The NHL resumes after its break for the Winter Olympics with one game tonight.
Tomorrow there is a nice slate of games with one involving the Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens.
The game will be in Montreal and surely Canadiens’ goaltender Carey Price will get a rousing ovation for his Olympic performance.
On Thursday night, the New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks meet at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Each of those games matches the original six NHL teams.
Last year all six original six teams made the NHL playoffs. Right now as the season is about to resume, all six would qualify for the playoffs if the season ended today.
The Original Six
Jason Collins, listed next to last in the box score, received an inordinate amount of publicity for playing 11 minutes in a basketball game last night.
The reason is that Collins is the first openly gay player in professional sports.
I discussed Collins situation last year and hope for the day when a player being gay is not made a big deal by the media.
He did not score a point and had two rebounds. There was an awful lot of publicity for very small basketball production.
Of course gay rights as human rights is an important issue. However, with all my problems, I do not have the problem of caring what someone’s race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation happens to be.
One postscript: also on Sunday but with far less publicity a “Gay” had a great game with 32 points and 11 rebounds. That player has the surname Gay, he is Rudy Gay of the Sacramento Kings.
Jason Collins
It was Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim’s “explosion” and technical fouls that grabbed the headlines from Duke University’s six point regular season home win last Saturday.
Boeheim ran on the court and was assessed technical fouls in arguing a late call that went against Syracuse.
Exploding, going on the court, and getting technical fouls is not a classy act.
Boeheim has less “snake oil” than some, even most other coaches, but have it, he does.
He is an excellent coach and he was Dave Bing’s backcourt partner at Syracuse in the 1960’s.
The antics likely will temporarily fire up the talented Syracuse basketball team. They have lost two straight games, struggled in three but are certainly one of the leading contenders for this year’s title.
Canada continued its recent domination of its national sport, hockey, as they won (3-0) in the men’s gold medal game vs Sweden.
It is the second straight Olympic gold medal and third in the last four for the men’s team from Canada. The women’s team has won four straight Olympic gold medals.
Jonathan Toews, who has been on two Stanley Cup winners in four seasons, with the Chicago Blackhawks opened the scoring.
Carey Price currently with the Montreal Canadiens in the NHL, recorded his second straight shutout in goal for Canada. All in all a great performance for Canada.
Jonathan Toews
No team has gone unbeaten and won the NCAA basketball crown since the Bob Knight coached Indiana Hoosiers in 1976.
That was the first year after legendary coach John Wooden of UCLA had retired.
Indiana had gone unbeaten in the regular season the year before but lost to Kentucky in the regional finals.
The Hoosiers were under a great deal of pressure in 1976 but were up to the task first beating UCLA with Gene Bartow as coach in the semi-finals.
In an all Big Ten Conference final, Indiana defeated Michigan to win the title.
It will be Sweden vs Canada in the Olympic hockey gold medal game on Sunday.
Both teams won low scoring semi-final games to advance to the finals and assure themselves of at least a silver medal.
Sweden won (2-1) vs Finland. Next, Canada won (1-0) vs the United States.
Finland and the United States, who met in the gold medal game won by the United States in Lake Placid, New York in 1980, will clash for the bronze medal on Sunday.
Canada also won a one goal game from the United States to take the gold medal in women’s hockey.
In the gold medal game, Marie Philip-Poulin scored in the last minute of regulation time to tie the game and then scored the gold medal winning goal in overtime.
The victory gave Canada its fourth straight gold medal in women’s hockey.
Baseball spring training is upon us and as the saying goes everyone starts even.
That means even the Chicago Cubs, sans a World Title for 105 years and a pennant for 68 get a fresh start.
The great Ernie Banks who played for the Cubs from (1953-1971) epitomizes the great spirit that baseball can produce. On a beautiful day, he will say “let’s play two.”
He was a great player, first as a shortstop and then played first base. He never got into a post season game but hit over 500 home runs. He is a deserving member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
When I saw him years back, I remember he and the great Curt Flood joking around. He kidded Flood as ballplayers do but quickly asked if I knew of Curt’s courage and contribution in challenging the baseball reserve clause.
I did know and he went back to kidding Mr. Flood. Ernie’s great spirit and gregarious nature often echoes his “let’s play two” philosophy.
That goes for baseball or kidding a respected friend, baseball opponent and great contributor like Curt Flood.
Finland dispatched of Russia by winning (3-1) in their quarterfinal game.
It was not that big an upset, as Finland was less than a two to one underdog in the game. Also it was one game and a hockey game at that.
However, I was clearly wrong as Finland eliminated Russia in the quarterfinals of Olympic hockey in Russia. I thought Russia would at least make the finals.
Sweden now appears to have a favorable path to the Olympic Hockey Finals.
The semi finals are set as Sweden will face Finland, while Canada will meet the United States. The latter is a rematch of the last Olympic hockey final, which was won by Canada on an overtime goal by Sidney Crosby.
Sweden
Matthew McConaughey is a prohibitive favorite to win the best actor award at this year’s Academy Awards for his role in “Dallas Buyers Club.”
I watched “Dallas Buyers Club” and thought it was an excellent movie. Likely, it will net McConaughey and Jared Leto the best actor awards at the ceremonies to be held on March 2nd.
For now, “Dallas Buyers Club,” which likely will not win the Academy Award, and both McConaughey and Leto, who likely will, all deserve critical praise. Their performances and the movie were outstanding.
Also important to me, McConaughey is turning in some outstanding work which includes roles in the film “Wolf of Wall Street” and the television series, “True Detective.”
Matthew McConaughey
Look out for Russia in the ice hockey Olympics. Not only are they an obviously talented team, but look at their draw.
No one knows what will happen and they do have to win an extra or qualifying game just to make the quarterfinals, but they avoid playing either Canada or the United States teams until the final.
The team from Sweden is unbeaten and on Russia’s side of the draw but I do not like their intangibles. In fact, I will predict that Russia at least makes, if not wins, the hockey event.
Right now I “sign” for Sweden or better yet Norway, winning the title, but the Russia loss to the United States and their favorable bracket almost makes them a favorite in my mind.
The team from Canada is a pretty big favorite at this point. Interesting games should follow.
