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Showing posts with label Hockey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hockey. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

We're #1...No! We Are! Aw, Hell...Everyone Gets a Trophy!


Which sport is "number one?"  We're not just talking number one over all, but in different aspects, too.  Obviously, this topic lends itself to great debate, but since this is MY blog, I get to tell you what I think...and then you can comment if you'd like, but please be kind.  I'm very, very fragile (cry, sniff, cry).

For the sake of simplicity, we're only going to use the four major US sports:  football, basketball, baseball and hockey.

It may be true that a different sport (i.e. soccer, figure skating, or tiddlywinks, etc.) may better qualify for a particular category, but let's just keep it among these four for now.  Ok? Ok.
 
Which sport has the BEST overall athletes?

1.  Basketball
2.  Football
3.  Hockey
4.  Baseball

This was tough because both hoops and football have guys that are in incredible physical condition and can do some pretty amazing things.  I have to give the slight nod to basketball here.  The running, jumping, and other acrobatic play is pretty amazing when you think about it.  And, they don't get to rest for 25 seconds every play.

Which sport has the TOUGHEST athletes?
 
1.  Hockey
2.  Football
3.  Basketball
4.  Baseball

Baseball players hit the 15-day DL with a sprained hangnail.  Football players take incredible abuse to their bodies.  But, hockey players will take the ice despite missing part of a leg.  That was an easy one.

Which sport is best to watch in person?

1.  Football
2.  Hockey
3.  Basketball
4.  Baseball

Most people find baseball boring to watch, unless you're a diehard.  Hockey is a sport you really develop an appreciation for when you are sitting 10 rows from the ice.  The speed and the physicality are a whole other level in person.

Football has the added value of tailgating and the party day atmosphere.  The crowd is crazy and they only play once a week.  It's an event, not just a game.

Which sport is best to watch on TV?

1.  Football
2.  Baseball
3.  Hockey
4.  Basketball

Again, with football, the party starts two hours before any game and lasts into the night if your team wins.  You get great replays and are constantly updated on what else is happening around the league. 

Watching baseball at home allows you to snooze if you want and you can drink 50 cent beers from your own fridge instead of the $7.50 variety at the crowded snack stand.

Which sport is the most difficult to be good at?


1.  Baseball
2.  Hockey
3.  Basketball
4.  Football

Football and basketball lends itself to those who are huge and that's kind of like a genetic lottery thing.  I'm not saying it doesn't take hard work and talent to be good, but it really helps to be huge.

Hockey is played on ice and they use a puck that's hard enough to break your face...'nuff said.

Baseball is the most difficult to be good at because you have to hit a round object, with another round object.  And, pitchers can make that thing move all over the place.  And, then once it's hit, you gotta catch the thing?  That's a pretty tough game if you ask me. 

Lastly...

What sport is #1 overall?
 
1.  Football
2.  Baseball
3.  Basketball
4.  Hockey

It pains me to admit it since I'm a "baseball guy," but let's face it:  football is now America's game; not baseball, anymore.  Maybe as the football rules continue to change to protect the QBs etc., that may change; but, I doubt it. 

Seriously; go down to an NFL or college football game if you haven't been to one lately.  As I said before, it's an event.  You just don't get that type of "event" feeling with the other sports.

What do you think?  Feel free to post a comment here or on the AllStarInc Facebook page and voice YOUR opinions!  We'd love to hear from you!

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Wednesday, May 9, 2012

The Morning After...No Bridge Jumping Necessary!


I'm hoping the line to jump from the Ben Franklin Bridge was shorter last night than it has been in past years.

Flyers  fans have a reason for hope.  The future is actually bright, as opposed to feeling like "this was our last chance."

Look, I admit it:  I'm not the greatest Flyers fan of all time.  I can't tell you the juniors team that Eric Wellwood played for or other hard core facts about the squad. 

The only time I watch regular season games is when the bar shows them as I play Golden Tee Golf.

My ankles snap, crackle, and pop loudly each year as I jump back on the bandwagon right around playoff time like many other Philadelphia sports fans do.  But, I am a loyal, returning fan every single year.

In the past, I always felt like the Flyers’ brain trust had patch-worked rosters that were riddled with grizzly veterans who were trying to squeeze the last bit of hockey life out of their mangled and dilapidated bodies.  And the Flyers admittedly have been very successful at this strategy in the past, but it never seemed to put the team over the top.

That's why last off-season felt very different.  The Flyers brass made earth shattering trades sending away some of the team’s top players while acquiring youthful hope in the bodies of unproven potential stars.  They traded away names I actually KNEW for lots of guys I’d never heard of.

For the most part, that formula was a huge success.

If you can remember passed the orange-colored glasses that were worn the last few weeks, many Flyers hopefuls wondered out loud where the scoring was going to come from and labeled this a "rebuilding year.”

And then a funny thing happened....the team came together and played very well.  Well enough to oust Cup favorites Pittsburgh and gave hope to all of Philadelphia that maybe this WAS our year!?

The good news is that the names and ages of the team include guys like Giroux (28), Couterier (19), Read (25), Wellwood (22), Van Riemsdyk (23), Schenn (20) Simmonds (23), Voracek (22), and the list goes on.  Add to that a few vets that have gas in the tank (ie...Briere, Hartnell, etc.) and you have a pretty good nucleus for success over the next few years.

Obvious subtractions need to be made.  Jaromir Jagr has had a great career and may have one or two years left, but not here.  He just seems like he's out of joint with everybody else on the ice.  Jagr just doesn't fit.

Life without Pronger is probably inevitable.  The defense unit will need to learn from the Devils series and find better ways to deliver the puck up the ice.  Maybe another big name acquisition for the blue line would be a good idea?

And then there is Bryz.  Like him or hate him, he's your Flyers goalie for the next three or four years, minimum.  Too much money has been sunk into the dude.

My guess is that we'll all have to live with our beloved goaltender's peaks and valleys, and I'm ok with that.  Everybody has good days and bad.  Hopefully as he continues to mesh with all of his teammates over the next couple years he'll weed out more of those "valleys" to the point where they just don't happen.

The direction is certainly a positive one.  There are certainly issues that need to be figured out, but overall, things are looking pretty good at Flyerpalooza.

How long until training camp starts?  Ehhhh...just call me next April!
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