Wehrhoff?

Just a quick little post about the departure of Christian Ehrhoff. I guess when the 'Nucks handed Bieksa a big contract, we should have expected something like this. Christian Ehrhoff has defected to a gigantic 10 year $40 million contract with the expansion cousins of the Canucks, the Buffalo Sabres. With the deal, the Sabres get exactly what the 'Nucks lose, a solid defender with a huge shot and a great awareness on the ice.

50 points last year and 44 points in his inagural season in Vancouver with only 52 and 42 penalty minutes respectively. Those are the kind of numbers that hockey fans can appreciate. Not to mention that he chipped in 2 goals and 10 assists in our deeply exciting, and deep disappointing, playoff run. 

While his contract may be looked at by the NHL for being a tad much (10 years for a 28 year old sounds a bit overboard), he will provide serious help to the Sabres blue line, and Brandon should be more than stoked on his arrival.

As for the Canucks, we have ourselves a big hole to fill. With Vigneault feeling down on Ballard and Sami Salo most likely leaving for some kind of career ending surgery (wait for it), this loss of Ehrhoff is huge. Will the Vannies make a move to get back to pre-2010/2011-season blue line levels? Or, will Chris Tanev and the other Baby 'Nucks have to step it up? A little from column A, a little from column B.

Even though we let the Cup slip through our fingers earlier this month, we should really hold onto our memories from this season, because to me, we aren't looking primed to make the same kind of run again.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

Death To The "Co-Ace."

Dan Haren pitched a freaking gem last night. 7.3 innings, 2 hits allowed, 6 Ks, and just 1 walk. He outdueled Washington's Ryan Zimmerman, who may be the hardest luck loser in the bigs this season, and helped the Angels pick up a sweep against a semi-solid NL team to start this long homestand. So what if our only run was scored when Howie grounded into a double play? It worked, didn't it?

With the victory, The Chessmaster is now 8-5 with a 2.85 ERA, and is showing that he's starting to feel settled in Anaheim. It's great. I'm happy, he seems to be happy, and the Halos are getting hot at the right time, keeping within striking distance of the 2010 American League Champions in the division race. 

So, what could possibly be making me frustrated right now? 

"Co-ace."

With Dan Haren putting up decent numbers over the first half of the season, the media and the fanbase feel compelled to give him a label. God forbid he just be "Dan Haren, a really good pitcher." No, that's not good enough. It wouldn't be fair to simply just appreciate him for what he is. Instead, we need to bring him up on an equal level with Jered Weaver, our true ace. Rather than just appreciate the fact that we have an impressive ace and a really solid #2, we have to meld them into one, give them the same labels, and call them both our "Co-ace."

I hate it.

Jered Weaver is 9-4 with a 1.97 ERA. Dan Haren is 8-5 with a 2.85 ERA. Where do we get that they are co-aces? Let me ask you this question, you who espouse the "co-ace" label: Who would you pick to start game seven of the World Series? 

Case closed.

We have one ace and one hell of a #2. Let's be happy with that, and call it what it is. Something tells me that Dan Haren won't mind (and I know Weaver will appreciate it).

We're 42-40, thanks to going 8-2 over the last 10 games, and we sit just 1.5 back of the Texas Rangers. Halo fans are starting to come back to the bandwagon, though us real fans never left (and were actually enjoying the ride much more, with all the extra space to stretch out our legs). Seattle is 4 back of the lead, with the A's sitting 7 back. I'm so pleased to see them struggling, especially since I live in the Bay Area now.

After an off-day today, the Angels match back up with the Doyers for the weekend, with their eyes on another series win. The Blew Crew are in even worse shape than the last time we met, even though that was just a week ago, and that should make for a fun battle over the next three days.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

Making Peace With Chicago.

As a die hard Vancouver Canucks fan, even after the game seven loss (maybe even especially after the game seven loss), I hate the Chicago Blackhawks. Sure, we finally overcame the demon known as the Madhouse during this most recent postseason. Sure, one of my dear friends (and fellow LSF authors) is a die hard Blackhawk fan. But none of that has any impact on my outright hatred of everything Hawk. Over our recent history, hating the Hawks is almost as much a part of being a Canuck fan as rooting on the 'Nucks.

And that's why it's hard to believe that the Canucks are getting set to announce that the Chicago Wolves are going to be the Orca's new AHL squad. With our beloved Manitoba Moose being kicked out of town to make way for the return of the Winnipeg Jets, we had to go searching, and evidently our search has ended in Chicago. Now I find myself in the odd position of actually caring and being invested in a Chicago hockey team, and as you could guess, it's a weird spot to find myself in.

So, it's time to make peace with the lovely (or so I'm told) city of Chicago. I've often said that Chicago is the US big city that I'd most like to visit next, although it's in a tight foot race with New Orleans. That makes it pretty cool in my book. But, Chicago has to be a much loved American city by all simply for the impressive list of comedians it has produced. Are you kidding me? Bill Murray, John Belushi, Jack Benny, Michael Ian Black, Steve Carrell, Dan Castellaneta, Stephen Colbert, Chris Farley, Redd Foxx, Rick Moranis, Bob Newhart, Mandy Patinkin, Bonnie Hunt, and Harold Ramis are just a few of the greats to come out of the Windy City.

How about the impressive list of movies based in Chicago? Blues Brothers, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Home Alone (1, 2, and 3), A League Of Their Own, National Lampoon's Vacation, Planes Trains & Automobiles (easily the greatest comedy of all time), Return To Me, Tommy Boy, Uncle Buck, Wayne's World (and Wayne's World 2), and When Harry Met Sally? That's a pretty awesome list.

What else could I possibly need to hear to be convinced that I need to get in line and start loving Chicago? Well, that's not the tough part. The tough part is rooting for a hockey team based in Chicago. It's a weird choice by the Orca, but it is what it is, and it's time to get on board. I mean, how could I not be stoked about a minor league hockey team with a wolf for a mascot that goes by the overwhelmingly creative name of "Skate"? 

Done deal.

Go Wolves Go.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

The Freeway Is At A Hault.

I'm sure there has been a time since Interleague play began that the Freeway Series pitted two crappier versions of the LA squads against each other, but the memory doesn't readily come to mind. On one hand, you have a franchise that has been taken over by Major League Baseball and has had a rough go of things thanks to an amazing amount of injuries. On the other hand, you have a squad that is celebrating a series win against a 33-42 NL East bottom dweller as if it means the season is turning around (and even that series win took extra innings in game three). So, join me, as I try and determine which team has the upper hand in this weekend's much (?) anticipated Freeway Series.

The Dodgers:

I'll readily admit that I don't know very much about the Doyers. If you know me, you know that I know the teams I support, and that's about it (does that make me a bad "sports" fan?). But, the media has been all over the Blue Crew this year (not so much, now that I live in the Bay Area), and that intense coverage has helped give a nice little glimpse into the situation at the Ravine.

The off the field stuff is well known. First, you've got the savage beating of the Giant fan on opening day. Horrible, horrible stuff. I can't state enough how horrible this was. That being said, I'd light to make a minor point that has been bugging me. After this attack happened, everyone went to great lengths to talk about how the criminals that did this weren't true fans. The same thing happened to my beloved Canuck fanbase when we (predictably) saw rioting after losing game seven of the finals. "Those idiots aren't real fans." Why do the choices we make in our lives determine if we are real fans? Can't a person be an idiot and a criminal, and at the same time be a true fan of a team? I'd venture to guess that soccer fans would answer yes, and so would I. Still, it was a bad situation and I realize how horrible it was. Obviously, I want these punks to be locked up for what they did. However, the getaway driver had an Ethier jersey, so wouldn't you guess that at the very least she's a real fan?

The other off the field problem is the McCourt drama, which has been talked to death. MLB has taken over the team, blah, blah, blah. I'm over it, and I'm guessing much of Doyer Nation is as well.

The on the field product hasn't been all that much better, sadly. To be fair, the Azul have had a ridiculous amount of injuries this season. Despite that excuse, though, they are still 34-42 and sit 7.5 games back of the division leading Diamondbacks (yeah, you read that right). Recently, however, they stole their series with Detroit, so maybe things are looking up. Kemp, Ethier, and Carroll are all hitting .300+, Kemp is slugging a steroid infused 20 jacks (Barajas is next with just 8), Kershaw and Kiroda have ERAs just over 3, and Clayton's 117 Ks over his 7 wins must be exciting to watch. 

To further point out the injuries, though, the Dodgers currently have just 4 batters who qualify for the 236 AB minimum to even put them on the team's "batting average leaderboard." That's either a shocking example of how hurt this team has been, or a glitch in the MLB.com stat system.

The Boys In Blue welcome the Angels to the bad part of town starting tomorrow, and if we can get through the weekend without a single Halo fan being killed, I'll consider it a victory.

The Angels:

To say that the Halos have been Bipolar this season would be an understatement (as well as terribly cliché). Flashes of brilliance with the bat is commonly followed by 1 hit performances where they can't even get a guy over to second. Wasted amazing pitching outing after wasted amazing pitching outing, I'm starting to feel like the San Francisco Giants, but without the World Series potential. 

We've seen some epic failures this season for the red hats. Brandon Wood and Scott Kazmir were handing their unconditional releases after the organization realized what fans have known for some time, Kendrys Morales was informed that his injury would keep him out for another entire season, Vernon Wells has been what we all kind of expected Vernon Wells to be in his first season, and Mike Scioscia continues to start Jeff Mathis despite all logic and rational thinking.

With all that being said, maybe I should be proud of their 37-39 record and the fact that they only trail Texas by 3 games. It's only been made possible because of Jered Weaver's 2.01 ERA and 9 wins, Dan Haren's 2.96 ERA and 6 wins, Tyler Chatwood being a serviceable young rookie, and the amazing emergence of the young slugging stud Mark Trumbo. If it wasn't for all of that, we'd be Oakland-esque right now.

While there may be a lot to be positive about after the first 76 games of the 2011 season, there seems to be a lot more negativity that we can focus on. And, as faithful long suffering fans, that's what we tend to do. Does a series win against the Florida Marlins mean that this team is turning things around? No. But a series win against Dodgers would help to make us start to think that we might actually be moving toward that direction.

The pitching matchups:

Haren (6-5, 2.96) v De La Rosa (3-1, 4.58)

Chatwood (4-4, 3.84) v Kuroda (5-8, 3.07)

Weaver (9-4, 2.01) v Kershaw (7-3, 3.01)

Man, that Sunday matchup is the one to watch by far. My predictions? I hate doing this, but I'll say that Haren leads us to victory tomorrow, followed by a loss in game two, and finally a 1-0 win for the Halos on Sunday, with both starters going 8 strong innings.

I enjoy this rivalry. I may be alone in that, but I think it's a lot of fun. 

So, let's root for the Angels, cheer on the Mets against Texas, and pick up a couple games in the division race, eh?

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

Is This Weaver's Cy Season?

After a strong start by Jered Weaver and two RBI by Torii Hunter, the Halos knocked off the horrible Florida Marlins 2-1 yesterday afternoon. The outcome sent the Fish to their 11th straight loss, tying a franchise record, and boosted the Halos to a 36-38 mark that's good enough for 3rd in the division at 3 back of the 2010 AL Champions. With the way our offense has struggled, even a win against the hapless Marlins wouldn't have been possible without the strong start from Big Baby.

After 7 innings of 1 run ball, allowin 5 hits while punching out 6, Weaver improved his record to a solid 9-4 with a miniscule 2.01 ERA. After breaking out of his little slump, he's back to his masterful self, and I was just wondering if he's back to his potential Cy Young stuff like he was last season. As we all know, Weaver kind of got the shaft in favor of Felix Hernandez in the Cy voting after the 2010 season. Could he be on track to get the award that most Halo fans believe was rightfully his?

When you compare his numbers to those of last year's Cy Young hopefull season, things are looking good. Last season, Big Baby finished 13-12 with a 3.01 ERA, while punching out a MLB leading 233. With his overall solid start, he's on pace for a 19-9 with a 2.01 ERA and a chance to pull down 223 Ks. That's a pretty impressive collection of numbers compared to last season, but it depends heavily on the Angel offense sticking up for him the rest of the way out.

So we know that he has the credentials based on his own merit, but what of the competition? Is there anyone in the AL sitting on the same kind of pace of our beloved Dirt Bag? Well, no, not really. There are 6 American League pitchers sitting on 9 wins right now, and Weaver has far and away the lowest ERA. Justin Verlander has a lower WHIP, putting Weaver at #2 among the 6 top hurlers on the junior circuit, but his ERA is +0.53 on our boy. He's also number two in Ks, behind Verlanderm and thus, I'm guessing, the Tigers hurler present the biggest challenge. 

Just as a side note, last year's Cy winning, Queen Felix, is 7-6 with a 3.34 ERA this season. It looks like the voters made the right choice.

No matter what happens, we Halo fans will be cheering on our douchiest pitcher as he marches toward another awesome campaign. I'm just wondering when we're going to realize that all these amazing seasons are adding up to Weaver wearing pinstripes when it's all said and done. Until that inevitable day, though, let's enjoy the ride.

Since I'm not able to post as much, you hopefully understand why I've let proofreading fly out the window. Sorry.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

Total And Absolute Heartbreak.

Thanks to Andrew for shifting our focus on picking up my slack on the posting.

What happened last night in Vancouver was truly heartbreaking for me. 17 years ago, my first year as a soon-to-be long suffering Canuck fan, I watched my team lose a game seven in the Stanley Cup Finals. Last night, it all happened again. I just don't know what to say. The Bruins took advatange of what can only be explained as our hot and cold play (and when it was cold, it was very cold), and they got to hoist the Cup. It's just awful.

Tim Thomas, a goalie who I have grown to hate over the years, impressed the heck out of me. After he played very well in games one and two, and lost, I was sure that we were headed for an easy victory. His Bipolar play we heard so much about, however, never showed up, and he just ended up being solid for the entire seven games. It's just awful.

Roberto Luongo didn't pull it together. His four losses in this series were just terrible. It's just another chapter in his long suffering career. Why couldn't it just happen the way we all wanted it to? Why couldn't Bobby Lu pull it together for the most important hockey game of his (and our) life? Why did that damned puck slide through despite the fact that he seemed to make the save? Why didn't he pay attention on the Bruin goal that came quickly after the delayed penalty was called on that semi-breakaway? You know how we always question if Luongo can regain his confidence after a tough loss? How the heck is he ever going to recover from this? Only time will tell, I guess. Cue Cory?

Long before my heart broke for the Cup loss, it broke seeing Mason Raymond in the crowd, sporting some serious medical equipment after his huge back injury from early on in game six. Sure, his injury clearly had an impact on the 'Nucks ability to get the job done in last night's clash, but like I said before, there are no excuses when it comes to game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals.

So, where do Canuck fans go from here? Well, some decided to start a small riot in the downtown area, as seen above, some decided to throw their sweaters into the fireplace and start rooting for the up and coming Edmonton Oilers, and others (like me) simply walked around with a sad look of our faces for the rest of the night and most of today.

Oh well. The suffering continues. 

So it goes.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

GOLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!! - Chicharito Special

After I posted about Chicharito's wonder goals, I got all excited and had to look them up. Enjoy!



Back-to-goal Header


Heel flick (sorry, it was hard to find a decent clip)


Winner against Everton (goal is at about 1:07)


Goal at 1' against Chelsea


Inadvertent header in Community Shield

Out with the Old, In with the New at Old Trafford

Let's blog about happy things. Tommy has a new, better paying job and is closer to (or currently, with) his in-laws. With more responsibility at work comes a decreased ability to post, so I'll try to step up my game to cover for him.

So aside from girls that wear Abercrombie & Fitch, my favorite thing about the summer is the football (i.e. futbol) transfer window. Last year, my beloved Manchester United FC was rather silent at this time - at least compared to our degenerate cross-city rivals. Of our three acquisitions, one turned out to be a huge flop, another an incredible surprise, and the last is considered to be at heart of our central defence's future. (I'm obligated to speak/spell like a Brit in posts about football.)

Let's review those three signings:

• Bébé (Tiago Manuel Dias Correia) - the flop of the bunch. He was the first player Sir Alex Ferguson signed without having personally watched him play. Had we signed him 5 weeks earlier, it would have been a free transfer. Instead, we had to fork up £7.4M pounds to activate his release clause with Guimaraes. As he was recommended by former MUFC assistant coach and fellow Portuguese national Carlos Quieroz, SAF took a gamble on he player - possibly due to fear that Real Madrid would grab him first. Bébé had a decent performance or two, but showed little progress to go with poor touch and control. Besiktas of Turkey announced that they have taken him on a season long loan for the 2011/2012 season, with a look towards a permanent transfer following the season.
  Verdict: Bust. Sorry Bébé, this isn't the homeless World Cup anymore.
  
• Chicharito (Javier Hernandez) - Chicharito (little pea) was a very low key signing at £6M from Chivas de Guadalajara. He surprised many with his rise to a prominent starting XI position, overcoming top EPL scorer Dimitar Berbatov and previously prolific Michael Owen. His strong play also led to the loan of Kiko Macheda to Sampdoria in the winter transfer period. Chicharito was clutch down the stretch and scored several magnificent goals - a back-to-goal header and a heel flick goal (both against Stoke City), a winning header against Everton, a goal in the 1st minute against Chelsea - the list goes on. All of this overshadows the goal he scored against Chelsea in the Community Shield where the pass was behind him, and he kicked the ball off his face and into the net. But hey, it was a goal.
  Verdict: Stud. He's received immediate comparison to MUFC legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and we expect to see continued performances from the Mexican.
  
• Chris Smalling - At £12M pounds, this signing was criticized for some time. Considering he hadn't held down a starting place for Fulham, perhaps it was justified. But again, SAF showed that he knew what he was doing. Smalling was a little shaky at first, but learned very quickly playing alongside Nemanja Vidic. The England U21 center half performed more than admirably in the absence of Rio Ferdinand. He is a clear cut above Jonny Evans, and along with new signing Phil Jones, should command the central defence for United when Vida and Rio are no longer playing with United.
  Verdict: Almost a stud ... soon, though. He's a tremendous header of the ball but there may be some growing pains in establishing a relationship with whoever the new #1 keeper will be for United (cough ... De Gea ... cough).

I've already alluded to the current transfer season (Jones, De Gea) but I'll save that talk and speculation for another post.

Glory Glory Man United!

This is it.

Game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals. Now is the time. This is it.

Go Canucks Go.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

Bruins Force Luongo Out, Force Game Seven.

Why not? Why not extend this intense Stanley Cup Final to a decisive seventh game? Why not have Luongo's confidence shaken by a poor performance on final time before the do or die finale? Why not have Henrik Sedin inspire the haters to come out by letting a puck go through his legs when he had a wide open chance? Why not have one of our fastest and most exciting second line players go down to injury in the penultimate playoff contest on a dirty hit that didn't get called for even a minor? Why not have those same refs that missed that call, hand our captain a diving minor on a play where he got knocked out by Chara when he didn't even have the puck?

Why not?

Well, I can think of plenty of reasons why none of that should have happened, but that doesn't matter. The reality of the situation is that it all happened last night, and we have a date for Wednesday night to decide the fate of these Stanley Cup Finals in beautiful British Columbia. The reality of the situation is that the Bruins stepped it up when it mattered most, and have pushed things forward. As much as we have felt like a team of destiny, I'd have to imagine that Bruin supporters feel the same way. Now that it comes to a game seven, we are just 60 minutes away from discovering which side fate is really on.

With all that being said, what more can be said about game six? Roberto Luongo became the story, facing just 8 shots before being yanked. He allowed 3 goals, two of which were very, very soft, and he gave Boston a huge confidence boost. His mighty backup, Cory Schneider, performed admirably, stopping 30 of 32 in relief, and while the Canucks couldn't ride that backup job to a comeback, it did give them the opportunity to try. And try they did. The 'Nucks didn't fold like they did in game three, in fact, they had a strong second period, and opened the third with a goal just 22 seconds in. 

My wife made a comment that my face lit up after that Henrik Sedin power play goal, and I'm sure it did. It was a brief moment of joy in a game full of despair, however. Max Lapierre scored a second goal for the Blue & Green with less than 3 minutes to go, and while it was meaningless in the grand scheme of things, it was still fun to see him get his second of the series. 

One interesting thing was the way that the 'Nucks got straight dominated in the faceoff circle. Boston won the battle 46-28, and our main man Manny Malhotra was noticeably beaten time and time again on the dot. It was weird, and it allowed the Bruins to really dominate puck possession for large portions of the game. 

I will say this, though, and I'm sure you'll be shocked: I disagree with the mainstream media on their assessment of the situation. While most are talking about how the Bruins are riding an undeniable wave of momentum in the series, I'd have to assert that I'd be betting more on the fact that every game of these Stanley Cup Finals has been won by the home team. I don't want to hear about how Boston's wins have been more dominating than Vancouver's. I don't want to hear about how Roberto Luongo isn't going to rise to the occasion despite this being the most important game of his career. All I want to hear is about how the Canucks are undefeated in this series at the Roger, and how that will probably continue to be the case after tomorrow night.

I'll finish by talking about the Mason Raymond injury, and the impact it'll have. Mason was slammed into the boards, butt first, and ended up being taken to the hospital with a serious injury. It has been reported that Mason suffered a "major back injury," a vertebrae compression fracture, and he will miss 3-4 months, not just tomorrow's game seven. It's a bigger loss than the Canucks will admit to, as Ma$e brings speed and a sniper's shot. However, this is game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals, and there are no excuses. Jannik Hansen will have to step it up, and I have no doubt that he will. I just hope that Raymond will return to form in time for next season and beyond.

Alright, it's time to put our sanity on the line. Let's put our Blue & Green on one last time and cheer on these damn Canucks.

It's do or die.

Go Canucks Go.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

It's Time To End The Pain And Suffering.

For the franchise, it has been 40 years. For me, it's has been 17. Either way you look at it, the Canucks have a chance to end it all. In tonight's Stanley Cup Finals game six, my Vancouver Canucks have the opportunity to win the greatest prize in all of professional sports, Lord Stanley's Cup.

And how will we feel as fans? What words will capture the emotions we will be going through as we watch Henrik Sedin drink champagne out of that bowl? Will it ever feel real? How about Victor Oreskovich? His name with be engraved on the holy grail of professional sports with all kinds of amazing heroes of the past and present. Is there anything cooler than that?

In 150 minutes, we will all turn our TVs to NBC, we will all toss on our favorite Blue & Green sweater, and we will cheer our hearts out for one hell of a hockey team.

So, for hopefully the last time this year:

GO CANUCKS GO!

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

Lapierre And Luongo Put Canucks On Verge.

As most of my readers know, I have moved to the Bay Area to take on a new (higher paying) job, and thus my ability to blog has taken a hit. That being said, I thought I'd drop a little post on my Canucks.

Friday night, my boys trumped the easily hateable Bruins 1-0, and reached the edge of the Championship mountain. Roberto Luongo posted another ho hum Stanley Cup shutout, and the Canuck third liner that everyone in Massachusetts hates banked the game winner off of Tim Thomas' chest. It was a beautiful thing.

To start out, I have to say how proud I am of ol' Roberto. Are you kidding me? 8 goals in game three, 4 goals in game four, and he does this? With all the haters coming back out of the wood work after the two losses in Boston, he took a pre-game walk on the Vancouver seawall to clear his thoughts. And then, he turned in a gigantic shutout that put him just one win away of hockey's biggest prize. 31 shots, 31 saves. All the concern about Luongo's ego taking too much of a hit after giving up the 12 goals in less than two games, and bam! He shuts them out. Just too perfect.

It was something of a now infamous Vancouver play that helped us score our goal early in the third period. It was the ol' send the puck off the boards to a waiting goal scorer move. Kevin Bieksa sent a shot wide, the puck slammed off the boards and came to Maxime Lapierre waiting in front of the net. Lapierre, the second most hated Canuck among Bruin supporters, then banked the puck off of the logo on Thomas' jersey, and it went into the net. It was an electrifying moment for a guy who is working on becoming the greatest trade deadline acquistion of all time. 

Just quickly to Tanner Glass' miss in the second. Yeah, it was horrible, but it's Tanner Glass, what do you expect? I mean, the net was completely wide open, and anyone could have buried it, but what are you going to do? Tanner whiffed and blew a big chance, but it worked out in the end, so nobody will remember. Don't miss that one if it comes up in game six, buddy.

As we head into a game tomorrow night where we have a chance to win Lord Stanley's Cup, keep a couple of our shortcomings at the forefront of your mind. First, our horrible power play. We are 1 for 25 on the advantage in these Finals. How we could possibly be up 3-2 with a 1-25 power play is beyond me, but that's the way it is. Another shortcoming is that of the Sedins. Sure, they looked a little physical in game five, but Daniel has just one goal in the series, and Hank hasn't picked up a single point. The Bruins plans to play the Sedins just like the Preds is working. It'd be nice to see that change in our favor. And how about Kes?

Also, wasn't it interesting to see Tanev replace Ballard, rather than play with him? I will love it someday in the future when we get to hear Coachie V actually explain what happened between he and Ballard this season.

So, we have game six tomorrow night in Boston. Will the Canucks be able to get their first road win of the Finals, and at the same time end 40 years of pain and suffering? Will the Bruins fight hard for Nathan Horton, and send the game back to beautfiul British Columbia for a winner take all game seven?

I'm not sure my heart would be able to take it, so let's finish them off as soon as possible.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but my Canucks are just one win away from winning the Stanley Cup Finals.

Go Canucks Go.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

Now What?

There isn't much I want to say about last night's 0-4 game four loss to the Bruins, but I'll share a little.

I'd just like to give a big middle finger to Bruin fans and their players. You guys go on and on about how dirty we are on the Canucks. I hope you watched the game last night, you piece of trash chowder heads. 

McQuaid is a huge bitch. That play in the third was unbelievable. First he pulls Ehrhoff down by the face as he skates by, and then, after the whistle, he purposely leans over to lay an end over end hip check on an onrushing Canuck player. It was so cheap and dirty, even Keith Ballard decided to try and drop the gloves. If was freaking pathetic.

Although, Tim Thomas is an even bigger bitch. In that same period, the Bruins classy goalie ripped Alex Burrows in the back of the leg with his stick for no reason, and when AB turned around, Thomas brawled with him. What the hell?

What was even weaker about all of this is that it all came with Boston leading by four goals. So, when you guys are even or behind you like to pretend you're a totally good bunch of guys, but when the win is a sure thing, you start acting like bums? Total garbage. You don't even deserve to be in the Cup Finals with an attitude like that. It's just a total lack of respect for the game.

Sure, I could get into the whole Luongo being pulled thing. I could delve into the Canucks going 0 for 6 on the power pay. I could even talk about how Coach Vigneault made a huge mistake by starting Alberts as the #6 D-man rather than Tanev. But I can't. Mostly because I'm only 30 minutes away from completing my final day of work in Orange County before moving to the Bay Area. But also because the real story of the last two games is how weak, cheap, and dirty the Bruins are, despite pretending that they're a bunch of good ol' boys playing for the US of A. It's clear that they aren't. They're just a bunch of dirty bitches in black and gold sweaters.

And don't even get me started on the weak calls on the 'Nucks by the refs, especially the "slash" on Henrik Sedin where the Boston player tripped on his own feat and fell over. Yeah, conspiracy theories are picking up steam.

Man, I'm upset about last night's game.

It's anybody's series at this point. However, if Luongo doesn't get back into his groove, we had might as well just give up now.

See you Friday.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

LSF Squads In Action 6/9/11.

I know there is barely any LSF action today, but this may be the last time I ever get to do one of these posts, so I had to seize the opportunity.

Blue Jays (A) v Kansas City

The LSF Game of the Day: Dodgers (B, J) v Colorado

Best of luck to the two long suffering squads today.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

I'm Calling Out Vernon Wells.

No, I'm not calling Vernon out for his poor play. Not only would that be way too easy, but it's been done by just about every Angel fan around this season. Instead, I'm calling him out for being a jack hole to the fans and supporters of this squad.

If you know me, you know that I put a lot into quotes from players on the teams I support. Some people think it's dumb, but I'm a character guy, what can I say? While I'm obsessed with stats, especially in baseball, I still hold onto the clubhouse chemistry and character of players as impactful to a team's success. I've given crap to Torii Hunter this season, as he has been running his mouth in an attempt to avoid having people actually pay attention to his poor play. And now, it's Vernon Wells' turn.

After being injured by a bad batting average, Vernon returned to the lineup last night after a poor rehab stint in the IE (we miss you, Rancho). In his first game back, last night's 1-4 loss to the Rays that included stranding Mark Trumbo at third with no outs in the seventh, he sucked. It was funny because the Angels players praised him in the media prior to his return. There was lots of talk about the boost that he would give the team upon his return, which didn't make much sense to us fans.

Us fans were proven right last night, as Vernon went 0 for 3 with a strikeout in his first game back. When asked about the booing from the supporters in the seats, Vernon had this to say:

"It is what it is. You get hits, they cheer, you don't, you get another reaction."

So, here is my problem. When you were brought over in a trade for two, much loved among the fans, players like Juan Rivera (loved by me) and Mike Napoli (loved by everyone else because he can hit the occasional, pretty, long ball), and you bring a monster (aka, stupid) contract with you that prevents us from gathering more/better talent, you sure as heck had better produce. Since coming over to the Halos, Vernon is hitting .179 with 4 homeruns and 13 RBI. His on base percentage is just .219, and he's only hitting .123 in front of the home fans. In his last 10 games, he's hitting .194, so I guess that's an improvement, but it isn't a lot to hang your hat on.

What's my point? Well, my point is that a professional baseball player who has an ounce of class wouldn't make a comment like he did. When the fans are booing you, you should talk about how they deserve better, how you're going to work harder to turn things around, and how they have a right to express their feelings about your play. You show some freaking love for the supporters of your team, and you take some freaking responsibility for your awful offense. You don't have to be an All-Star to be loved by the fans (heck, Hank Conger is only hitting .232, and we love him, and wouldn't think of booing him, by the way), but if you don't speak better of the fans, you're a loser even if you hit .290. If you get to .300, though, we'll love you even if you are a douche. That's just how it is.

So there you have it, Vernon. Get some hits and respect the fanbase. Live up to the expectations the organization has for you. And do it all, very quickly.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

LSF Squads in Action 6/8/11.

Let's see what's going on for the long suffering squads today.

Dodgers (B, J) v Philadelphia

Blue Jays (A) v Kansas City

Angels (T) v Tampa Bay

The LSF Game of the Day: Canucks (T) v Boston

Just as an update, I only have two days left at my job in Orange County before my move to the Bay Area. As a result, my posting will take a serious hit, because I'm guessing I will actually be busy at my new job.

Good luck today.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

Boston Conjures Up Memories Of Blackhawks.

Well, that was a shit storm of a game three for my Vancouver Canucks. After staying even through the first 20 minutes, Boston used a cheap shot to their young stud Nathan Horton to give them a reason to win, and just destroyed the Canucks 8-1 last night. It was almost something of a joke. Goal after goal got by Luongo, with some of them being very, very soft.

I'm not interested in breaking this game down goal by goal, but I do have a lot to discuss. First off was the overall feel of the first period. Most media members and Canuck fans are saying that the 'Nucks were riding high after the first period. They assert that Vancouver had all the best chances, and had the upper hand in play. I sure didn't see that. Sure, Tim Thomas had to make a couple of big saves, but to me, the Canucks looked lost out there. They didn't seem to be making their passes, they seemed to be getting outskated, and they seemed to be getting the worst of the big hits (legal hits, that it). That being said, I liked our chances because I figured that Boston threw everything they had at us, and we still escaped even at 0-0. That seemed to be good news.

Of course, the bad news was the hit that happened just 5 minutes into the game. Aaron Rome lit Nathan Horton up with a horrible hit. Call it what you want. It was a cheap shot, it was a head shot, it was a late hit, and it was the kind of check that the NHL is trying to get out of the league. Horton was laid out on the ice, and needed to be carried off on a stretcher. It was just horrible stuff. The news came later in the game that he was able to move his extemities at a local hospital and that sure was nice to hear. Aaron Rome was handed a 5 minute major and a game misconduct for the hit, which made sense. Somehow, the Canucks were able to kill off the 5 minute Boston power play, and that's the only reason why I felt confident after the first period.

Today we found out that Horton is out for the remainder of the Cup Finals with a "severe concussion," and Aaron Rome has been suspended for the remainder of the Cup Finals as well (it's 4 games to be completely fair, and that'll take him out for good). I'm in the minority of 'Nuck fans on this case. Most are saying that the suspension is way too harsh, pointing to the fact that there has never been a suspension of more than one game during a Cup Final. They also point to Ben Eager's horrible hit on Daniel Sedin from earlier in the playoffs, which led to no suspension. It boils down to this: the NHL has decided that suspensions will be based on the extent of the injury, which is a little weird, but that's the way it is right now. For me, I can take all that, and figure that he deserves to be out for the remainder of the Finlas. I don't see how anything else could have happened with all the flack the NHL has picked up here lately.

Some people are suggesting that this suspension is a "make up call" for the NHL not suspending Alex Burrows for the whole biting thing back in game one. I don't really see that, because the hit was bad in and of itself. Rome had a chance to abort the hit, and followed through, despite the fact that Horton had passed the puck long before. Romey has no history of being a cheap player, and I don't think he did it on purpose, but it happened, and he deserves to be suspended.

Thank you, Milan Lucic, for making your coach look like an idiot. After game two, when Max Lapierre put his fingers in the face of Bergeron, taunting him in regards to the Burrows' incident, the Bruins' head coach talked about how classless our team was and how nobody on his team would do that. He wouldn't put up with it. Well, Milan Lucic proved him wrong, sticking his fingers in Lapierre's face and daring him to bite down. Well, well, well. I guess you guys are just as classless, eh? Maybe, since it was Lucic, it's just a Vancouver thing.

The next thing about last night's game was the whole leaving Luongo in issue. What the heck are you doing, Vigneault? Coach V said that he asked Luongo if he wanted to go back out there, and he said yes. Why is a coach letting his goalie make this choice? What is Luongo supposed to say? No thanks, I'd rather sit down? I don't think any athlete would say that, and the coach is ultimately responsible for this choice. So, Luongo gives up 4 goals in the second, I guess I'd let him go back out for the third. Once he gives up a goal 11:38 into the third while the Bruins were shorthanded, you have to get the hook. What a joke. I'm worried about two things because of this situation. First, I'm worried that Luongo is going to have a huge hit to his confidence based on how this game went down. Second, I'm worried that the Bruins have gained confidence regarding their ability to get the puck past Roberto. It just isn't good, either way you look at it, and I blame Coach V.

How short will the leash be in game four? It's an interesting thing, and I for one am shocked that no one around Orca Nation has started talking about Cory Schneider getting a start in game four. I don't think it's a good idea, but I am so used to Canuck supporters being just a little more panicky and crazy than I am (although, just a little, if I'm being completely honest), so I'm shocked that talk isn't out there. As for the goaltending on the other end, I'm wondering when we are going to see this hot and cold Tim Thomas that we heard so much about. So far, he's been nothing but great. It would suck to have him figure it all out now and remain this consistent.

So, Ference, Recchi, Marchand, Krejci, Paille, Recchi (again), Kelly, and Ryder all got the puck past Luongo, and only Jannik Hansen could tickle the twine for the Blue and Green. The even more depressing thing is our power play. Sure, we went down big, but how many chances did Boston give us to get back into this one? We had 8 power play opportunities, including a four minute double minor. Everytime we went on the advatage, the announcers would point out how this was a good chance for us to shift the momentum. And, in one of the most important games of the season, we went 0 for 8. Unacceptable. We looked lost, we gave up two shorthanded goals, and we had some difficulty setting the thing up every one of those eight times. Not cool.

With Romey being out, you'd have to imagine that Keith Ballard and Chris Tanev will draw in, and Alberts will take a seat. Hopefully Ballard can prove that this suspension will make our team even better, and just stick it to Coach V for benching him all this time.

One cool thing, with all due respect to Nathan Horton, is that the hate level and intensity of this series has completely gone nuts. Boston fans hate us, we hate them, and the hatred is spilling over to the players on the ice. Lucic sucker punched Burrows three times to the dome, Kesler stepped it up and brawled for the first time in recent memory, and the teams clearly already don't like each other very much. Hatred aside, Wednesday night's game is huge.

Do we leave this whole game behind, dominate game four, and get a convincing 3-1 lead? Or, does Boston come out of nowhere, rally around the Horton injury, and draw even at 2-2? The two options have such different implications it's almost too crazy to comprehend.

Let's regroup, and take game four.

Go Canucks Go.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

"Weekly" Football Post #101.

Chivas got some revenge over the weekend, beating the team that eliminated them from the US Open Cup. Much in opposition to RSL supporters' desires, Marcos Mondaini returned from suspension and scored the Goats' golden goal in a 1-0 win over Portland. You'll remember that Mondaini dropped a really reckless foul on RSL star Javier Morales, which injured Morales for the remainder of the MLS season. Salt Lake fans wanted Mondaini to be out just as long with a suspension, but the league didn't agree. In his first game back since the May 7th incident, he cashed in.

Chris Cortez started things with a pass to Paulo Nagamura. Naga streaked down the sideline and laced a perfect ball to Mondaini, who was waiting right in front of the goal. Marcos easily redirected the ball into the netting, and Chivas had the lead after 70 minutes of hard fought soccer. Portland's Jack Jewbury (awesome name, by the way) forced Dan Kennedy to make a huge save on the other end just moments later, and DK was up to the challenge. Despite dominating possession for the remainder of the contest, Portland couldn't make much of it, and Chivas picked up a huge win at the HDC.

Defender Ante Jaziç got a rare day off, as we look at Robin Fraser's lineup:

G: Dan Kennedy- He came up big when he needed to, picked up another clean sheet, and helped to keep Chivas undefeated in their brief two game homestand with this year's expansion cousins. He's making Gaucho Nation quite proud.

D: Michael Lahoud, Heath Pearce, Zarek Valentin, Michael Umaña- It was quite a different back line for the Goats, with Lahoud and Umaña drawing in, but it worked. It just goes to show that we have more defensive depth than people thought. Hope you appreciated the rest, Ante.

M: Ben Zemanski, Nick LaBrocca, Paulo Nagamura (Simon Elliot 82)- As we've seen the season go on with this new 4-3-3 formation, I think this is kind of the dream midfield. It'd be nice to have Gavin back in the middle, but LaBrocca has been such a pleasant surprise after coming over from TFC for Flash Gordon.

F: Jorge Flores, Justin Braun (Chris Cortez 68), Marcos Mondaini (Blair Gavin 87)- Speaking of Gavin, it was cool to see him coming back from injury and getting on the pitch for a couple of minutes. Hopefully it's a sign of positive things to come from the Akron grad. It was also nice to see Chris Cortez finally show why Fraser has been giving him all this time on the pitch recently, as his substitution for the ghost known as Justin Braun was obviously well times. And how about Marcos? Suck it, RSL.

The win gets Chivas back to .500 ball, as they sit at 4-4-5. And, those 17 points are good enough to help the Goats climb to the #6 spot in the West and the #8 spot in the league overall. That's right, Chiva Fighters, we are officially in the playoff picture. Man, those Eastern Teams are bad (Chivas would be #3 in the East!). So, now that we're in a playoff spot, it's time to hang on, because that has to be the goal of this team, even though we've been rebuilding a bit this year. Good job to Robin Fraser, no doubt.

Chivas faces off with hated rival Houston next time out. The Dynamo are 3-5-6 on the season with a 0 goal differential, and haven't won in their last five games. Talk about a chance for the Goats to improve their place in the table even more!

Projected/Desired lineup: Dan Kennedy, Ante Jaziç, Heath Pearce, Zarek Valentin, Michael Lahoud, Nick LaBrocca, Ben Zemanski, Paulo Nagamura, Marcos Mondaini, Chris Cortez, Jorge Flores.

¡Arriba las Chivas!

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

LSF Squads In Action 6/7/11.

Well, that was a rough night last night. Let's hope this day off from hockey does us well.

Dodgers (B, J) v Philadelphia

Blue Jays (A) v Kansas City

The LSF Game of the Day: Angels (T) v Tampa Bay

Let's enjoy some baseball, eh?

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

'Nucks Look To Tighten Finals' Grip.

Man, was game two exciting and anxiety provoking, or what? Both of these games have been intense every step of the way, and I've put in an offer for an automatic defibrillator, just in case game three gives me a heart attack. 

I'm kind of going to bring my feelings about game two in a less than chronological way, because I want to start with Max Lapierre. Has anyone on this team surprised the fan base as much as Max? When we picked him up at the trade deadline, it was kind of a "oh yeah, this journeyman is going to help us" deal. Manny Malhotra went down, and Lapierre stepped it up. He has been a physical force, and has put pressure on opposing goalies as the third line center throughout this second season. It has really been fun to watch. In game two, he provided me with one of my favorite moments.

With the media amazingly focused on what has become known as "Bite Gate," Lapierre poked a little fun at Patrice Burgeron, and Boston is all up in arms. Yes, it looked like Alex Burrows bit the gloved finger of Burgeron in game one. No, the NHL didn't suspend him, much to the chagrin of Bruin supporters (especially when he scored the game two winner in OT, you chowderheads). So, you can see why, as a passionate Canuck supporter, I took so much pleasure in Max's little joke after the whistle of one play. Involved in a dust up with Bergeron, Lapierre placed his gloved fingers into Bergeron's mouth and dared him to bite down.

Bruin supporter, and especially their coach, went nuts. Max was labeled as a disrespectful, dirty player, and many commented on their lack of surprise with the number of teams he has played for in his relatively brief career. Guess what? I don't care! He's been a freaking stud in this postseason, and the prank he pulled on Bergeron was just the latest in his studly moves.

Speaking of "Bite Gate," I'm guessing that Alex Burrows more than made up for all the bad press he was getting. He said, after the game, that the negative attention didn't bother him, but had a negative impact on his parents. However, he said that his father told him the best way to get over everything was "to go out and score some goals." Alex surely did that. AB tallied two goals and picked up the assist on Daniel Sedin's third period game tying goal into a wide open net. And his second goal, just 11 seconds into OT, was truly something special.

Burrows now has the honor of scoring the second fastest OT goal in the history of the NHL Playoffs. Hank won the draw, Edler got the puck, Edler fed Dank, and Dank handed things off to Burrows. Alex streaked down the side boards, with Chara all over him. He faked his shot, getting Tim Thomas to bite and come way out, and then went behind the net. Burr came around, with Chara being unable to keep up, and pushed the puck into the wide open net for the win. Freaking thrilling.

The refs put the whistles away for this game, handing out just two minors to the Bruins and three to the 'Nucks, and that kept the flow of play moving along nicely. Of course, it also made for an unreal building of anxiety as the contest went on. Both goalies were on again, with Tim Thomas stopping 30 of 33 and Roberto stopping 28 of 30. Again, Bobby Lu didn't have to stand on his head exactly, but he did have difficulty with the Bruins listening to Don Cherry from Hockey Night in Canada, and moving Chara back out on the point instead of leaving him to try and screen Luongo. The screening didn't work in game one, but putting the big boy back on the point seemed to help. Heck, it led to their second goal, as a Chara blast was deflected by the Medi-Care covered Mark Recchi.

And then there was that goal by Milan Lucic. It certainly wasn't the nicest goal, as he just pounded away at Luongo until the puck went in. My appreciation for him certainly took a hit, but I think I can forgive him for scoring a Stanley Cup Final goal against his boyhood team in his hometown, since we ended up walking off with the win.

So, where are we at this point? I feel in a very similar spot as I did when we went up 2-0 on San Jose, only a little more nervous. While many Canuck supporters are saying that we have had the upperhand despite the really close and last second outcomes, I tend to think this series is a little tighter than the mainstream media is portraying it. A zero-zero game until Raffi Torres scores a game winning goal with 18 seconds to go? A comeback win that needed overtime to complete the Vancouver victory? This baby is close, and we've only won home games, so what's the big deal?

As I said during the Sharks series, we are suppossed to win at home, and we did. What happens next all depends on how we play in Bean Town. And, in all honesty, a lot will depend on the first ten minutes of game three. Who will come out with more intensity? Who will drop the big hit right out of the gate? Who will get that quick strike goal to rattle the opposing goalie's confidence? I hope it's my boys, but we'll have to wait and see.

In 46 tries, only 4 teams have come back from a 0-2 deficit to win the Stanley Cup. If we win game three, our death grip on these Bruins gets ever tighter. Let's do it.

GO CANUCKS GO!

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

One Million Reasons Trumbo Is Better Than Torii.

Alright, I don't literally have one million reasons, but there sure are a bunch of reasons. I'll be honest, Big Game Hunter totally fooled me. I just did a post about his resurgence and how he was possibly finally figuring things out this season, and then this weekend happened. Sure, I know that Mark Trumbo are Torii Hunter don't play the same position, although Trumbo has experience in a minor league outfield, but I'm just shocked at how much better than Torii, Trumbo has proved himself to be thus far.

Back on May 31, I wrote about Torii's .320 average over the previous 14 days, along with 4 jacks and 12 RBI. I wrote about his .367 average in Baseball Reference's High Leverage situations. I was fooled, and this weekend's series against the hated New York Yankees underscored just what a fool I am.

We'll compare Big Game's weeknd with Mark Trumbo:

Friday- 
Hunter: 0 for 3, with a walk
Trumbo: 2 for 3, with a walk

Saturday-
Hunter: 0 for 4, with a K
Trumbo: 1 for 4

Sunday-
Hunter: 0 for 5, 3 LOB w/ 2 outs
Trumbo: 1 for 4, with a jack

Overall-
Hunter: 0 for 12, with (I heard) 15 LOB, including 2 GIDPs yesterday
Trumbo: 4 for 11, with a jack

Wow. Torii is supposed to be our best hitter, our most feared presence in the box. And yet, when the big bad Bronx Bombers come into town, he can't even muster a hit. When he grounded into his game ending and rally killing double play yesterday, I just threw my hands up and laughed. How is he doing this bad?

His 16 GIDPs ranks him first in the league. His average with RISP is a beyond pathetic .225. With 2 outs and RISP, he's an even worse .161. What happened to our clutch outfielder? You can even make an argument that he's turning into the next JD Drew. When the game is tied, he hits just .226, and it only improves to .236 when the game is separated by a single run. However, with the margin of difference is greater than four, he shines at a .389 clip. It's really sad. Are we watching the quick end of a really nice career, rather than the slow fade that we would have expected to see? 

If you want to make yourself feel better, just look at serious rookie of the year candidate Mark Trumbo and his numbers. We were confident when we thought Kendrys would be out until May, but when the truth came out, we all got a little worried. Did Trumbo really have what it takes to be an everyday major leaguer? It's looking like the answer is a resounding yes.

The Anaheim native has quickly become a fan favorite. A .262 average, 11 jacks, and 29 RBI in his first 55 games? Spot on. He already has a WAR of +0.9, and his splits have me hopeful. He's hitting .256 with RISP, and surprisingly, he hits .308 the first time he faces a pitcher, rather than sucking at first and getting better after getting some looks.

He can do it, because he's a serious line drive hitter. 38% of his hits come on line drives, more than grounders of fly balls (way more than his 1 bunt for a hit), and when you're making the kind of contact to drive the ball like that, your really squaring things up nicely. By the way, we start a series with Joe Maddon and the Rays today, and Trumbo is hitting .412 against them here in 2011. Bring on the wins. 

As I go out, though, I want to point out that I'm not trying to say that a solid effort from Mark Trumbo is going to cover up Torii Hunter's poor offense over the course of the season. In games the Halos win, Big Game hits .304, and he only hits .155 in games we lose. Therefore, you have to agree that we're only going to be a successful team if Torii gets back on track.

Tonight, the Halos send Tyler Chatwood (3-2, 3.64) to the hill against David Price (6-5, 3.52). If our Fontana, Ca native is dealing his best stuff, we could have quite the pitching duel on our hands here. But, let's hope that Torii Hunter and Mark Trumbo can rough this Price kid up a little bit. Yeah, I'm still calling his a kid.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

LSF Squads In Action 6/6/11.

Hopefully the Canucks can continue to march toward their sweep of the Bruins tonight.

Dodgers (B, J) v Philadelphia

Blue Jays (A) v Kansas City

Angels (T) v Tampa Bay

The LSF Game of the Day: Canucks (T) v Boston

Just two more wins. Unbelievable.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

"Weekly" Football Post #100.

All of the absences made big holes for the Goats in their midweek clash with the expansion Vancouver Whitecaps at the HDC. With Alejandro Moreno, Jorge Flores, Andrew Boyens, and Simon Elliot all either on International duty or suspension duty, Chivas wasn't able to bring their recently found aggression to the table, and could only muster a 1-1 draw with the bottom of the table bad guys from the Stanley Cup city.

46 minutes into the game, Nick LaBrocca came away with a thrilling goal to get us started. The former TFC star blasted a shot from outside of the box, and beat 'Caps keeper Joe Cannon. NLB's cannon beat Vancouver's Cannon. It was encouraging, especially after some opportunities that we let slip away early on. However, it only took two minutes for Vancouver to get even. Camilo got inside the box with the ball and put the it into the upper corner to get things squared at 1. It was a shockingly quick comeback, but we'd get a potential huge boost about 20 minutes later. 

Eric Hassli came in with a late tackle on Chivas midfielder Ben Zemanski, and he got shown the red. With Hassli off, the Goats had 24+ minutes of advantage to put some pressure on. Despite getting 5 shots on goal from that point to the final whistle, we couldn't make the magic we needed to get the lead back late. That's a disappointing way to go down.

Robin Fraser didn't like the effort, "We were too passive, mostly in the first half." Passive isn't a descriptor you want used for your team, and really they were passive for the whole game. It was our one-man advantage in the final 20-some-odd minutes that made it seem like we were being aggressive. Goat defender Heath Pearce called the attackers out as well, "We were really bland in our attack with a lack of creativity and movement..." I don't really like Heath talking bad about anything other than the defense, but there you have it.

Let's take a look at the lineup:

G: Dan Kennedy- He continues to solidify himself as our starter, with some crappy efforts mixed in. He deserved better with the result in this one.

D: Zarek Valentin, Michael Umaña, Heath Pearce, and Ante Jaziç- This isn't too different from our usual defense, and in fact, it may have been even better. Pearce gets some junk thrown his way for spitting game after the match.

M: Gerson Mayen (Paulo Nagamura 60), Ben Zemanski, Francisco Mendoza (Michael Lahoud 60)- Amazing to see Mayen start, and get a great assisting-type play on the LaBrocca goal, and really amazing to see Naga back and healthy. It was a patchwork midfield, and they did as well as you could expect.

F: Nick LaBrocca, Justin Braun, Chris Cortez (Victor Estupiñán 76): LaBrocca scored, and was the only bright spot up front, slotting up from the midfield. Meanwhile, there was no excuse for Braunie, Cortez (although less so), and Estupiñán not making anything happen. Come on, Justin!

At 3-4-5, Chivas are still ranked 7th in the West and sit 12th overall in the league. That means we're still out of the playoffs by two spots and about 1 point. Staying in striking distance certainly helps keep the hope alive. This weekend is a big match against Portland (5-4-2). The Timbers have been doing fairly well for their first year in the league, and a big win against the team that knocked us out of the US Open Cup a while back would go a ways to getting this train back on the tracks.

Projected/Desired lineup: Kennedy, Pearce, Jaziç, Umaña, Valentin, LaBrocca, Zemanski, Nagamura, Braun, Mayen, Estupiñán

¡Arriba Las Chivas!

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

LSF Squads In Action 6/3/11-6/5/11.

It's time for the sports weekend to get going. Let's see what's on tap:

Friday-

The LSF Game of the Day: Blue Jays (A) v Baltimore

Dodgers (B, J) v Cincinnati

Angels (T) v New York

Saturday-

Blue Jays (A) v Baltimore

Dodgers (B, J) v Cincinnati

Angels (T) v New York

The LSF Game of the Day: Canucks (T) v Boston

Chivas USA (T) v Portland

Sunday-

Blue Jays (A) v Baltimore

Dodgers (B, J) v Cincinnati

The LSF Game of the Day: Angels (T) v New York

Keep the eyes on the prize, Canuckleheads.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

Canucks Win A Thrilling Game One.

One down, three to go, and could it have been more intense? The way things played out, it became a game that felt like it was constantly in overtime. Tim Thomas and Roberto Luongo were putting together an unbelievable game, and you just kind of knew that a single goal would be enough to do it. I just don't think any of us would have guessed Raffi Torres would be the man to score that single goal.

I'll touch on the goal quickly before getting to the rest of the game. While Raffi was the goal scorer, the goal really came about because of a seriously nice play by Ryan Kesler, and a perfect pass by Jannik Hansen. Kesler stood up the Bruins at the blue line as they tried to clear the zone, and sent an amazing pass across the ice to Hansen. The Great Dane then found a streaking Torres heading to the net, and Raffi deflected the spot on pass from Hansen past Thomas. It all came with just 18.5 seconds left in regulation. When the goal was scored, you could clearly see what I meant when I said that it felt like overtime for the entire game. The players and the fans went completely nuts. The Canucks played tough, and won game one.

Roberto Luongo is doing everything he can to shed the criticism. 36 saves on 36 shots led to his third game one shutout of the postseason, and we all know how each of those series turned out. Luongo made some big time saves, got helped out by the iron once, and looked fairly comfortable in the cage. He never seemed to be overwhelmed by the pressure, and just took each shot as it came. And yet, Tim Thomas had a more impressive game. Despite only stopping 33 of the 34 shots he faced, even the most casual observer saw that Thomas made more big time saves. He just seemed to make saves when it seemed impossible to do so. It happens to Luongo everytime. Even when you shutout the bad guys in game one of the Stanley Cup Finals, you kind of get outplayed by the guy on the other end of the ice. The media didn't think so, though, as Luongo finished as the first star, Thomas as the second.

A ton of attention has to go to the Dan Hamhuis situation from the second period. Just about four minutes in, Hammer laid Milan Lucic out with an unbelievable hip check. I mean, this was incredible. Lucic was flipped completely over right in front of the bench on the check, and his boy (and probably my most hated Bruin after 60 minutes) David Krejci didn't like it. It was a completely clean hit by Hamhuis, but Krejci decided to skate over and cross check Hammer in the face, knocking him out of the game with an injury. It was a dirty, low life move, and I'm hoping the NHL looks at it (though I doubt they will, with Campbell stepping down from his discipline post, but then again, maybe that'll change things for the better). I know it won't happen, but Krejci should get a game for going head hunting like that.

Of course, Boston fans (and maybe Jon Davis, who still complains about the hair pulling) are focusing on the Alex Burrows-Patrice Bergeron "fight" at the end of the first. After the horn sounded, there was some rough stuff between the pair. Burrows, being held back by the ref, was holding onto Bergeron's shield and eventually ripped off his helmet. He was then rubbing his glove on Bergeron's face, as the ref continued to try and break it up. When Bergeron returned the favor and stuck his glove in Burrows' face, AB appeared to bite his finger through the glove. They both got penalized, but Bruin supporters want Burrows suspended. Maybe the finger just ended up in his mouth? Maybe I'm ready to admit that one of my favorite Canucks is a dirty fighter?

But, the impressive action from the Canucks came on the penalty kill. They faced a long 5-on-3 early in the second and killed it well, and that made all the difference. Despite being outshot as the second period went on early, the Canucks kept the momentum pretty even, and that has to be a big reason why they were able to turn it around and win late in the third. Boston seemed to give Vancouver all they could handle in the second, and then they ran out of steam somewhat in the third. If it wasn't for Thomas' heroics, it could have easily been 3-0 by the time Raffi scored.

And how about the lesser known Canucks? Jannik Hansen, as mentioned, was a beast. He may have been the best player out on the ice over the entire course of the game. Mason Raymond shined on the secone line, in a game where he needed to because Chris Higgins was a ghost. Ma$e had two shots, including a breakaway, that I couldn't believe didn't go in. Meanwhile, Max Lapierre continued to show that his acquisition at the trade deadline was pure genius. The physcial presence, the quality shots on goal, and the impact he makes for that third ine? Priceless. We didn't think we had anyone who could fill in for Manny, but Max slotting from the fourth line to the third has made all the difference.

Before I go out, I'd just like to reaffirm that Milan Lucic is a beast. Man, I'd love to have that guy on this team, and I don't ever say that about guys on the other side of a playoff battle.

Now we wait again. Game two in Vancouver doesn't go off until Saturday, and we'll have to suffer through two more days of over-analyzation. We'll hear all about how the team that wins game one of the Stanley Cup Finals goes on to win the series 77% of the time. We'll hear all about how our speed was too much for their toughness. We'll hear all about how we might end up sweeping these guys to win it all (round one in seven, round two in six, round three in five...do you see the pattern?). We'll hear all of that, and we'll need to remember to keep our heads down, keep working hard, and take care of the task at hand.

There are only three wins standing in between my Vancouver Canucks and Lord Stanley's Cup.

It's insane.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

LSF Squads In Action 6/2/11.

For the first time since I've been doing these "squads in action" posts, we don't have any LSF squads on the schedule today.

So, sit back and relax, as sports takes a break.

Spend some time with your family, or something, you deadbeat.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

And So It Begins.

With the long layoff, this game one has been analyzed beyond belief. We've heard interviews with Comox, BC native Cam Neely (part of one of the worst trades in Canuck history/best trades in Bruin history), we've heard from the family and friends of Vancouver native and Boston superstar Milan Lucic, and we've looked back to that February 26th regular season 1-3 loss to Boston and tried to figure out what went wrong.

We've sat through analysis from former Canuck Brad May on NHL Network's On The Fly, we've listened to almost every expert say that we are the favorites heading into this Cup Final, and we've watched as the news of the Atlanta Thrashers move to Winnipeg has led the NHL news wire instead of our glorious return to the Finals.

We've gone through all of that, and now we're finally here. We sit less than 90 minutes away from the puck drop of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals between the Boston Bruins and my Vancouver Canucks.

You all know the story, it's been 17 years since the Canucks last trip to the Finals. A series in 1994 that we lost in 7 games to my cousin's New York Rangers. Before that, it was a sweep at the hands of the New York Islanders in the Finals back in 1982, the year of my birth. Before that, nothing. This in only our third chance to drink from that glorious cup. But, with all that being said, this is clearly our best chance. We have never entered a Cup Final as the favorite, and with the inconsistent play of Boston and more importantly their goalie, Tim Thomas, us fans are feeling pretty pumped up.

The cheers of "Do it for Manny," have turned to "Do it with Manny," as Manny Malhotra has a tiny chance of getting back to play with the boys during this series. While he has been with the team every step of the way after his eye injury, motivating the boys back in the clubhouse, having him step back onto the ice would provide a huge boost to the squad. Could you even imagine him coming back? Those faceoffs in the zone on the PK wouldn't be a fear inspiring situation anymore. He probably won't play in game one, but there's hope he might get back before it's all said and done, and that would be pretty special.

And how about the cheers of "Luuuuuuuuuu!"? Is there anyone else on the Canucks who is on more of a mission to silence the haters? For some reason, a lot of people don't buy into Roberto Luongo, despite him winning the Gold Medal in the Olympics and despite him being an amazing NHL player. But, even he knows that he has to get one more accomplishment under his belt before he can be considered a truly great goalie. That accomplishment is just 4 wins away, and you'd have to believe that he's not about to let this opportunity slip away. He's better than Tim Thomas, and we all know it. You know it, I know it, and he knows it. Silence those hater, buddy.

Don't forget the Twins. The Canucks were questioned for taking them in the draft, but that hasn't been an issue, eh? Daniel and Henrik have been called the top two players in the entire world, and they have been stepping it up during this postseason. The only concern is that the Bruins have made it clear that their game plan is to come at then like the Preds, and with the way Nashville silenced the Twins, that makes me a little worried. But again, these guys realize the stage that they are on, and they are here to win.

What else does Ryan Kesler have to do? He has been just perfect during these playoffs. Amazing defense during the Chicago series, thrilling offense during the Nashville series, and a game tying goal on one leg in the dying seconds of the San Jose series. If you ever didn't believe in our best American born player, you do now. He's the real deal, and we're all very proud of him. RK-17 needs to continue to push forward, appreciating the extra rest between San Jose and Boston more than anyone on either team, and he will be a huge difference maker in this clash.

Has there been a better defender than Kevin Bieksa? Christian Ehrhoff, Sami Salo, Alex Edler, Dan Hamhuis, et all just haven't contributed the way that Bieksa has. He's been so good, that I'd say he has clearly risen to the position of being our #1 defender right now. How many media members would have traded him for a bag of pucks last summer? Idiots. Bieksa scored that magical goal that clinched the Western Conference Finals, and his big hits have really made a difference. Can he keep up the solid play? I'd like to think so, and I can't wait to see him do so.

Don't forget Coachie V. Alain was one goal away from being fired and thrown out of town back in the Quarterfinals, and now he's on the brink of becoming known as the greatest Vancouver coach in franchise history. It's funny how these things work out in sports.

As for the bad guys, Nathan Horton is overrated, Zdeno Chara is a dirty player, Tim Thomas is hot and cold, and Milan Lucic is the only cool guy on a squad full of muppets. That's right, I'm trying to build up the hate here. As was said on Vancouver radio, there isn't an Original Six squad that we have less of a history against, but after the next two weeks or so, there won't be an Original Six squad that we have more history against. No matter what happens, the Bruins will become an intense part of the Canucks franchise history after this series is finished, and that's part of what is so cool about all of this.

So, here we go. 40 years of hockey in Vancouver has all come down to this. It's game one of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Boston Bruins and my Vancouver Canucks, and it's game time.

GO CANUCKS GO!

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

Piñeiro Error Highlights Poor Defense.

First the Halos won that thrilling comeback game on Memorial Day. Then, with Joel Piñeiro looking for career win #100 for practically the 100th time, they jumped out to a nice 2-0 lead in the first inning of yesterday's game at the Kauff. Add to that the fact that the Rangers had lost earlier in the day, and it's pretty clear that things were looking up for the boys in red. That is, until the third inning.

With a runner on first and one out, La Piñata received a comebacker and went to second base, looking to start an inning ending 1-6-3 double play. Instead, he hurried the throw, binked it off of the Royals runner, and watched as the bal rolled into the outfield. With runners on the corners, the wheels came off for our beloved #4. RBI single, RBI single, 2-run double. That's all she wrote. The Royals would pick up 5 runs in all off off Joel after his error, and they never looked back, as they beat the Angels 3-7. 

Mark Trumbo and Jeff Mathis each had 2 hits and a RBI a piece, but you had to realize that any team with Bobby Wilson as the DH isn't going to mount another epic comeback, right? Erick Aybar was able to make me proud, nabbing his 13th stolen base of the season, St. Peter got his 6th.

For me, though, the game highlights a huge and glaring problem for my ball club: Defense. When you have a team with a weak offense, and I think even the most intense Halo apologist would agree that we're at least a little weak on the run scoring side of the game, you are only going to win with solid pitching and mistake free defense. The 2 errors from last night's game (I'm calling you out too, Trumbo) showcase how the Halos aren't doing their usually slow offense any favors by biffing easy and fundamental plays with the leather.

The Angels currently rank 12th in errors (the 12th least errors of any team in the MLB) in the overall league, and when only 8 teams make the playoffs, it's pretty clear that being the 12th best defensive team isn't going to cut it, especially when you only have the 18th best offense (in terms of runs scored) trying to make up for the errors. It doesn't really work out.

And it's becoming a pattern. In 2010, the Angels defense was even worse, ranked 24th out of the 30 MLB teams. It just doesn't work when you don't have the offensive to make up for it. Remember those World Champion San Francisco Giants? Heavy on pitching and weak on hitting, right? Sounds kind of like the model that the Angels have been going after. Besides their pitching, their 4th ranked defense (in the entire MLB) was the secret to the Giants' success. The Giants had an error per game rate of 0.45 during their Championship season, while the Halos rocked a 0.70 rate.

While it has improved this year to an E/G mark of 0.54, it still isn't good enough to help this team make up for it's much talked about lack of offense. In case you are wondering, the 2011 World Series Champions as crowned by ESPN back in March, the Phillies, are sporting an E/G of 0.42, even better than last year's eventual champs.

So, that's a lot of complaining about defensive problems, but not a lot of solutions. What can we do? Well, the obvious answer would be to replace the biggest offenders with guys who can handle the glove a litle better, so long as you aren't losing to much with the stick.

We'll look at the bottom five players on the roster with defensive WAR:

Bobby Abreu -0.3
Alexi Amarista -0.3
Vernon Wells -0.3
Jeff Mathis -0.1
Mark Trumbo -0.1

Now we'll look at those five with their offensive WAR, and I'm sure you already are thinking about who needs to ride the pine to improve our defense:

Abreu +1.2
Amarista -0.4
Wells -0.7
Mathis -0.1
Trumbo +0.7

So, Abreu and Trumbo have been producing offensive numbers that seem to cover up their defensive issues, especially because Abreu should be playing at the DH full time. That leaves Amarista, Wells, and Mathis to get off the field. And, when you boil it down, it really comes down to getting one guy off the field. Alexi Amarista is only up because HK-47 is on the DL, but with the Branyan acquisition, I don't see any need for Amarista to play, as Ma$e and Aybar can take over the middle infield daily with 3TO filling in at left. Wells is on the DL, so we don't have to worry about him bobbling the ball right now.

As I said, that leaves us with one player. One guy who is making more errors and defensive miscues than his offense can make up for. One guy who we need to get off the field to help improve our defense, and thus our team as a whole. It's almost too easy to believe.

Take a seat Jeff Mathis, you are our biggest liability. You have a negative defensive WAR, you have a negative offensive WAR, and you only throw out 21% of base stealers. I know Mathis sucking is hardly breaking news (heck, we've covered the topic here about a billion times), but it is time for the Angels to put him out of his misery and start Hank Conger. "The Conger Need Food" has a dead even defensive WAR (0.0) and a +0.4 offensive WAR. He's been throwing out 23% of base stealers, and he has 3 jacks and 12 RBI in just 31 games (103 ABs), while Mathis only has 1 homerun and 8 RBI in nearly the same time span (102 ABs).

We all know the switch would do a lot to help our offense and the growth of our up and coming catcher, but it would also do a lot to help our defense. Hank is ready, let's give him his shot. It's over, Mathis.

At 29-28, the Angels have been jumped by Seattle. While the Halos trail the Rangers by a game, Seattle sits just 0.5 back of Texas, and Oakland is 2.5 in the rear view. A really early game against the Royals this morning will feature Tyler Chatwood (3-2, 4.13) going against Felipe Paulino (0-4, 5.68). I'm not going to break it down, it's just a must win for Chatwood and the crew against a joker like Paulino.

Let's get it done.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

May Stats.

It's that time of month again. Let's take a moment to review the stats from the month of May.

Total Posts Per Blogger: 1,186

Total "Instant Sufferings" Per Twitter: 2,014

Total Posts In May: 50

Ranking All-Time: Tied for the 3rd most posted month in history, along with January 2011.

Most Viewed Post Of The Month: "Making Peace With Raffi Torres" by Tommy on 8/26/10 was viewed 325 times.

2nd Most Viewed Post Of The Month: "Ben Eager Sucks, Canucks Smoke Sharks" by Tommy on 5/19/11 was viewed 176 times.

Top Referring Sites:
1. Google sent us 1,490 readers
2. Bing sent us 62 readers
3. Yahoo sent us 61 readers
4. Halos Heaven sent us 16 readers
5. Pharm-Drug-Shop.com sent us 7 readers (that's got to be the most bizarre one yet)

Top Search Words Used To Find Us:
1. "Canucks Flasher" brought us 23 readers
2. "Notre Dame Predictions 2011" brought us 19 readers
3. "Raffi Torres" brought us 15 readers
4. "Luongo Sucks" brought us 12 readers
5. "Ben Eager Flasher" brought us 11 readers

Pageviews By Country
1. US brought us 1,150 views
2. Canada brought us 937 views
3. Russia brought us 105 views
4. UK brought us 86 views
5. Iran brought us 67 views

Pageviews By Browser
1. IE users viewed us 1,365 times
2. Firefox users viewed us 733 times
3. Safari users viewed us 477 times
4. Chrome users viewed us 386 times
5. Opera users viewed us 83 times

Pageviews By Device
1. Windows users viewed us 2,373 times
2. Mac users viewed us 473 times
3. Linux users viewed us 71 times
4. iPhone users viewed us 53 times
5. iPad users viewed us 38 times

So, there you have it. Let's keep up the good work on this ever growing team blog!

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

LSF Squads In Action 6/1/11.

It's a new month, and it's a big night.

The LSF Game of the Day: Canucks (T) v Boston

Angels (T) v Kansas City

Blue Jays (A) v Cleveland

Dodgers (B, J) v Colorado

Chivas USA (T) v Vancouver

Go Canucks Go!

-- Sent from my Palm Prē