Looking back to what 2012 brought to the sports world

As 2013 is shortly upon us, here are the best moments that 2012 brought to the sports world.

10) Lebron finally gets over the hump: After years of playoff failure, small forward Lebron James finally got over the hump. He had basically put the Miami Heat on his shoulders dominating every game on their way to their second championship in franchise history. He was also named both MVP of the regular season as well as MVP of the finals. 

9) Islanders finally get a new home: After years of speculating that the future of the team was in doubt based on an arena, the New York Islanders finally got something they wanted. When their current lease at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum ends in 2015, they will move to Brooklyn and play at the new Barclays Center. Even though the capacity is small, it is a much more suitable venue than the Coliseum.


8) A new era in Denver: After missing the entire 2011 season due to a neck injury and eventually being cut by the only team he ever played for (Colts), Peyton Manning found a new home in Denver and was shortly playing like his old self. He threw for 4335 yards, 34 touchdowns and led the Broncos to the AFC West title along with clinching the AFC's number 1 seed in the upcoming playoffs. Can he put his past playoff failures behind him and win the Super Bowl?


7) What an incredible season so far for one NFL team: After a 2-14 season and lots of changes in the offseason which saw a new coach (Chuck Pagano) and a new franchise quarterback (Andrew Luck), the Indianapolis Colts were not expected to do much. After finding out that coach Pagano had a treatable force of leukemia, the Colts rode a wave of emotion on their way to a 11-5 season and seeing him return. Is an appearance in the Super Bowl on the horizon?

6) The improbable happens on their way to being champions: The first California based team did the improbable on their way to a championship. Led by the likes of Scutaro, Romo, Pagan, Cain, Lincecum and  Sandoval, the San Francisco Giants rallied from 2-0 and 3-1 series deficits in the NLDS and NLCS on their way to their second title in three seasons and seventh championship in franchise history in a four game sweep of the Tigers.

5) Blue Jays going all out: After a injury filled season which saw the Toronto Blue Jays win 73 games and seeing Manager John Farell go to Boston, GM Alex Anthopoulos decided to make big changes. No one in the baseball world expected what the changes would be. It started off small with signing 2B Maicer Izturis but the best was yet to come. He pulled off a mega 12 player deal with the Miami Marlins which saw SS Jose Reyes, Pitchers Mark Buerhle and Josh Johnson and Utilitymen Emilio Bonifacio join the Jays along with signing OF Melky Cabrera. Anthopoulos was not done there as he also acquired reigning NL Cy Young winnger R. A Dickey from the New York Mets. Is the playoffs let alone the World Series possible in Toronto?

4) The other California team making an improbable run to being champions: Before the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, only two number eight seeds made it past the second round with one of them making it to the finals (Edmonton 2006). The last postseason saw a second eighth seeded team make the finals and win it. The Los Angeles Kings went on an incredible run winning 16 of their 20 playoff games on their way to their first championship in their 45 year history.


3) 100th Grey Cup: The 2012 season in the CFL was something very special. It was to celebrate the 100th birthday of the prestigious Grey Cup. Sure enough, the game itself proved to be a great success. Playing in front of their home crowd at the Rogers Center, the Toronto Argonauts won their league leading 16th championship 35-22 vs. the Calgary Stampeders based on strong play from Ricky Ray, Chad Kackert, Chad Owens and good solid defense. 


2) Here we go again: Once again the NHL and the NHLPA cannot come up with a new CBA and therefore there is another lockout. Unlike the 04-05 lockout which was based on a salary cap, the owners and players are disputing on how the Hockey Related Revenue should be split, removing bonuses as well as extending the qualification of unrestricted free agency from 7 years in the league to 10. Should there not be a new CBA before January 14th, the 2012-2013 season will be history.

1) Canada doing what nobody expected: The 2012 summer Olympic games was something to remember for the Canadian women's soccer team. Not expected to do much, they went on an improbable journey led by their captain Christine Sinclair. She scored 6 goals in the tournament in which three of them were scored during the epic semi-finals against the United States. Although Canada did not win that game, they won bronze after defeating the French 1-0. This is something best remembered simply because Canada was not expected to do anything in the tournament and they did.

100th Grey Cup: A City known for losing finally wins a big one

  Us Montrealers gain pleasure when we see teams from Toronto lose almost every year. The Maple Leafs last won the Stanley Cup back in 1967 and have not made the playoffs since 2004. The Blue Jays have not made the playoffs since winning the World Series in 1993 while TFC and the Raps missing the playoffs since 2007 and 2008 respectively. However this day, the other team that was not mentioned ended their drought. In front of a hometown crowd of 53,208 at the Rogers Center, the Toronto Argonauts are the 100th Grey Cup Champs defeating the Calgary Stampeders 35-22. Their journey to the cup was remarkably similar to a situation a long time ago between two different teams.
   After seeing hall of fame QB Damon Allen go down with serious injury (Fractured Tibia) during the midway part of the 2004 season vs Montreal, he managed to recover from the injury and lead his team to winning the big game and in part beating the Als at Olympic Stadium in the East Final. Eight years later with another future hall of fame QB, the same fate happens again. Ricky Ray suffers a knee injury against the same team, the Als. Although his injury was less severe, he managed to recover from it and like Allen eight years before, he walked into Olympic Stadium and led his team to a victory.
   The second situation is similar to what happened to the Saskatchewan Roughriders back in 2007. They hired former QB great and Offensive Coordinator Kent Austin as their new Head Coach. Although he lasted only one season, he was instrumental in getting Saskatchewan to the big game which they won in Toronto. The same fate had to happen to the Argos on their coaching staff. GM Jim Barker hired Scott Milanovich as their new Coach. Like Austin, Milanovich was a QB in the CFL but was more well known for being Montreal's Offensive Coordinator for four seasons (2008-2011). As a first year coach and five years after an former OC won a championship at the same building (Rogers Center) where the 100th Grey Cup was, the same fate would happen again with Milanovich.
    Now off to the game. The Argos made it possible to win their 16th championship with strong performances from guys like Ray, Pacino Horne, Chad Owens and Chad Kackert. Owens got the ball rolling by scoring an early touchdown from a five yard pass. Horne intercepted a Kevin Glenn pass and ran 25 yards for the score to put the Argos up 14-3. After building a 24-6 lead at half-time, the Argos continued to play effective football with Andre Durie catching a Touchdown while Swayze Waters chipped in with a couple of field goals. Final Score, 35-22 Argos.
   Apart from an early interception, Ray was 18 for 31 for 231 yards with two touchdown passes but it was Kackert who stole the show. He ran for 133 yards on 20 carries along with 62 yards on 8 receptions on his way to becoming the Grey Cup MVP. From Calgary's side, it was evident that QB Glenn was nervous from the start as he could not get any rhythm going for his team and only completed 14 of his 22 passes for 222 yards. The Argos defence also did a great job shutting down Canadian Running Back Jon Cornish as he was only able to run for 57 yards on 15 carries along with a one fumble. Although there were some moments where the Stamps did get far, they only managed kicking field goals instead of scoring touchdowns.
   As I mentioned in the 2011 Grey Cup Blog, The Argos did not start 0-5 like the BC Lions did but, they put their mediocre 9-9 record behind them when it counted most in the three playoffs games vs the Esks, the Als and the Stamps.

Looks like the New York Islanders will not leave after all

    Over the past year or so, I had written two posts which were based on the New York Islanders. The first one "Could This Be The End Of Hockey in Long Island" (August, 2011) stated that once the lease at the Nassau Veterans Coliseum would expire in 2015, the Islanders could have been calling for a new home. During this time frame, owner Charles Wang had put out a wonderful idea which would of seen not only a new rink, but a first five star hotel. That was rejected due to the fact that it would cost $3.74 billion dollars. From the time I had written this blog until February this past year, there was much speculation on the future of the team which propelled me to write another blog on them "A Possible Way To Save The New York Islanders?" (February, 2012). In that blog, I made a suggestion stating that with the Barclays Center in Brooklyn opening up, it would make more sense for the Islanders to play there with much smaller attendance.
        Well sure enough as it was announced last Wednesday, the Islanders will call the new arena their home after the lease expires. It is obviously a great move simply because they will finally have a modernized rink to play. However, there is only one minor issue. As I mentioned in the February blog, their capacity will be the smallest in the league. Unlike the US Airways Center in Phoenix, it will be much easier to put an ice surface on a building that is primarily designed for the NBA. To conclude, Charles Wang and company finally got what they so desperately wanted.

Which pro teams have to be relocated and which should not?

   Since starting school at the friendly confines of Dawson College, it has been very hard to find anytime to get any blog writing done. However, after surfing the web the other day, I decided to give my opinion on which teams should relocate and which teams should stay put based from reading the list that MSN.com provided its viewers.
   On the list, its a no brainer that the Phoenix Coyotes of the NHL need to dip the desert. I mean in the 16 years that they have played, they have had some good teams here and there and a modernized arena built in Glendale. However, hardly anybody goes to the rink unless your talking about playoffs. What does that say about a fan base? Don't most teams fans support their team when they have their bad moments. Don't they also support a winning team who was fresh off winning the Pacific Division. All I have to say is the experiment in Phoenix was a bust and whoever decides to buy the team with the best intentions is going to inherit a debt similar to Montreal's Olympic Stadium.
   Another team that has to leave which was not on the list are the Miami Marlins. I have a debate on this with my dad stating that if the Expos had in fact won the 1994 World Series, they would of stayed put and had the new stadium. That obviously did not happen. The Marlins have been in the league for 20 years, they have won two World Series and managed to get a brand new stadium. The result is still the same. Nobody goes to watch baseball in the heart of Florida. Doesn't that tell you something.
   On the other hand Florida's other team the Rays were mentioned but I believe they should not consider relocation. Yes they were not as successful in their first decade but they have evolved out of the AL East. The problem now is similar to what's going on in Phoenix. The only difference is they are a small market team playing in a league without a salary cap. The other aspect that they are missing is a beautiful brand new stadium. It will take some time but should talks between the team and city officials fail, they will join the same fate as Florida's other baseball team.
  To draw a conclusion from this, it is obviously a thrill to have professional sport teams in respective cities but once it has lost its luster or if they stadium becomes decrepit, are people still going to care or will they not bother on how the team performs. Only time will time

   

24 years ago on August 9th,1988 and the impact it brought to the NHL

    August 9th happens to be the day where my twin cousins happen to be celebrating their birthday. When they were celebrating their 15th birthday back in 1988, a trade happened which brought shock waves throughout the NHL. After needing more money due to his other business ventures falling down the toilet, Oilers owner Peter Pocklington decided that he needed to trade one of his best players. That best player happened to be "The Great One", Wayne Gretzky. At first Gretzky had wanted to stay put but after taking with Kings owner Bruce McNall, both parties managed to work something out. The deal was Gretzky along with Mike Krushelnyski, and Marty McSorley went to LA for Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, two first round draft picks and $15 million dollars.
  The impact of the trade happened to of been very significant. Most people in Los Angeles at the time were mostly into watching the Lakers, the Dodgers, and yes both the Rams and the Raiders (both are now relocated). With Gretzky present in the LA night life, the Kings saw an increase in attendance and in fan interest. To add to that, the NHL saw an increase in teams that are located in non-traditional hockey markets in the States all because of Gretzky's popularity. Examples of teams that were established because of this were Florida, Tampa Bay, Phoenix, Anaheim, San Jose and Dallas.
   Had Gretzky stayed in Edmonton, there would of been that possibility of not seeing those teams being established because why would the population even bother trying to watch a game that they simply do not understand. As well if the great one had not be traded, would the Kings still stay in Los Angeles with the lack of fan support at the time? Well we would only know the answers if Gretzky had simply not been traded or traded to another market that had cared for hockey at the time.
  

What the Impact need to do if they want to make the playoffs

   As the 2012 MLS season is reaching its two and a half month home stretch, the playoff push will be getting a lot tougher. Among the teams in the Eastern Conference who are in the hunt happen to be the expansion Montreal Impact. They currently are five points behind the Chicago Fire for the fifth and final playoff spot, however Chicago do have three games in hand. If the Impact want to become the first expansion team to make the playoffs since the Seattle Sounders in 2009, here is what they are going have to do if they want to achieve that dream.
  I kind of find that the 2012 version of the Impact reminds me of the 2006-2007 Calgary Flames. Both teams were very great at home but did not do to well on the road. While the 06-07 Flames managed 13 wins, the Impact only have one win and one tie away from home. If they are going to gain some sort of traction in the standings, the team is got to find some way to get wins on the road vs teams like New England, Houston, Columbus and Chicago. Teams that also happen to be competing for that final playoff spot.
  The other way that the Impact will make the playoffs is that the big guns need to step it up. While we have seen breakout performances from guys like Felipe, Patrice Bernier and Sanna Nyassi, Marco Di Vaio has to step it up. In the eight games that he has been in the lineup, he has had chances but he only has one goal and two assists to show for it. Di Vaio has to play the way he did in Bologna in order for the Impact to succeed. If he does not play to his superb abilities, well then how will the Impact get chances to score to win games.
  So from a fans perspective, I obviously believe that the Impact will make the playoffs. From a realistic standpoint however, the only way that they can make the postseason is of course the big names stepping up and getting those crucial victories on the road. It should be an interesting two and a half month battle to see who will be participating in the playoffs.