Stormin Norman Rumack

Now that the N.H.L.pre-season has been completed, there are many excited fans of at least one team I can think of, who are having dreams of Stanley Cup parades and seeing their team returned to glory. I'm not saying that it's absolutely impossible for miracles to occur, but let's be real, they rarely do when you're talking about bottom feeders becoming championship caliber.Now of course while folks are reading this they're thinking 'well geez, I'm not one of those crazy fans who said my team can win the Stanley Cup'.The truth is that with pre-season games on TV, there is more hype about teams as well as individual players, and the networks televising these games tend to analyze the players and teams as though they are mid-season matches. I may have missed something, but there is not a lot of mention of the fact that during the N.H.L. pre-season, the visiting team is only required to bring a limited number of roster players with for the road game.In addition to that, most if not all coaches use the exhibition...

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In discussing Wayne Gretzky's departure from Phoenix, a popular discussion point for hockey fans and those who make their living in the National Hockey League is that of the head coach for those going behind the bench with no previous experience anywhere. Is their anything that indicates that a former player can not succeed without having coached before ? The answer is definitely not. The results are quite varied for those who have made the jump directly from playing to being head coach in the N.H.L. Although I didn't look at everyone in this scenario, the ones I researched aside from Gretzky were Al Arbour, Glen Sather,Dick Irvin,Red Kelly,and Bob Pulford. Gretzky's overall coaching record was 143-161-24 in 328 games with a Phoenix team that obviously was not very good. Al Arbour took over as head coach in St.Louis in 1970, after having played there in the previous 4 seasons. In St.Louis, Arbour won 42 games, lost 40 and tied 25, while making the playoffs once in 3 seasons. Arbour was recruited...

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With the arrival of the fall season our feathered friends fly south. Meanwhile,many Blue Jays fans have been scattered just about anywhere other than the Rogers Centre this season. They have been staying away in record setting numbers lately. It's not entirely surprising considering the team is not counting "freebie" tickets or "comps" (as in complimentary) in terms of their attendance figures. Only 20,668 showed up Friday night to see what might have been Roy Halladay's last at home Blue Jays outing . Quite often last year, I would sit in the press box and see a two-thirds empty stadium and a reported crowd of anywhere between twenty-two or twenty-four thousand. When I would see those figures, I would shake my head and wonder what exactly they were counting. Maybe last years actual paid attendance was similar. Losing is the biggest factor as to why fans stay away and that applies to almost every team in the world, perhaps with the exception of the Toronto Maple Leafs who haven't seen a playoff date...

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'Will the Leafs win the cup'?. That's probably not a relevant question for this season. Back in the mid-nineteen sixties, that was an annual question. For Maple Leafs fans, it was a very special era, and as it turned out the end of an era that will not likely ever return. As the 6 team National Hockey League began to wind down, it was still a time when there were no agents, no players association and the players had no power and very little control over their professional destinies, beyond their own God given skills. Back then the owners and general managers ruled with an iron fist. Every year at training camp, the players would be presented with their new contract, and it was laid out for them to sign. If a player declined the offer, there was always a chance that they would be sent down to the minors, and whether the individual was the best player on the team or the least skilled on a 17 member roster , it didn't really matter. Many if not all of the players of the six team N.H.L. had part time...

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Here is something for your reading pleasure that will completely p.o. the vast majority of readers, and at the same time, probably one in ten will say that this is a great idea ! Are your seat belts fastened ? Time to taker a deep breath.Make sure your blood pressure is alright or take your medication right now. Ok, here we go. I would love to see all beverages with alcohol banned from all sporting events. No doubt , you are asking why. I obviously can't say I've been to every stadium or even most stadiums in North America. But I am certain that any time I've heard or read about behavior problems involving rowdy fans spoiling an outing for the vast majority of well behaved spectators, it almost always seems to involve people who are drunk, and can't ,or more specifically don't want to control their consumption of booze. I know very well that a lot of people reading this will be saying to themselves immediately that they have the "right" to drink at events like this, and because they feel that they are well...

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A couple of football seasons ago, then Steelers safety Anthony Smith got burned by being too bold. His brave predictions were about an upcoming game against the New England Patriots. Smith had an awful game and was embarrassed by future Hall Of Famer Tom Brady's pin point passing.What was even more embarrassing to me was not Anthony Smith. It was the braggadocios, make me barf football media doing their boringly predictable pompous pontificating about Smith getting too cocky about being able to beat the Pats. The only thing missing from the 'I told you so' soothsayers, was a drool cup to catch their priceless lessons in football morality. The message was sent and synthesized by all. Don't you dare trash talk the New England Patriots, because if they scorch you on the field, we'll scorch you on the screen. Sure enough,this past weekend the Jets were hosting the Patriots.In spite of the tongue lashing layed on Anthony Smith a few years ago, the Jets were not going to be intimidated by the media mouthpieces. ...

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Could the fight to the finish between Jim Balsillie and Gary Bettman, representing the National Hockey League, have been avoided? The answer is very likely yes, but like most conflicts, there would have to be compromises. In the first place , it is inaccurate to say the National Hockey League will not put another team in Canada. That is completely untrue.Most people with knowledge of the N.H.L. understand that they would like to have a second team in the Toronto area. For marketing purposes, the team would need to have the name Toronto attached to it even if it was north,south,east, or west of Toronto, as the American based franchises do not get a good reaction at the gate for teams not named Montreal or Toronto.With all the anger pertaining to the league not adding another Canadian franchise,isn't it strange that no one has publicly stepped up and said that they are willing to put up the money necessary to have a team play in Winnipeg.Those with inside knowledge of the National Hockey League, understand that...

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Sometimes when we get older our tastes in just about everything can change or modify. Much to my surprise, this has happened to me as well.I have had a growing passion for soccer,or football as it's known outside of North America.I even played a little bit as a kid at summer camp, back then it was Camp Ogama, near Huntsville, Ontario.The only problem was that in the mid- sixties there were no soccer leagues that I ever heard about. So like most of the kids in my neighborhood, we played hockey in the winter, and baseball in the summer and fall.Nowadays, youngsters can play any sport they want anytime of year. I gradually received more exposure to "the beautiful game" as professional soccer came to Toronto in the form of the North American Soccer league and the Toronto Metros as they were initially known.In 1975 the Metros of the N.A.S.L. merged with Toronto Croatia of the National Soccer League,and the team was re-named The Toronto Metros-Croatia.I can still remember sitting in the basement of my parents home...

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Just about everyone (meaning the fans of course) would like an instant answer to the question as to "who won" the trade between the Leafs and Bruins, with Phil Kessel coming to Toronto for two first round picks (2010 and 2011) and a second round selection in the 2010 draft as well.So let's look at all the dynamics that are part of analyzing the swap. In terms of Phil Kessel,my information from people close to the scene in Boston,is that Kessel's behavior around players and others close to the team was interpreted by some as being selfish and to others as rude.Kessel is regarded by a highly competent scout I know as a "good player" but not a "franchise player". What is the likelihood that his personality will change from what it was in Boston ?I don't know him and have never spoken with him,so I am not qualified to answer that question and probably Kessel is the only one who can.Having had a Cancer scare myself, you have to admire the fact that at a young age he had to deal with the reality of testicular Cancer...

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