What's Next?

With the final weekend of the regular season upon us, I've been giving some thought to what we'll be doing at Off Wing over the next few months. After all, once the playoffs are done -- in a mere 10 weeks -- we might not get to see much NHL hockey for quite a while. And without the NHL, Off Wing Opinion loses a whole lot of content. And I'm not exactly sure I want to spend my time recapping the back in forth in the press between players and management.

So, I'll be going with a two-pronged approach. First, we're going to go out with a bang when it comes to this season. Once the playoff grid is set after this weekend's action, I'll be asking all of you who you think is going to win it all. Then we'll list your predictions along the margins on the left. Next, expect me to recap every playoff game, every morning. In addition, I'll be adding a set of local media links for every team that makes the playoffs.

Once the playoffs are over, we'll shift back into regular sports blog mode, getting absorbed in baseball the same way I do every Summer. In August, I'll be blogging from the opening round of the 2004 World Cup of Hockey in Montreal. I'll be in attendance for the opening round games in that city between the U.S. and Canada, followed by Canada and Slovakia two days later.

Of course, the NHL's Collective Bargaining Agreement is set to expire at Midnight of the World Cup Final, so what do we do then? I've got some ideas brewing, but I'd like to hear from my readers as well. Leave your ideas in the comments box below.

NHL Roundup

With the Western Conference title sewn up, the Red Wings put backup Marc Lamothe back in net for a 3-2 victory over the desperate St. Louis Blues. With the win, Detroit clinched the President's Trophy, annually awarded to the team that finishes the regular season with the best record. But as most hockey fans know, the winning the trophy is by no means the first step on the path to winning the Stanley Cup.

With St. Louis losing, Nashville moved to take advantage, defeating the Blackhawks 3-2 in Chicago. Former Hawk Steve Sullivan, proving to be one of the best deadline acquisitions this season, scored for the Predators against his former teammates. With the win, Nashville climbed into a three-way tie for seventh place in the Western Conference with St. Louis and Edmonton. By dint of the tiebreaker, St. Louis and Nashville are in, while Edmonton is on the outside in ninth. Both St. Louis and Nashville have two games remaining, Edmonton has just one.

Back East, three of the top teams in the Conference were in action. At home in Tampa, the Lightning scored three times in the third period to gain a 4-3 comeback win over las Panteras. Martin St. Louis scored twice for Tampa Bay. With the win, the Lightning have clinched first in the East and home ice advantage throughout the playoffs.

Up in Boston, the Bruins had to settle for a 3-3 tie with the undermanned Capitals. But more critically, Bruins captain Joe Thornton was forced to leave the game in the third period with the dreaded "upper body injury" that becomes so prevalent near playoff time. And in Montreal, the Flyers beat the suddenly slumping Canadiens, 2-0. The win moved the Flyers two points clear of New Jersey in the Atlantic Division. Both teams have two games remaining.

After a dispute with their hosting company, The Hockey Pundits are back! And with Edmonton looking like they might miss the playoffs after a 90 point season, Jordon Cooper is wondering if it isn't time to expand the playoffs once more. The official Off Wing position is no, the playoffs drag on way too long already -- especially since we stopped playing on back-to-back nights in order to accomodate the television people.

While the rest of us are looking forward to the playoffs, Steve Ovadia is still talking about the Rangers. The bridge and tunnel crowd laughs in your general direction. For another roundup of the Manhattan debacle, check outHockeybird.

If you're not already reading Vancouver Canucks Op Ed, you at least out to stop by for the Thursday Quote Sheet.

What's Your Backup Plan?

That's right, I'm talking to you, fans of the Caps, Rangers, Ducks, Wild, and any one of the other eight franchises who won't be participating in this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Now that your favorite team is out of the money, who are you going to root for?

As a fan of the New York Islanders, I'm quite familiar with this situation. My own formula usually takes the form of rooting for as many seven-game series as possible, along with a healthy side dish of upsets. By the time we get to the Finals, I'll always pull for the franchise that's never won the Cup before, or the team that's had the longest wait since their last title.

So tell me, who are you pulling for come playoff time?
_____________________________________________
*Thanks to reader Jeff Grimshaw for the suggestion.

NHL Roundup

In Columbus, the Red Wings scored two third period goals in a 3-2 win over the Blue Jackets. The win clinched the Western Conference title and home ice advantage throughout the playoffs for Detroit. Rob Visconti is rejoicing!

In Los Angeles, the Sharks shutout the Kings 3-0 behind Evgeni Nabakov's 22 saves, and clinched the Pacific Division and the second seed in the Western Conference playoffs. In anticipation of the banner raising next season, PJ at Sharkspage has been having some fun with Photoshop.

In St. Paul, Marc Chouinard scored his second goal of the game in the first minute of OT to give the Wild a 5-4 win over slumping Colorado. Minnesota Masterson Trophy nominee Alexandre Daigle added two goals and an assist for the Wild. Meanwhile, back in the O.C., the Canucks got a third period goal from Sami Salo with only 21 seconds remaining in the third period to defeat the Ducks, 2-1. The win, combined with Colorado's OTL, moved the Canucks into a first place tie with the Avalanche in the Northwest Division. By virtue of the tiebreaker, the Canucks actually lead the division, and currently own the third playoff seed that goes with it.

In Phoenix, Jarome Iginla's first period goal was all Calgary needed in a 1-0 victory over the Coyotes. Mikka Kiprusoff had 27 saves in the victory.

Further South in the Western Conference standings, the Oilers continued their heroic drive for a playoff spot with a 3-1 win over the Stars on enemy ice in Dallas. The win moved Edmonton back into the eighth spot in the Conference, just two points ahead of idle Nashville. Unfortunately for the gallant Oil, Nashville has three games remaining compared to just one for Edmonton.

Back East, the Islanders awoke from another periodic funk to crush the Canadiens, 5-1. Adrian Aucoin and Mark Parrish both scored twice for New York, who couldn't pull away from ninth place Buffalo after their 4-3 win over the Rangers in Manhattan. With two games remaining for both teams, Buffalo still trails the Islanders by three points.

In Sunrise, the five different players scored for the Senators in a 5-4 win over Florida. With the win, the Sens clawed their way back into fourth place in the East.

After the game at the Garden, it sure looked like Mark Messier was saying goodbye. Thanks for the memories, #11. Elsewhere, Patrick Roy is still retired, just like Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead. Steve Ovadia has some thoughts.

Todd Bertuzzi has hired a lawyer. Thanks to Tom Benjamin for the link. If you're looking to get a better handle on the NHL labor impasse, check out Ordinary Least Square, written by a Rangers fan out of New York. Lots of solid business reporting here that could easily be found in the pages of the Wall Street Journal or Forbes.

Bidding Adu To Amateurism

Noted with some derision by Tom Knott at the Washington Times today:

The professionalism of 14-year-old Freddy Adu has not elicited a flood of tears in the national press, which is in contrast to all the wailing that is done whenever a basketball player elects to go from high school to the NBA.

There is always a long line of overactive tear ducts trailing the next basketball sensation. There is always a heartfelt discussion regarding the player's loss of innocence and failure to expand his mind in college.

There are always so many tears in the months leading up to the NBA Draft, usually enough to replenish the water supply of drought-stricken areas.

But there has been no crying around Adu, just effusive praise wherever he goes, and lately, he has been popping up everywhere, telling his story as the next best hope to save soccer in America.

Knott touches on a point we've made before, though the comparison I've made is usually with teenage female figure skaters, gymnasts and tennis players. The only reason we don't experience any gnashing of teeth over Adu, is that American college Soccer isn't a multi-million dollar business the way football and basketball are. And of course, when you're dealing with economic interests that traffic in figures like those, they tend to have rather large megaphones.

Which brings us to another burning issue, that of the impending court battle between Maurice Clarett and the National Football League. In a perfect world, there wouldn't really be any dispute here at all. If young Mr. Clarett isn't ready for life in the NFL, he would simply not be drafted, or perhaps wash out sometime during training camp. Few tears would be shed, and we would all get on with our lives.

But consider this scenario for just a moment more. Say Clarett wanted to go back to playing college ball? Would it really be that big a deal? And why isn't that option open to all college athletes?

Way To Go, Jimmy!

Congratulations to Jimmy Patsos, who after 13 seasons working as an assistant head basketball coach under Gary Williams at the University of Maryland, has been named head coach at Loyola of Baltimore.

Why notice at all? Because Patsos and I are both members of the class of 1989 at Washington, D.C.'s Catholic University. Always happy to see a fellow alum make it big.

NHL Roundup

In Raleigh, the Bruins edged the Hurricanes, 3-2, breaking a first place tie in the Northeast Division with the Maple Leafs. The Bruins trail Tampa Bay by three points for the Eastern Conference lead,as Boston has three games remaining with one in hand. With a 5-0 victory at home over the woeful Rangers, the Devils pulled themselves into a first place tie with Philly in the Atlantic Division. Steve Ovadia thinks the Flyers are just out of gas.

In St. Louis, the Blues dealt a nasty blow to the plyoff hopes of the Edmonton Oilers, dispatching the heroic Oilers 1-0. Doug Weight scored the game's only goal for St. Louis in the first period. Meanwhile in Nashville, the Predators crushed the Blackhawks, 5-2.

With only two games remaining on the schedule, Edmonton is tied with Nashville at 87 points for the eighth and final playoff spot, though the Predators have a game in hand and own the tiebreaker based on wins. St. Louis, also with three games remaining, is in seventh with 89 points.

And in also-ran news, the Capitals helped the Penguins get that much closer to drafting Alexander Ovechkin by dealing Pittsburgh a 4-2 loss in the capital of the free world. Trent Whitfield scored twice for Washington, while minor league re-tread Matt Yeats got the first win of his NHL career, posting 27 saves.

Jimmy The Greek, Al Campanis, And Now. . .

Ladies and gentleman, I give you Notre Dame football legend, and former Heisman Trophy winner, Paul Hornung:

Hornung told Detroit's AM-1270 The Sports Station (an ESPN radio affiliate) on Tuesday that Notre Dame must ease up on its academic restrictions because "We gotta get the black athlete," he said. "We must get the black athlete if we're going to compete."

Hornung said that Notre Dame's schedule factors into his opinion.

"You can't play that type of schedule," Hornung said. "We're playing eight bowl teams next year ... and it's always year in and year out ... one of the toughest schedules.

"You can't play a schedule like that unless you have the black athlete today. You just can't do it, and it's very, very tough, still, to get into Notre Dame. They just don't understand it, yet they want to win."

Hornung is part of the national radio broadcast team that covers Notre Dame games during the season, and I say there's about a 50/50 chance he won't survive this gaffe.

NHL2Night No More

It was first mentioned as an aside in the Los Angeles Times' TV-Radio column (registration required), and confirmed at the close of the latest ESPN.com column by John Buccigross: this season will be the last for ESPN 2's NHL2Night highlights show.

For hockey fans here in the States, NHL2Night was a lifeline -- the only indication that anyone in sports television cared about the NHL at all. For the most part banished to the hours well past Midnight, NHL2Night was where we first encountered the twisted humor of Kenny Mayne, the straight-ahead delivery of Bill Pidto, and finally, the appealing combination of alternative rock, pop culture, and passion for the game demonstrated by the aforementioned Buccigross.

A few days ago, Colby Cosh called Buccigross "the most entertaining hockey writer in English," but there's a whole lot more to it. On NHL2Night, Buccigross was not only the perfect foil to Barry Melrose, but also proved to be infinitely patient as he helped break in a number of new broadcast partners -- E.J. Hradek, Ray Ferraro, and Darren Pang (along with Harold Reynolds, an object lesson in how ESPN can turn an ex-jock into a superior broadcaster).

It's a shame Buccigross didn't connect with a larger audience. More often than not, he came off to me as somebody who could have lived down the hall from me in my dorm at college -- spinning alt-rock in the wee hours of the morning one second, and then completely absorbed in an argument about the future of North America's greatest game.

To be sure, ESPN will probably find something else for Buccigross to do -- he's simply too talented for it to be any other way. If you don't agree, then you probably won't understand why I'm crushed that Bruce Driver never wore #8 in his illustrious career either.

POSTSCRIPT: One last thought: if the NHL highlight show is disappearing from ESPN2, the news can't possibly be good for the rest of the NHL's relationship with ABC/ESPN. Looks like they won't be renewing that contract.

Showstopper

Just posted over at the Washington Post:

In what could prove a significant step in the evolution of women's athletics, a high school girls basketball player did more than just compete in a slam dunk contest Monday against five of the nation's best high school boys players.

Candace Parker, a 6-3 17-year-old from Naperville, Ill., won the event, beating a field of male competitors that included at least two who could be playing in the NBA next season.

"I was saying earlier that I hope 10 years from now this isn't a big deal," said Parker, who will play at Tennessee next season. "That would be my dream. That 10 years from now three or four girls enter the dunk contest and it's not a big deal. It's not like, 'Wow, she won.' I hope that happens."

It's all part of a McDonald's All-American Game that will be televised Wednesday night on ESPN. Be sure to tune in.

The New Guy

Tony Kornheiser loyalist Steve MacLaughlin has a review of Colin Cowherd, Mr. T's replacement on ESPN Radio. Some of Steve's readers think he's being too kind.

Dryden Ad Infinatum

Ken Dryden had a long piece in Sunday's Toronto Globe and Mail concerning the state of the game. He covered a lot of familiar ground, especially for those of us who saw his interview a couple of week's back on Hockey Night In Canada's Satellite Hot Stove, but there is plenty more worth pointing out:

"Finishing your check" is so familiar a phrase it seems it must have been part of the original game. It wasn't. It means, as a checker, going after the puck carrier so that even if he makes a pass, you keep going and run into him, too late to stop the pass, but not too late to stop him from continuing up the ice with the play. This is allowed. Indeed, it's a strategy coaches insist upon. Yet if a player is hit before a pass gets to him, this is interference, and everyone agrees. Worse, "finishing your check" rewards the player who is too slow to reach the puck carrier in time, and penalizes the puck carrier who is quick enough to make the pass ahead of the checker...

We need to see hits from behind and hits to the head for what they really are. We need to see finishing a check for what it really is. These and other plays are not traditions of the game worthy of protection. They have brought danger to the game. They have hurt the game.

This is hockey. Until somebody changes it.

Dryden finishes the piece with another call to fundamentally alter the way the game is played -- much in the same way it was changed when it allowed the forward pass and cut the number of skaters on the ice from six to five.

Beers With Sonny

I'm always full of praise for the Washington Times sports section, and one of the reasons why is Dick Heller, an old Washington hand who remembers what the town was like when Hot Shoppes was a cool place to take a date. He provides something called "institutional memory," and it's always something important for a paper to have around in addition to the young talent. A couple of days ago, Heller recalled his first, beer-soaked meeting with Sonny Jurgensen. Check it out now.

Cuban On The NHL

I dropped a note to Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban this morning to ask him what he thought of the NHL's labor woes, and he took the time to send me a response:

i actually think the NHL has a GREAT opportunity to fix their salary problems and use that as a catalyst to lower seat prices at arenas..

A whole lot of good can come of this

thanks,

M

Something to think about. Thanks to Mark for taking the time to answer my question.

The Real Grandaddy Of College Basketball

Yesterday I referred to the NIT as the grandaddy of college basketball tournaments. Turned out that I was wrong. That title rightly belongs to another tournament, as Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post reports:

The NAIA held the first national collegiate basketball championship, with help from James Naismith, here [Kansas City] 67 years ago -- a year before the National Invitational Tournament, two years before the NCAA tournament. The NAIA event exists now in an almost suspended animation; many of the fans have been coming for a half-century or more. They bring tales of a bustling downtown, a packed arena, fathers coming with sons, businessmen taking in a few games during their lunch break. The old-timers like the NCAA tournament too, but this is different, this is their basketball marathon.

The basketballs will bounce for another 16 hours during the first day of the seven-day whirlwind that features 32 teams playing a total of 31 games on one floor. The NCAA has 65 teams and 64 games at 14 sites over three weeks. Last year's NCAA tournament attracted more than 715,000 spectators; the NAIA's total attendance will probably creep over a combined 40,000. The NCAA has a $6 billion contract with CBS; tonight's NAIA final between Mountain (W. Va.) State and Concordia (Calif.) University on College Sports Television is the tournament's only nationally televised game.

To learn more about the NAIA, click here. And for those who bemoan what rampant commercialism has done to college athletics, think about that nearly empty gymnasium in Kansas City, and then think about this upcoming weekend in San Antonio. Where would you rather be?

NHL Roundup

In Tampa, the Lightning and the Senators played a wild third period where they combined to score six goals -- but in the end it was the Senators who prevailed, 5-4 in OT on a goal by defenseman Chris Phillips. Meanwhile, in Toronto*, the Maple Leafs beat the Thrashers, 4-2, pulling them into a tie for first place in the Northeast Division with idle Boston, with the Senators only one point behind Toronto. The Leafs got some bad news earlier in the day, when it was learned that they would lose winger Owen Nolan for three weeks after a knee injury he suffered over the weekend.

(Off the ice, the league has approved the sale of the Thrashers to a group of investors led by Steve Belkin.)

With three games to go, the Buffalo Sabres have three points to make up if they want to catch the New York Islanders for eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Last night, the Sabres just did what they had to do, waxing Columbus 6-0, as Dmitri Kalinin scored twice.

Ask yourself this question: who would you rather be this morning, Sabres GM Darcy Reiger or Islanders GM Mike Milbury? Something tells me that Reiger, who recently had his contract renewed by Sabres owner Thomas Golisano, is sleeping much more soundly these days.

Heck, I grew up as an Islanders fan, and now I'm even rooting for the Sabres.

Out West, Detroit dispatched Minnesota, 5-4, but the real news came up in the booth courtesy of ESPN's Darren Pang. During the game, Pang reported that Wild goaltending coach Bob Mason, a former roommate of Pang's during their playing days with the Blackhawks, had analyzed the play of Wings goalie Manny Legace and found that the popular backup has trouble covering his five hole. The result -- two goals by Wild winger Alexander Daigle. If I were a Wings fan, I'd start hoping that Curtis Joseph starts healing up fast.

In Denver, the Avalanche beat Los Angeles 2-1 on Teemu Selanne's third period goal, his first in 20 games. The win broke a six-game winless skid for Colorado, the longest in franchise history. The loss also officially eliminated the Kings from the playoff race. The Kings are mired in their longest losing streak (0-7-0-1) since the 1983-84 season.

Steve Moore of the Avalanche made his first public appearance since he was attacked by Vancouver Canuck Todd Bertuzzi during a game in Vancouver on March 8th. Moore, who says he still doesn't know whether or not he'll ever play hockey again, was given a standing ovation when it was announced he was in attendance at last night's game.

Back in Vancouver, the Canucks beat Phoenix 6-1, to stay just one point behind Colorado for first place in the Northwest Division, and third place in the Western Conference. Markus Naslund scored his first goal in 11 games for the Canucks, and Dan Cloutier recorded his 30th victory of the season.

And in also-ran news, Florida defeated Carolina 3-1. Roberto Luongo had 28 saves for las Panteras.

In other off-ice news, doctors have cleared Dallas Stars defenseman Teppo Numminen to return to the ice after concerns about a heart condition led them to sideline him last week. With North Dakota knocked out of the NCAA hockey tourney, Zach Parise was free to sign a contract with the New Jersey Devils, forfeiting his final two years of college eligibility. Parise, who will join U.S. college hockey alumni like Brian Rolston*, Scott Gomez, and Brian Gionta, ought to fit easily into the lineup in New Jersey. The Devils also announced, that team captain Scott Stevens, who suffered a concussion that's kept him out of the lineup most of the second half of the season, is still not ready to return to the ice.

CORRECTION: Boy, this is definitely not my day.

Thanks to the Hockey Ninja for pointing out that Rolston no longer plays for the Devils. And thanks to John at Rutgers for reminding me that Gomez never played college hockey, but instead played two years with the Tri-City Americans in the WHL. Thanks for the heads up, but my larger point of the Devils and Lou Lamiariello making a point of drafting American college players still holds.

Oh, and the Leafs-Thrashers game was in Toronto, not Atlanta. I need to get more sleep.

Around The Hockey Blogs

Colby Cosh was feeling guilty about subjecting his regular readership to his hockey musings, so he decided to revive his playoff page. Of course, this means the Hockey Gods will exact their revenge by keeping Edmonton out of the playoffs in favor of Nashville.

Like most serious Rangers fans, Hockeybird has wanted Mark Messier off MSG ice since the start of the season. This past weekend, his dastardly plan of embarassing Messier into retirement was put into motion. All I can ask is this: can Webster be next? Meanwhile, the Rodent is focussed firmly on the future, wondering if and when the Blueshirts will ever sign R.J. Umberger.

Check out On The Wings for a delightfully maniacal pic of Detroit defenseman Jiri Fischer (be sure to page down to find it).

Meanwhile, out in Vancouver, Tom Benjamin is taking on Brett Hull, while Jeff and Allanah are confronting USA Today's Kevin Allen:

7. The majority of players in the NHL are still Canadian, and there is tremendous pride in their country's hockey heritage.

[Yes, and some Canadians are known to enjoy the occasional hockey game, too. What's up with that?]

Indeed, what is up with that? Back East in Rhode Island, Joe Tasca has just posted an interview with Tampa Bay Lightning play-by-play announcer, Rick Peckham:

“I don’t think removing the instigator rule would solve the problem. A lot of people feel that once players who wouldn’t ordinarily get involved in rough stuff realize that they’re going to have to stand up for themselves and face retaliation, all of a sudden everything will stop. I think quite the opposite will happen. I think good players would be more vulnerable to attacks.”

Finally, want to know more about the Finnish hockey playoffs? Then get clicking and head on over to East of Sweden. As for me, I'm pulling for Kärpät.

More From Mark Cuban

In no time at all, Mark Cuban's Blog Maverick has become one of my daily stops on the Web -- and not just for his observations on the NBA:

A byproduct of passion is saying exactly how you feel in a way that you know will get someone’s attention, and listening to exactly how someone else feels when they need to get your attention. All of this is my way of saying that I expect people who work for me to yell at me, and I expect them to know that at times I will do the same. If someone is pissed off, if they think I’m doing something wrong, or the wrong way, and I’m being too pigheaded to see it. Blast me.

I have told just about everyone who has ever partnered or reported directly to me, that I can get so focused or involved that I lose sight of something(s). When that happens, you have done your homework and are confident in your position, and when I don’t listen, raise your voice. Figuratively, literally, I don’t care. I don’t see decibels as a sign of disrespect. I see fear to communicate a needed message to me as a sign of disrespect. If you don’t care enough about our product, customer, company, employee, whatever it may be to step up and let me have it when I’m screwing up, then you don’t care enough to be here.

Want to know why Cuban is a billionaire? He's just given a glimpse as to why.

No Longer The Belle Of The Ball

The National Invitational Tournament (NIT), the grandaddy of post-season college basketball, has filed an anti-trust suit against the NCAA alleging unfair business practices. Back in the 1950s and 60s, it wasn't unusual for teams to play in both tournaments, or decline an invitation to one in favor of the other. But back in the 1980s, according to NIT lawyer, Jeffrey Kessler:

The National Collegiate Athletic Association, however, was not happy with this exercise of free choice by its member schools and the resulting strong competition with the N.I.T. It saw the pot of gold that a monopoly could produce and, in the early 1980's, took decisive action.

The N.C.A.A. changed its rules so that all schools invited to its tournament would be required to boycott the N.I.T. under the pain of N.C.A.A. penalties, and combined that rule with a major expansion of the N.C.A.A. tournament field to 64 teams from 32. The result is that each year the N.I.T., or any other tournament that may try to enter the market, is prevented from competing for any of the best teams in the country, and the N.C.A.A.'s monopoly power and profits are assured.

As The Sports Economist notes, 20 years is a long time to wait to file an anti-trust suit, which makes me wonder what the motivation is to file the suit now. One has to wonder if the NIT might be having trouble with its finances.

Indeed, there was a time when the NIT was considered the most prestigious championship in college basketball. But over time, its influence, and prestige waned in favor of the NCAA. But was it because of monopoly power, or was it because of business savvy? After all, by expanding the tournament and awarding automatic bids to conference champions, the NCAA single-handedly created the "March Madness" that we know and love today (would the Northeast Conference Tournament be on television at all if it weren't for that automatic berth?).

Know this: if member schools would have forfeited bigger payouts from the NIT, while being forced to play in the NCAA, the folks in Kansas City would have never gotten away with it.

That being said, there's a lot to like about the NIT. It has a history, and it has a final at Madison Square Garden, still the most famous arena in American sport. And part of me would like to wonder what it might be like to have two 64-team tournaments going on simultaneously -- something that would make March madder than ever before.

But the NIT had its chance, and it seems to me that there were simply beaten in the marketplace. If they had wanted to compete head-to-head with the NCAA, they should have come to the table with more money for member schools, and expanded their field on their own. Instead, they simply decided not to compete, and not become the giant money-driven behemoth the NCAA Tournament is today. In a way, they're the Mom and Pop operation of college basketball, and have been for better than two decades. You have to wonder what the problem is now.

Expansion Blog

JC over at Old Fishinghat has started a baseball only blog, Sabernomics. Be sure to check it out.

NHL Weekend Roundup

If the New York Islanders make the playoffs this year, they ought to send a check for a playoff share to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Why? Because with a chance to clinch the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference with a two-won weekend over Carolina and New Jersey (admittedly not a simple task), the Islanders bonked again, dropping both games (3-1 to Carolina and 3-2 to Jersey).

Luckily for the Islanders, the recently revived Penguins stormed back at home from two goals down to tie Buffalo, 2-2. After settling for the tie, Buffalo sits five points in back of New York with four games to go and a game in hand.

In Newsday Islanders beat writer Alan Hahn lays the blame for the team's recent blahs on the poor performance of the team's power play. But in the same article, there was this report, which ought to give Isles GM Mike Milbury some pause:

Former Islanders coach Peter Laviolette earned a win in his first game back at the Coliseum since he was fired last June. Early in the game, the center-ice scoreboard showed him on the JumboTron with the message, "Thank You, Peter," which drew applause from the sellout crowd.

"That was really special," he said. "It was really nice to hear the fans like that."

Looks like the fans don't blame Laviolette for whatever ailed the team last season. Instead, Milbury ought to take that reaction as a signal that he's finally going to be held accountable for the team's performance after this season. And if their recent play is any indicator, the outcome won't be positive for Milbury.

Out West, what was a four-team scrum for the last two playoff spots is now down to three, as Los Angeles has faded from contention. Edmonton, by contrast, has played heroically, defeating the aforementioned Kings 3-1 at the Pharmacy on Friday night, and then downing the Coyotes 4-2 on Sunday.

St. Louis took advantage of a two-game series with woeful Chicago, posting back-to-back 4-3 and 3-1 victories on Saturday and Sunday. Combined with a 3-2 Nashville loss on Saturday to Columbus, St Louis and Edmonton are tied in seventh with 87 points, while Nashville sits alone in ninth with 85 points. St. Louis and Nashville have four games each remaining, while Edomonton has three.

In St. Louis, today marks the first anniversary of Chris Pronger's return to the ice after a wrist injury many thought might end his career. But when it comes to the Blues' near-term success, much of it is being attributed to the acquisition of winger Mike Sillinger:

After the trade on March 4, Sillinger swept into a Blues dressing room that was cranky and emotionally raw because of prolonged stretches of winless hockey. But the position the Blues were in exhilarated him. He hadn't sniffed the playoffs in years.

In the trade he went from Phoenix to pulling a phoenix.

He played 21 minutes, 43 seconds in his first game as a Blue - a season high - and had two assists, his first assists in 18 games. The Blues have continued to use him everywhere, to the tune of 20:10 in ice time a game.

He feels rejuvenated.

Edmonton plays St. Louis tomorrow night.

Just How Old Is Freddie Adu?

I just watched Leslie Stahl's profile of American Soccer prodigy Freddie Adu on Sixty Minutes, and came away with the distinct impression that there isn't any way this kid is only 14-years old.

As to why he and his family would lie about Adu's age, I don't have any answer. How about the rest of you?

The Trunk Monkey

Thanks to reader Dave S. of Reston, Virginia for pointing us to. . .

Click here and see for yourself. Looks like one auto dealer has a pretty good ad budget.

Why Notre Dame Football Plays On Saturdays

The latest from Pope John Paul II:

Pope John Paul on Friday said Sunday should be a day for God, not for secular diversions like entertainment and sports.

"When Sunday loses its fundamental meaning and becomes subordinate to a secular concept of 'weekend' dominated by such things as entertainment and sport, people stay locked within a horizon so narrow that they can no longer see the heavens," the pontiff said in a speech to Australian bishops.

Wonder if this means giving up my Ravens tickets?