Non-hockey fan's guide to the seemingly bizarre World Cup of Hockey

What, you don't recognize the "North America" logo?

Hockey isn't a sport that interests me very much.  But ESPN does its best to promote what it's televising, so the 2016 World Cup of Hockey is on my radar.  Admittedly, I was very confused to see that Canada, the USA and North America all have teams competing.  How does that work?  The answer took me about two minutes to find online, which is roughly a minute and fifty-five seconds longer than it should have.  So for others like me, here's a non-hockey fans' 37-second explanation of the World Cup of Hockey:

Basically, the NHL and the league's players' association decided to put on the event to promote their sport before the season starts.  In order get the greatest amount of talent in an eight-team field, they decided to create six squads representing the USA, Canada, Sweden, Finland, Russia and the Czech Republic.  The next two best options?  Put together a roster full of players from anywhere else in Europe (Team Europe), then split off all the Americans and Canadians who are 23 and under to form "Team North America."  Team USA and Team Canada only have members who are over 23 years old.

The Americans lost their first two matchups in a three-game round-robin to Europe and Canada, promptly eliminating themselves from playoff contention.  Canada, Europe and Sweden are all in the semifinals, along with either Russia or the North-American kids, depending on the results of Russia vs. Finland (happening as I write this).


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Bet $100 on Celtics AND Bruins to win championships, win $77,800

The 39-26 Celtics are third in the Eastern Conference and have won 14 straight games at the TD Garden for the first time ever (it's their longest home winning streak since 1991 at the old Boston Garden).  They have the third-best record in the NBA since late January (17-5).  From a post I wrote for CelticsLife yesterday, two different stat sites project the C's have roughly a three-percent chance to win the title.  Their NBA championship odds are listed at 40/1 right now.

The 38-23-8 Bruins moved into sole possession of first place in the Atlantic division last night.  They're 6-1-2 over their last nine contests and haven't lost in regulation since February.  The B's Stanley Cup odds currently stand at 20/1.

Now is the perfect time to bet on a combination of both:

$100 parlay @BovadaLV on Bruins and Celtics both winning championship would cash out $77,800.

— James Toscano (@Jimmy_Toscano) March 10, 2016

Regardless of how unlikely it is we'll having dueling parades in Boston this summer, it is shaping up to be an exciting spring.


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I think Brad Marchand's insane goal was as much lacrosse as it was baseball

One thing I'll say about hockey, its best goals are some of the greatest highlights in sports.

Last night Brad Marchand smacked the puck out of mid-air for a shorthanded score.  Everybody is equating it to baseball, but if you watch his stick motion it really looks a lot more like a lacrosse player shooting a ball than a baseball player swinging a bat:



This also gives me an opportunity to post my all-time favorite hockey goal:



RELATED:
It's weird to me that some hockey people thought the header goal might actually count



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U.S. Military pays pro sports teams to honor troops as a recruiting tactic?

Below are some numbers for how much the United States Department of Defense paid local sports teams in recent years to honor military personnel at their games as part of marketing campaigns:

U.S. senators: Patriots took $700K from Department of Defense to hold patriotic tributes at games. Bruins $280K, Celts $195K, Red Sox $100K

— Michael McDermott (@mikemcdermott76) November 4, 2015

Here's a longer explanation from the Providence Journal, based on this "Tackling Paid Patriotism" report from Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake.  The following quote from its introduction jumps out at me:

"By paying for such heartwarming displays like recognition of wounded warriors, surprise homecomings, and on-field enlistment ceremonies, these displays lost their luster. Unsuspecting audience members became the subjects of paid-marketing campaigns..."

Personally, I care less about the fact that the money comes from taxpayers, and more about how it "betrays the sentiment and trust of fans."  It's offensive to me that I should feel socially obligated to stand and cheer at games for something that is a paid advertisement.


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How is it possible the Bruins have the longest-tenured coach in the NHL?

CSNNE posted the above graphic on the screen during the Celtics-Spurs game today.  Gregg Popovich (pictured) and Bill Belichick make perfect sense.   I wouldn't have come up with Mike Scioscia for MLB, but it doesn't surprise me.  Claude Julien, on the other hand, blows my mind a little bit.

One, I can't believe it's been nine years since Boston hired him.  And two, how has he managed to last that long?  Every other team in the NHL has changed their coach in that time span, yet somehow the Bruins haven't?

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NHL 3-on-3 overtime is a good idea, but I think they skipped a step

Below is the end of last night's Bruins-Capitals preseason game:

Dave Goucher calls David Pastrnak's OT winner pic.twitter.com/k96Ey2D7lI

— Weekend at Bergy's (@weekendatbergys) September 23, 2015

In case you didn't notice, there were only six players on the ice.  It's a new rule the NHL adopted this year--three-on-three in overtime.  In 1999, the league switched from the standard five-on-five in OT to four-on-four.  Now, another man has been cut out in attempt to further reduce the number of games that end in shootouts (which still happen if nobody scores after five minutes of three-on-three).

Here's what I would've liked to see instead:

A four-minute four-on-four OT, followed by three minutes of three-on-three if it's still tied.  Then maybe two minutes of two-on-two before an eventual shootout?  That would probably decrease the number of shootouts by an even greater amount, as well as increase the fun/entertainment factor.


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Three of the world's 20 most valuable sports franchises are from Boston

Forbes magazine just ranked the top 50 most valuable sports franchises in the world.

Spain's Real Madrid (soccer) is No. 1 at $3.26 billion.  The Dallas Cowboys and New York Yankees are tied for second at 3.2 billion.  Here's how the Boston teams rate:

No. 6 - Patriots, $2.6 billion (2nd in NFL)
No. 12 - Red Sox, $2.1 billion (3rd in MLB)
No. 20 - Celtics, $1.7 billion (4th in NBA)

New York is the only city with more teams in the top 20 (Yankees, Knicks, Giants and Jets) than Boston.  Chicago (Bulls, Cubs and Bears) has three as well.

Sorry Bruins/hockey fans, just one NHL team made the top 50--the Toronto Maple Leafs, tied for No. 37 at $1.3 billion.


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Chicago newspaper lies with statistics for its 'Title Town' headline

Back in college, I remember reading a book called How to Lie with Statistics.  Wednesday's cover of the Chicago Sun Times is the perfect example:

The line at the bottom says: "The numbers don't lie--no city has won as many championships as Chicago since 1990."  Half of that sentence is true, Chicago's 10 major sports titles by the Bulls (6), Blackhawks (3) and White Sox (1) are the most of any U.S. city since 1990.  However, the numbers do lie.

Why did they pick 1990?  Because it's just before Michael Jordan started winning.  Chicago's 10 championships in 25 years is nice, one every two-and-a-half years.  Going back 15 years instead of 25 though, Boston's nine by the Patriots (4) Red Sox (3) Celtics (1) and Bruins (1) is obviously much more impressive--one every 20 months.  And if you toss out the Jordan Bulls era, Chicago only has four titles since 2000.  Not to mention the fact that Boston also won each of the four major sports.

Chicago could do that by going back 30 years to include the Bears in 1985, but then it wouldn't be better than New York's 11 by the Yankees (5), Giants (4), Mets (1) and Rangers (1) in that time.

Maybe the Oakland Tribune should run a "Title Town" headline tomorrow for the Warriors, with the caption "No city has won as many championships in the last five days."

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It's weird to me that some hockey people thought the header goal might actually count

I've watched about 10 minutes of hockey all season.  However, while I was working on Tuesday night, the only person in the bar at 12:30 am asked me to put the Blackhawks-Ducks game on.  I obliged, and seconds later was fortunate enough to catch this amazing play live:



Here's the full version (with the goal being disallowed):



Immediately after it happened, the announced said "There's no rule that says you can't head the puck in the net."  All day today I kept hearing on ESPN how people weren't sure if it should count or not.  Many NHL players, including the one who "scored," didn't know either.

That really surprised me.  I'm not a hockey guy, but I was still fairly certain that it wasn't a goal.  As I stated at the time to my one bar guest, "You can't kick the puck into the net and you can't slap it in with you're hand.  I'm sure there's a rule that says you can only intentionally score with your stick."

And sure enough, that's exactly the case.  Here's a screenshot from the NHL rulebook:

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There's no reason why Obama should follow the Cubs on Twitter

Yesterday, Barack Obama joined Twitter.  With his new account, @POTUS, he followed four of his hometown sports teams, the White Sox, Bulls, Bears and Blackhawks.  He did not, however, follow the Chicago Cubs, who chose to respond:

@POTUS We're big fans of America. Just saying. #YouMissedATeam

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 18, 2015

This led to an abundance of "news" stories with titles like:

Barack Obama joins Twitter, follows every Chicago sports team except Cubs

Good for him.  The President is a White Sox fan, not a Cubs fan.  He didn't follow all the Chicago teams and forget/omit one, he just picked the teams he likes--which is what a sports fan should do.

In the same manner that actual fans don't root for both the Yankees and the Mets, or the Lakers and the Clippers, Obama picked a side a long time ago.

His fandom maintains a higher level of credibility by not following the Cubs.  This is an instance where it's OK for him to be a human being instead of a politician trying to please everybody.

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What's the point of the "Wild Card" in the NHL?

The top 3 teams from each of the 4 divisions
aren't listed here.

I noticed this for the first time a few weeks ago.  The NHL has "Wild Card" playoff teams, and it's pretty weird.

The league no longer takes the top eight teams overall in a conference.  It now goes with the top three from each division, then the next best two.  So if by some chance six of the eight best teams in a conference are all in the same division, tough luck, one of them isn't getting in.  It's strange and confusing, and my guess is a huge number of hockey fans aren't even aware of it.

The other night a couple guys came into my bar talking about how excited they were for the Bruins recent hot streak.  I asked them what they thought of this playoff format (hoping for an explanation of why it came to be), and they looked at me like I had three heads.

I did a little research online just now to try to figure out what the point is, but nothing jumped out at me.  My guess is it's somehow supposed to build division rivalries, but I don't see it.  The one thing I did learn, though, is that this system was in place last year too.  Oops.  I'm definitely not a hockey guy.

It also really bugs me how one conference has two more teams than the other, that's totally unfair.  And if you have insight as to why this "Wild Card" thing makes sense, please enlighten me.

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PARADE! (version 9.0)

The hero, Malcolm Butler.

Edelman was snubbed for Super Bowl MVP, he won parade MVP for sure. 

FREEDOM https://t.co/Jtd1HQYKd1
— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) February 4, 2015

Twist and Shout. #patriotsparade pic.twitter.com/SKhbRcYtnv
— Gary Dzen (@GaryDzen) February 4, 2015

hands down my favorite moment #patriots #PatsParade #patriotsparade @universalhub @BostInno @BostonTweet pic.twitter.com/tHlkC6pBGo
— Ratty (@HeyRatty) February 4, 2015

Edelman doesn't even realize it's 19 degrees out. pic.twitter.com/0NdkUCIg0U
— Mark Vandeusen (@LucidSportsFan) February 4, 2015

I don't know who this little girl is, but she knows who's No. 1.

Notice the four fingers in the air.

Pay attention to the logos on the side of the float in the video:



Four teams. 13 years. Nine parades.

Love This... "@KristenSurman: Champs pic.twitter.com/wNiQDaJjvN"
— Obnoxious Boston Fan (@realOBF) February 4, 2015

Previous LucidSportsFan blogs with the same title:
November 2, 2013
June 18, 2011


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13 finals in 13 years for Boston's major sports teams

The Patriots won their first Super Bowl on February 3, 2002.  They'll attempt to win their fourth on February 1, 2015, just under 13 years later.  It's been a pretty solid run for the Boston area sports teams in that span:

For the 13th time in 13 years one of the four major New England sports teams is headed to a championship game.
— Scott Souza (@scott_souza) January 19, 2015

Finals appearances by year (titles in bold):

2001 Patriots
2002
2003 Patriots
2004 Red Sox, Patriots
2005
2006
2007 Red Sox, Patriots
2008 Celtics
2009
2010 Celtics
2011 Bruins, Patriots
2012
2013 Bruins, Red Sox
2014 Patriots (TBD)

At this point I can hardly even remember those dark days of 2005-2006...

*The New England Revolution have made the MLS Cup Final five times in this stretch (2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2014).  Sorry soccer fans, they just don't count.


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Does anyone else think fans waiving towels at sporting events is stupid?

I"m not exactly sure why I thought to bring this up now, it's a stadium/ballpark/arena trend that has been going on for a long time.  For whatever reason the orange towels given to Giants fans at AT&T Park during this World Series look particularly ugly to me.  But that's not even my point.  I just don't understand the appeal of swinging the towel as a fan.

I've been to countless games as a Celtics season ticket holder (including the NBA Finals) in which free towels were handed out, but I've never once had the urge to waive them above my head.  I think the reason for this is three-fold:

1. If you're swinging a towel you can't clap, which seems like a much more effective form a crowd support in my opinion (now if they were noise-making towels it'd be a different story, but don't get me started on thundersticks and things of that nature...).

2. It's really uncomfortable.  Go into your kitchen/bathroom, grab a hand towel, and twirl it over your head for two minutes.  Tell me your arm doesn't hurt (not to mention the "uncomfort" of being hit in the face with a towel by the person in front of you).

3. When everybody is holding towels over the heads, nobody can see the game as well.


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NBA takes my advice (or just follows other sports' lead), creates "replay center" in Secaucus, NJ

About 18 months ago I came up with a brilliant idea to improve instant replays in pro sports: A central office equipped with the best available technology to rule on every replay league-wide, rather than a guy on the field/court/ice running over to the sidelines to view a tiny monitor.

Shortly after my epiphany I became aware that the NHL had thought of it also, and was already using a replay center in Toronto.  MLB then implemented the plan this past season, and the NFL has done it this year as well (both in New York).  Now the NBA is on board too:

NBA Opens New State-Of-The-Art NBA Replay Center This Season - http://t.co/Jg9tJUMdBM WATCH: http://t.co/1ceiQqlMe7 pic.twitter.com/ls3YShzGjA
— NBA (@NBA) October 23, 2014

Two things about the NBA's effort are somewhat disappointing though: One, the officials on the court will still actually make the decisions, they'll just have better footage to view now.  Why not let somebody at the replay center make the call?  And two, Secaucus, New Jersey?

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The NFL has the longest preseason of any major sport. How dumb is that?

Ryan Mallett, pictured in last year's preseason opener,
will start for the Patriots this evening.  Get pumped.

The Patriots kick off their NFL preseason schedule tonight in Washington, the first of four exhibition games the team will play.  Every year it seems the constant fear of injuries makes the NFL preseason more and more of a joke.  Yet for some absurd reason it lasts the longest of any of the four major American sports.

The NFL's 4-game exhibition schedule is 25% as long as its 16-game regular season.

In spring training the Red Sox played 32 games this year (although it was really only 29 if you don't count split-squad days twice), which is 19.8% (or 17.9%) of the length of MLB's 162-game schedule.

The Celtics recently announced their upcoming 2014 preseason slate (and not just on Ticketmaster), which will include a total of 8 contests (two vs each division rival), only 9.8% of the 82-game NBA regular season.

And finally the Bruins have the shortest exhibition season of all, 7 games in 2014-15, which is just 8.5% as long as the NHL's regular schedule (also 82 games).

People absolutely love all things NFL, but in this case the league is clearly getting it wrong.

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Today is the only day of the year that never has sports

OK, obviously there are sports of some kind being played today.  In fact, I believe the WNBA has a couple games on the schedule if you're interested.  However, the Wednesday after the MLB All-Star Game is the one day all year that never has a major pro sporting event (or even college for that matter).

Baseball is the only thing going for a large part of the summer, but it plays every single day except for this one if you include last night's exhibition, and the home run derby the evening before.  Outside of the MLB season there is always an NFL, NBA or NHL game taking place somewhere, with the exception of Christmas Eve.  However, if Christmas Eve happens to be a Sunday, the NFL still plays its full slate of contests.

Happy (or should I say sad?) "No Sports Day" everybody!


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The Bruins' playoff loss brought to light my issue with hockey

As I watched the Bruins trail by one goal for most of their Game 7 defeat last week, I came to a conclusion about hockey.  The same thing that makes it so dramatic and intense also makes it hard to watch: There's no way to anticipate a comeback.

In baseball if your team is losing by a run late in the game, the excitement grows as runners get on base.  In football if they're behind with time running down the likelihood of scoring increases as the offense drives down the field.  And in basketball a once big lead getting trimmed to just a few points gives fans hope of victory.

But hockey isn't like that.  Having several near misses at a potential game-tying goal doesn't increase the chances of it eventually happening.  Scoring opportunities develop in a matter of seconds (or less) and are impossible to predict.  And while this keeps you on the edge of your seat, it can also leave you with a nauseous feeling in your stomach and no reason for optimism.  It'd be nice if "almost goals" were uplifting in the same manner that base-runners, long drives and made baskets can be.

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"Low hanging fruit" is a very popular expression in sports broadcasting right now

This is probably more worthy of a tweet than a blog.  Kind of like way back when I wrote a post called "It's weird you can't refrigerate bananas," the title is really the whole thing.  Anyway, I've noticed a lot of sports announcer type people use this expression a lot lately.  The context is usually something like "it's low hanging fruit to pick on Tony Romo for always throwing the big interception, but he's actually one of the best..."  I don't think I'd ever heard it on a sports news broadcast in my life until sometime in the last several months, and now I feel like it gets used all the time.

It reminds me of a couple years ago when everybody started saying "standing on his head" in reference to a hockey goalie playing really well; just the hot expression of the moment.  Am I weird for thinking this?  Anybody else notice this phenomenon too?

And I like the cow in this picture, so I decided to go with it.

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So in the new NHL format, the Western Conference only gets 7 playoff teams, right?

I've never really been a hockey guy, and with my increased NBA writing of late I have paid a particular lack of attention to the NHL this season.  While looking at the standings today something caught my eye that I wasn't previously aware of (no, not the fact that there is actually a division that goes by the name "Metropolitan"):

There are now 16 teams in the Eastern Conference, and just 14 in the West.  When 8 of them make the playoffs in the East, 50% get in.  However, out West every club has a 57% chance (8/14) of reaching the postseason.  How unfair is that?  I know other major sports have had similar discrepancies in the past, but at the moment they're all fixed.  Maybe the NHL offices (who were ahead of the times on instant replay) are working on some sort of complex 7 team round robin tournament for the Western Conference playoffs in order to even things out.


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