Tuesday, May 31, 2011

NHL returns to Winnipeg after sale of Thrashers to Canadian Investors

By Ray Bennett
Tuesday May 31, 2011

In 1996, after 23 years of existence, the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada bid farewell to their professional hockey team, the Winnipeg Jets. For years, the Winnipeg community has clamored for support for a team to return to the city.

16 years later, the citizens of Winnipeg and Manitoba got their wish from a group of investors trying to buy a struggling franchise in Atlanta, Georgia.

On Tuesday, a Canadian group of investors known as True North Sports and Entertainment announced that they have finalized a sale that would move the Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg and begin play just in time for the 2011-2012 NHL season. The announcement was made at the MTS Centre in downtown Winnipeg as former Jets fans cheered outside the town's main square.

After certain league approval in the Board of Governors meeting on June 21, the team will pack up and move north of the boarder. The Thrashers will also have to change their name because the Thrasher name was coined after the official state bird of Georgia. Rumors are going around that the Jets name could be used, however no decision has been made by the soon-to-be new owners. The team will play in the Eastern Conference for the 2011-2012 season.

After the Jets moved to Phoenix, Arizona in 1996, the city of Winnipeg pushed the NHL and Commissioner Gary Bettman to bring back the franchise or create an expansion team. After the original Jets, now named the Coyotes, got into trouble looking for a new owner, Winnipeg was hoping that their Jets would return. The closest the Coyotes were to possibly moving back to Canada was after their elimination in the First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs this past season. However, the City of Phoenix struck a deal to keep the team in the desert for at least another year.

After the Coyotes to Winnipeg talk died down, rumors started to circulate that True North started talks with the struggling Thrashers franchise. A couple of weeks ago, league officials were sure that the Thrashers' owners Atlanta Spirit, who also owns the Atlanta Hawks NBA franchise and Phillips Arena, would sell the team to True North.

Since the team's inaugural season in 1999-2000, the Thrashers have struggled to find a fan base in the largely urban city of Atlanta. The team has served as the launching pad for the career's of Danny Heatley and Ilya Kovalchuck. In the team's eleven seasons of existence, the Thrashers have only made it to the playoffs once, getting swept by the New York Rangers in the First Round of the 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Thrashers have been plagued by financial trouble and low attendance. Since their first and only playoff appearance, average attendance for Thrashers games at Phillips Arena have been the near the bottom of the league for the past few seasons. With the team losing money and fan support, Atlanta Spirit had no choice but to sell and move the team.

The move of the Thrashers also marks the second time an NHL franchise will relocate from the city of Atlanta. Back in 1980, the Flames moved to Calgary, Alberta, Canada after struggling in Atlanta for eight seasons. After the relocation to Canada, the Flames have been to the Stanley Cup Finals three times in 1986, 1989, and 2004. The Flames won their first and only Cup in 1989. Atlanta is the first city in the modern era of the NHL to lose two separate franchises.

The new Winnipeg franchise will play their games at the 15,000+ seat MTS Centre in downtown Winnipeg. The deal to buy the Thrashers is reportedly priced at $170 million. The new owners will have to pay a $60 million relocation fee to the league to ensure the move of the team.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Red Wings Defenseman Rafalski to retire

By Ray Bennett
Tuesday May 24, 2011

Veteran defenseman Brian Rafalski, who has played the past eleven years in the NHL and was intricate part of Team USA's silver medal runs in the 2002 and 2010 Winter Olympics, is expected to retire from hockey. Rafalski, who has played the past few seasons in Detroit after playing seven seasons with the New Jersey Devils, confirmed a report from TSN in Canada that broke on Monday that he will end his playing career. A press conference is scheduled for Wednesday morning in Detroit that will also include Red Wings General Manager Ken Holland.

The decision by Rafalski to retire gives the Red Wings an additional $6 million in cap space for next season. Rafalski would have entered the final year of a five-year, $30 million contract that he signed back in 2007 if he chose to come back.

A native of Dearborn, Michigan, Rafalski had a tough time trying to break into the NHL. After playing college hockey for the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Rafalski traveled overseas to play in the Swedish Eliet League for Brynas IF in 1995. After spending a season Sweden, he then moved to Finland to play in SM-liiga for three seasons for two different teams. After a season in which he scored 19 goals and 34 assists in 53 games for HIFK, the New Jersey Devils were impressed by his offensive output and signed him as a free agent for the 1999-2000 season.

A rookie at the age of 26, Rafalski recorded 5 goals and 27 assists with a plus/minus of 21, tying all NHL rookies in total points. Rafalski was a finalist for the Calder Trophy, awarded to the league's top rookie, losing to teammate Scott Gomez. Paired with future hall-of-famer Scott Stevens, Rafalski contributed to the Devils' 2000 Stanley Cup Championship run. He increased his production the following season, recording 52 points in 78 regular season games. The Devils made it back to the Stanley Cup Finals, only to be beaten by the Colorado Avalanche in a hard fought seven game series.

The 2001-2002 NHL season saw Rafalski selected to his first All-Star Game, only to not participate due to an injury. The following season saw Rafalski and the Devils win another Stanley Cup, this time against the then Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in seven games. Rafalski played in two All-Star Games as a member of the Eastern Conference, starting in the 2004 game and as a reserve in 2007. After his seven seasons in New Jersey, Rafalski signed to play for his hometown Detroit Red Wings after the 2006-2007 season.

Teamed up with another future hall-of-fame defenseman in Nicklas Lidstrom, Rafalski set a career-high in goals scored in his first season with the Red Wings with 13 goals in 73 regular season games. He helped the Red Wings win their eleventh Stanley Cup in team history and his third in eight NHL seasons. In the series-clinching sixth game, he scored the team's first goal in 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. In eleven NHL seasons, Rafalski scored 79 career goals and 436 assists in 833 games.

Rafalski was also an accomplished Olympic athlete, playing in three Winter Olympic Games for Team USA in 2002, 2006, and 2010. He first represented the United States in the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City, winning a silver medal after losing in the Gold Medal game against Canada. After a disappointing performance with the rest of Team USA in the 2006 Games in Torino, Italy, Rafalski returned to represent his country in 2010 Games in Vancouver. As an alternate captain, he led all Olympic defensemen in points and goals scored with four goals and four assists in another silver medal campaign, falling short to Team Canada again. Including a stint on Team USA in the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, he scored five career goals and eleven career assists in four separate appearances in international play.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Cavaliers win NBA Draft Lottery; obtain No. 1 overall selection

By Ray Bennett
Tuesday May 17, 2011

In 2003, the Cleveland Cavaliers changed the course of their franchise's history by picking Lebron James with the number one overall pick in the NBA Draft. Eight years later, Owner Dan Gilbert has a chance to rebuild the team around two possible players that could bring them back to the playoffs.

The Cavaliers won the annual NBA Draft Lottery on Tuesday, beating out the Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz and nine other teams for that honor. Cleveland is expected to select Duke guard Kyrie Irving with the number one overall pick. Cleveland had the second best odds to win the lottery, behind the Timberwolves who ended up with the number two overall pick.

The Cavaliers also obtained the number four overall pick via the Barron Davis trade with the Los Angeles Clippers. The Utah Jazz is the other team with multiple lottery picks, obtaining the third overall pick from the Derron Williams trade with the New Jersey Nets and the twelfth overall pick for missing the playoffs. The Toronto Raptors round out the top five, picking at the fifth spot.

The Cavaliers are coming off their first season without Lebron James after he left the city to play for the Miami Heat. This past season under first year coach Byron Scott, Cleveland finished with an overall record of 19-63, the worst in the Eastern Conference and the second worst in the league behind the Timberwolves. The transition season included an NBA record 26 game losing streak that lasted from late December to early to mid-February.

Last year's lottery winner the Washington Wizards ended up with the sixth pick in the draft. Last year, the Wizards selected guard John Wall from Kentucky. Wall had a strong rookie season, finishing with 16.4 points per game and 8.3 assists per game. The Sacramento Kings (7th), Detroit Pistons (8th), Charlotte Bobcats (9th), Milwaukee Bucks (10th), Golden State Warriors (11th), Phoenix Suns (13th) and Houston Rockets (14th) were the other teams involved in this years lottery as they missed the playoffs.

Although he missed most of his freshman year at Duke with an injury in his right big toe, Irving is considered the top prospect in this year's draft. Irving played and started in eleven games averaging 17.5 points and 4.3 assists per game in his only year at Duke.

Many have considered this year's draft class as the weakest since the 2000 NBA Draft. With only a few players like Irving, Arizona power forward Derrick Williams, Turkish forward Furkan Aldemar and Lithuanian center Jonas Valanciunas, finding a franchise player will be hard to come by. Other notable players in this years draft class includes Connecticut guard and the NCAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player Kemba Walker, Texas forward Tristan Thompson, Kansas forwards Marcus and Markieff Morris, guard Josh Selby and Kentucky guards Brandon Knight and DeAndre Liggins.

The 2011 NBA Draft will take place on June 23 at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. This will be the first time that the NBA Draft will be held at an NBA arena since 2000 when it was held at the Target Center in Minneapolis, MN. From 2001 to 2010, the draft was held at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The NBA Draft is expected to be the last time that teams can move players before the looming standoff between the NBA and the players association. The league's current collective bargaining agreement expires at midnight on July 1.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Rangers F Derek Boogaard dies at 28; cause of death unknown

By Ray Bennett
Saturday May 14, 2011

New York Rangers forward Derek Boogaard, a feared enforcer in the NHL for the past few years, was found dead in his Minneapolis apartment late Friday night at the age of 28. Members of his family discovered that he was unconscious and unresponsive. No cause of death was reported at the scene. Police said that they will perform an autopsy and results will not be known for at least 3-4 weeks.

Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather released a statement after news broke of Boogaard's death: "Derek was an extremely kind and caring individual. He was a very thoughtful person, who will be dearly missed by those who knew him. We extend our deepest sympathies to his family, friends and teammates during this difficult time."

Boogaard was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada on June 23, 1982. After playing junior league hockey in the Western Hockey League for three teams, Boogaard was drafted by the Minnesota Wild in the seventh round in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. After playing for a few years in the East Coast Hockey League for the Louisiana IceGators and the Houston Aeros, Boogaard made his first NHL roster for the Wild in the 2005-06 season.

Nicknamed "The Boogyman" for his rough play, Boogaard was mostly known in his NHL career as an enforcer. His first notable incident was a knockout of former Anaheim Ducks enforcer Todd Fedoruk during a fight in his rookie season, resulting in a shattered cheekbone that had to be reconstructed with titanium plates. Ironically, Fedoruk would later become a teammate of Boogaard's for the Wild for a short time in the 2007-08 season.

Boogaard lived up to his reputation as an enforcer, racking up 589 career penalty minutes throughout his six year NHL career. Boogaard signed a four year, $6.5 million contract last summer for the Rangers, re-joining former Wild teammate Marian Gaborik. He had a goal, an assist and 45 penalty minutes in 22 games before a concussion and knee injury prematurely ended his season. Boogaard tallied 3 goals, two of them in his rookie season, and 13 assists in his six years in the NHL. He appeared in the playoffs twice for the Wild, getting only one assist and 44 penalty minutes in 10 career playoff games.

The NHL honored Boogaard with a moment of silence before Game One of Saturday's Eastern Conference Finals between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Boston Bruins.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Tigers P Verlander Throws Second Career No-Hitter; takes Perfect Game into 8th inning; Tigers beat Blue Jays 9-0

By Ray Bennett
Saturday May 7, 2011

At the end of seven innings in Toronto, the fans in attendance at Rogers Centre had a feeling that something big was going to happen. The man who was pitching for the visiting team missed a big career achievement. However, he made up for it with achieving an even bigger feat.

Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander threw his second career no-hitter in a 9-0 victory Saturday over the Toronto Blue Jays. The no-hitter is the seventh in the Detroit Tigers 100+ year history. Verlander also became the second Tiger to pitch multiple no-hitters, joining Virgil Trucks and his two gems back in 1952.

Verlander had chance to pitch the first Perfect Game in team history. After retiring the first 22 batters in the game with one out in the eighth inning, Verlander faced off against Blue Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia. The at-bat went was full of foul tips and outside pitches. On the twelfth pitch of the at-bat, Verlander threw a 100 MPH fastball on the outside for ball four, walking Arencibia and breaking up the perfect game after seven-and-a-third innings pitched.

The next batter Verlander faced was Edwin Encarnacion. On a one-one pitch, Encarnacion grounded out into a six-four-three double play to end the inning, keeping the no-hitter in tact.

Entering the bottom of the ninth, Verlander got David Cooper to pop out to Tigers second baseman Scott Sizemore for the first out. The next batter John McDonald grounded out to Sizemore for the second out. The next Blue Jay at the plate was right fielder Rajai Davis. On a two-two count in the at-bat, Davis swung and missed at a fastball, capping off the second no-hitter in Verlander's career.

When he pitched his first no-hitter against the Milwaukee Brewers on June 12, 2007, Verlander struck out 12 batters. In Saturday's no-hitter, he only managed to record four strikeouts. This is the second no-hitter of the week, with the first being thrown by Francisco Liriano of the Tigers' division rival Minnesota Twins on Tuesday. Brewers pitcher Yovani Gallardo had a no-hitter going into the eighth in Saturday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals, until it was broken up by St. Louis third baseman Daniel Descalso.

Verlander had a lot of help from his teammates on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. In the top of the third, facing Blue Jays ace Ricky Romero, Sizemore walked with the bases loaded to score catcher Alex Avila. With Magglio Ordonez at the plate, Romero threw a wild pitch that scored Tigers 3B Brandon Inge. Later in the at-bat, Tigers center fielder Austin Jackson, who went 3-5 with a double in the game, scored on an Ordonez ground out.

In the top of the fourth, Tigers Shortstop Jhonny Peralta hit his first home run of the season by hitting a pitch to deep left field. After a Ryan Raburn double, Avila homered to deep right, his sixth of the season, increasing the Tigers lead to 5-0. Romero left after giving up the home run, pitching only three-and-one-third-innings.

The Tigers increased the lead to six with a Victor Martinez RBI Single that scored Miguel Cabrera. In the bottom half of the inning, Verlander faced Encarnacion, who hit the ball off of Verlander's glove. Verlander then managed to get the ball and throw to Cabrera in time for the final out of the inning. Cabrera made another great defensive play by catching a liner with two outs in the sixth to preserve the then perfect game-bid.

The Tigers added two more runs in the top of the ninth. After Blue Jays reliever Casey Janssen walked the bases loaded, Octavio Dotel came in for him and gave up RBI Singles to Martinez and Peralta, making the score 9-0.

Verlander, who brought his 2011 season record to 3-3 with the victory, also becomes the 27th pitcher in Major League history to pitch multiple no-hitters. The record for the most no-hitters ever thrown by one pitcher is held by Baseball Hall-of-Famer Nolan Ryan, who pitched seven no-hitters with four different teams in his 26 year Major League career. Ryan is the current co-owner of the Texas Rangers, one of the teams he played for in his career.

The Tigers win brings their overall record on the 2011 season to 16-18. The Blue Jays loss drops them to 15-18. Both teams continue their four game series on Sunday. Brad Penny starts for Detroit, while rookie Kyle Drebek goes for Toronto.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Bulls Point Guard Rose becomes youngest MVP in NBA History

By Ray Bennett
Tuesday May 3rd, 2011

In 2008, the Chicago Bulls used their number one overall lottery pick on a young point guard who grew up on the city's south side. Many within the organization believed he would be the first piece to rebuilding a team that has never tasted success since their string of two separate three-peat's in the 1990's. Three years later, the young man they drafted now holds the NBA's highest personal award.

On Tuesday, Bulls point guard Derrick Rose won the National Basketball Association's Most Valuable Player award. At the age of 22, Rose becomes the youngest player in league history to win the honor. Former Baltimore Bullets star Wes Unseld was previously the NBA's youngest MVP when he won it along with rookie of the year award at the age of 23. Rose obtained 113 first-place votes from esteemed members of the media.

Rose, who helped lead the Bulls to a league best regular season record of 62-20, averaged 25 points, 7.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game. Many league general managers believed that his play this past season would lead him to this personal accolade. Rose will officially obtain the award when Commissioner David Stern presents it to him before the Bulls Game Two match-up against the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals.

Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard finished second among players in MVP voting. Last year's winner, Miami Heat small forward Lebron James, who won the award playing for Cleveland, finished in third. Lakers veteran Kobe Bryant finished in fourth and Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant finished in fifth.

Rose joins legendary Bulls guard/forward Michael Jordan as the only two players in franchise history to win the MVP award. Jordan won it five times in his career, the last time in 1998, his final season with the team before retiring for the second time in his career. Jordan is now the majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats. Rose is also the second Bull this year to win a regular season award, with his coach Tom Thibodeau winning the league's Coach of the Year award in his first season this past week.

Rose played one year of college basketball at Memphis under former coach John Calipari. He helped the Tigers reach the 2008 national championship game, which they lost to Kansas in overtime. Later that summer, he was drafted by his hometown team. His eligibility at Memphis, however, was questioned by the NCAA after accusations about his low S.A.T scores came to light.

In his rookie season, he won the league's Rookie of the Year award at the age of 20. He became a rising star in the league after a memorable first-round playoff series in which the Bulls pushed the then defending champion Boston Celtics to the brink in a seven-game series. In his playoff debut, Rose tied Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most points scored by a first-time player with 36 points. The Bulls ended up losing the series to the Celtics four games to three.

In Rose's second season, he became a first time all-star as a reserve and the first Chicago Bull since Jordan to play in the game. This past season, Rose was elected back to the all-star game, this time as a starter. He also became the third player in league history to have over 2000 points and 600 assists in a single season. The other two players to achieve this were Jordan and Lebron James.

Rose is expected to start Game Two of the Bulls series against the Hawks after re-injuring his left ankle near the end of Monday's Game One loss. Rose first injured the ankle during their first round series against Central Division rival Indiana. The Bulls won the series in five games to advance to the conference Semi-Finals.