed liek everything the pundits were saying was true; that Detroit is just too deep, too confident, and too savvy to beat. The Penguins had come out with energy and intensity, scoring the games first goal on a blast by Maxime Talbot, but it had not been enough. The series was officially on the line, and the Penguins were in trouble of being brushed aside once again by the mighty Detroit Red Wings.
Not tonight.
Kristopher Letang blasted one through the legs of Chris Osgood with 4 minutes left in the 1st period, on a shot that Osgood probably did not see thanks to Nicholas Cronwall, and Pittsburgh was back. Pittsburgh held on through a Detroit onslaught in the second period, being outshot 14-4, then scored on a power play goal by Sergei Gonchar midway through the 3rd period to take a lead they would not relinquish. Maxime Talbot added an empty netter to secure the victory, and we now have a series.
Pittsburgh got some lucky breaks no doubt, but they earned them by playing hard. The Pens outhit Detroit 36-17 and blocked seemingly dozens of shot in the waning minutes of the game.
Fleury was sensational, Maxime Talbot was everywhere, Matt Cooke brought alot of physicality, and Syd the Kid got his first point of the series. Game 4 goes Thursday night at 9:00 atlantic in Pittsburgh.
Chris Tremblay will be on Haligonia Sports this friday to give a full analysis of all the games played so far and a preview of the game on saturday night. Haligonia Sports on haligonia.ca!

Blue Jays Back On Track

Roy Halladay threw a complete game for his league leading 9th win of the season, and Alex Rios hit a solo shot to help the Jays beat L.A. 6-4. Halladay struck out 14 while giving up 7 hits. The Jays have now won 3 of 4 and are slowly recovering after that horrid 9 game losing streak in late may. Halladay gave up 4 runs in the 7th but Cito Gaston still stayed with his ace and allowed Halladay to finish the game. Do you think Cito respects the Doc much? How many managers would let their starter fight through a 4 run 7th inning en route to a complete game? I'd be willing to argue that Halladay is the only pitcher in baseball that gets that kind of respect.

Big win for the Jays....the Yanks, Red Sox, and Rays all won tonight as well. Hard to believe there are big games being played in June, but in a 4 team race, every game is important.

Malkin Suspension Rescinded for Game 3

Penguins fans rejoice, you will have your second best player in the lineup Tuesday night for your pivotal game 3 at home vs the Red Wings. Colin Campbell announced, as expected, that Malkin's automatic 1 game suspension for receiving an instigator penalty in game 2, would be rescinded and Malkin would be cleared to play.

By NHL rule, supposedly, any player given an instigator penalty in the last 5 minutes of a game, will be handed a 1 game suspension to be served immediately. Malkin was given the penalty when he started a fight with Red Wings star Henrik Zetterburg in the waning moments of game 2.

Campbell had the following explanation for the decision; "Suspensions are applied under this rule when a team attempts to send a message in the last five minutes by having a player instigate a fight," Campbell said in a statement. "A suspension could also be applied when a player seeks retribution for a prior incident. Neither was the case here and therefore the one game suspension is rescinded."

Fortunately for Malkin, Carolina's Scott Walker had his 1 game suspension rescinded by Campbell as well when he flattened Bruins defenceman Aaron Ward a few weeks back. Walker's disgusting and unprovoked haymaker on Ward makes Malkin's pathetic attempt to land some feeble blows on Zetterburg look pretty pale in comparison.

One of my favourite subplots in the series is Detroit's refusal to give any recognition with the press to the efforts of Crosby and Malkin to act tough at the end of games. In both instances, when the media asked Detroit players for their thoughts on the actions of the Penguin's superstars, Detroit players shrugged it off and said it was no big deal. Great mind game right there. Malkin and Crosby have obviously took it upon themselves to be more physical and show some toughness, and Detroit refuses to acknoweldege it, almost laughing it off.

Game 3 goes Tuesday night at 9:00 atlantic, game 4 on Thursday night at the same time.

CBC took the first major step in replacing Bob Cole as the network's number 1 play by play man. As you know by now, Jim Hughson is covering the Stanley Cup finals, replacing the 76 year old Cole who has been calling the finals since the death of Harry Gallivan. When asked to comment, Cole simply said, "oh baby"...............In "stop the world I want to get off" news, Cleveland Browns' rookies are pissed off at Eric Mangini for making them take a 10 hour bus ride to work a football camp that Mangini had organized for troubled youth. Think about that as you do your mundane or awful job for a salary that is a fraction of what these jerks are paid.......Roy Oswalt says he will not accept a trade to the Chicago White Sox, becoming the second premier NL pitcher, along with Jake Peavy, to decline an existing or potential trade to the Sox..........Jacques Martin was hired as the new head coach of the Montreal Canadiens, a great choice by Bob Gainey, I still don't know why Ottawa ever let him go.........Lakers and Magic get started on Thursday night at 10:00 ATL. In other NBA news, Lebron James says he is very pleased with the Cavaliers development this season and thinks they will be even better next season. Hey Bron Bron, we're not buying it, we know you're gone after 2010.........The Fed had to come back from 2 sets down to beat that evil german, Tommy Haas, to advance to the quarter finals. Federer struggled to win almost all of his matches in the preliminary rounds. With arch rival Rafael Nadal eliminated, Federer will be trying to win his first French Open.