Lawrence Jackson
And so we're back. I'd like to belive Matt Cooke can reform his ways, but I'm doubtful. I'm more optimistic that Carmelo Anthony will find his way and become the player the New York Knicks need him to be. I'm also optimistic the Phoenix Coyotes will soon be in Winnipeg. Obviously a couple of days off has me giddy.
More after the jump.
1. Matt Cooke says he's going to change:
What you hear about Matt Cooke is that he's not the person off the ice that he is on the ice; which is a good thing because he'd have been jailed multiple times for assault by now. Still, he's a man who goes antiquing; who acknowledges that he chooses to do what he does -- strike fear into opponents -- in order to remain in the NHL. Now he's pledging to to change his act to keep that job; telling reporters in Pittsburgh he takes full responsibility for his latest transgression. I'm less skeptical of his intent than his ability to change:
RR: Why do you understand now that you need to change?
MC: I'm not going to get into describing the play; but in efforts to improve the game and to have respect for my teammates, my management, my ownership... I'm fortunate that Ryan McDonagh wasn't hurt. I don't want to hurt anybody. That's not my intention. I know that I can be better.
RR: Your teammates describe you as a caring guy, an emerging leader on this team. Now, you've put them in a position where they'll be without you through the first round. How has it been to contemplate that?
MC: I can't (contemplate) that. I made a mistake. I'm the one that's accountable for that. I take full responsibility for it. I'm sorry to my teammates, my management, my coaching staff and my organization. It's something that, moving forward, I'll make different.
RR: Why do these hits keep happening?
MC: They've been different. They aren't the same. They're different plays and... I want to change. In the game against the Rangers, I had a chance to hit (Brian) Boyle in the middle of the ice and I didn't. I had a chance to hit (Bryan) McCabe, and he turned, so I didn't hit him. It's a learning process. It doesn't just stop with being suspended. It also doesn't just stop with words. My actions will prove it.
RR: Ray said you have to win back the respect of your opponents to stay in the NHL. How do you manage that?
MC: I just think that it's in my play, the way that I play. As I just said, my actions will speak louder than words. That's what matters most.
2. From junior hockey a reminder why it's important Cooke does change:
There are many sides to the NHL's concussion issue. One -- in my opinion anyway -- the league has to pull back on injurious hits and a culture than enables them because while fans may want to watch, tough, instense competition, not many want people to be maimed for their entertainment (and if they do, well, may some fresh hell be invented for them). Another is that concussions in the NHL are merely a symptom of a style of hockey that filters down through the roots of the game. Al Maki's story on concussions in the WHL is a reminder that the NHL needs to get their game right if only to be a proper example for a hockey system that supplies their talent: Overall this season, WHL players suffered more concussions and head injuries than their celebrated counterparts in the National Hockey League. By the NHL's own tally, there have been 80 incidents of players hurt by a shot to the head. According to the WHL's updates for its 22 teams, there were at least 97 cases of concussions and head-related injuries.
WHL commissioner Ron Robison acknowledged that count, tabulated by the Kamloops Daily News, and agreed: "The number of concussions has risen at an alarming rate."
Why, though, is the crux of the matter.
Robison sees it as many hockey people do: a batch of ingredients creating a dangerous mix; bigger, stronger players moving on an ice surface that hasn't gotten any larger. Add to that the clampdown on hooking and holding that has allowed for more speed and more hits. Add, too, a generation of young players cursed by the advent of lighter yet more dangerous equipment. They feel invincible until that same piece of equipment on an opposing player hammers them into submission.
3. Blue Jays bullpen grief nothing Chad Codero can't handle:
Signed to a minor league contract as the Blue Jays try to rebuild their builpen, Chad Codero is trying to return to the form that made him one of baseball's better closers as a worry-free 23-year-old in 2005 with the Washington Nationals. He's doing it while honouring the memory if his baby daughter: There are times during spring training when he heads to a bathroom stall at the Blue Jays' complex, closing the door to cry. There will be times ahead - on a plane, on a bus - when he won't be able to hold back.
"I'm gonna lose it," he said. "I know it's gonna happen."
But there are things the Corderos want people to know: how Tehya smiled from her first days, how her dark hair covered her head, how Riley kissed her. They can smile at that. But just because the full-on, physically crippling breakdowns happen less frequently now - no longer round the clock, maybe not even every day - this remains impossibly difficult.
4. In Texas they're not happy a good Canadian boy got smoked by a bad call:
The Canadian content in the NCAA tournament has dropped off considerably and perhaps the two best in the field -- Cory Joseph and Tristan Thompson -- had their March Madness dreams crushed by a too-rapid five-second violation while Joseph was inbounding the ball in the final moments against Arizona Sunday night. The turnover allowed the Wildcats to score the winning points in their come-from-behind win on their way to the Sweet 16. The people at Burnt Orange Nation have video proof the call was wrong: But right now? I'm just royally, righteously furious about the screw job that Texas just got at the end of the game, courtesy of -- guess who? -- Jim Burr. The same clown who single-handedly jobbed Texas against UConn and, more famously, blew the Rutgers-St. John's Big East Tournament game three weeks ago.
For the record? My game watching crew reviewed the DVR ten times and it wasn't five seconds. It wasn't five arm-ticks. And it wasn't five seconds objectively. We used a stopwatch and if you're generous, it gets up to about 4.6 seconds. He rushed it, and we got hosed. The theme for the tournament.
5. Goldwater Institute continues efforts to move Coyotes to Winnipeg:
Another twist in the Coyotes saga -- the two-year anniversary of the franchise going into bankruptcy comes in May, by the way -- occurred last night when the Goldwater Institute said thanks but no thanks to promises by Matthew Hulzsizer to underwrite the bond issue that Glendale is undertaking to underwrite his purchase of the Coyotes. This story by David Naylor of TSN explains it pretty clearly: Glendale Mayor Elaine Scruggs and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman have begged them to stand down. And Sunday night, would-be Phoenix Coyotes owner Matthew Hulsizer did the same on television during intermission of a game in Glendale, with Senator John McCain, one of the most powerful men in Arizona, adding his voice to the cry as well. They all have implored the Goldwater Institute to back away, drop its threat of a lawsuit, and let the sale of the Phoenix Coyotes go through, allowing the team to remain in Glendale.
None of that apparently matters.
Goldwater's statement claims that even with Hulsizer's $75 million guarantee, taxpayers will be on the hook for $362 million over the next 30 years.
"The Goldwater Institute has recommended that Mr. Hulsizer use his resources to buy the team and hold taxpayers harmless," said the statement released by Goldwater on Monday. "In a less than perfect compromise, Mr. Hulsizer could also protect taxpayers by personally guaranteeing the full repayment amount of the bonds."
... Goldwater also expressed concern about the Coyotes viability in Phoenix, suggesting that taxpayers will be on the hook if the team winds up in bankruptcy again. The Coyotes have been a financial disaster in Glendale, expected to lose roughly $40 million this season alone
6. Carmelo Anthony finding the problem with having all eyes on you is that they can see your flaws:
In a preview of what could be a first-round playoff matchup Anthony and the New York Knicks were slapped around by the Boston Celtics at home, a reminder that Anthony is going to have to earn his status as a Knick icon the hard way; as Yahoo!'s Andrien Wojnarowski writes: The Celtics delivered a clinic on stars working together and buying into a program, a belief. So far, 'Melo has bought into only his own hype. "When you want to win, everybody has to be a willing participant," Rivers said. "Everyone has to sacrifice. You look at our guys, all their shots were cut in half from the year before. And that's just the way it is." Carmelo Anthony had come to New York plastered on the side of billboards and buildings, but here were the Boston Celtics - here was a burden so far unfulfilled - leaving him hunched over and bleeding in the middle of Madison Square Garden. Carmelo Anthony will never be a savior for the Knicks, but it will be on him to become something far more admirable here: a survivor.
7. A funny soccer video; no soccer fan experience required:
The video with the commentators speaking over it is simply priceless. It wasn't long after this that the subject, Mario Balotelli of Manchester City, had a suitcase thrown at him by his coach. Previously he had to leave a game because of an allergic reaction to grass.