Wednesday, 26 February 2014
Monday, 24 February 2014
Thursday, 20 February 2014
Hey Habs fans, STOP whining about PK Subban's Olympic ice time
To be clear, I am a fan of PK Subban. I enjoy watching him play with the Montreal Canadiens and I think he's a special player. However, don't shoot me, but I don't think he's the best player in the NHL. In fact, I don't even think he's the best defenceman in the NHL. I know, sacrilegious, right? Shame on me. Where do I get off?
The...um....people that keep taking to social media and talk shows to complain about PK Subban not playing at the Winter Olympics are, well, wrong, and viewing these games through red, white and blue beer goggles. These...um...fans are not seeing things through clears eyes and it is my sheer duty as a level-headed commentator to point it out.
Here are the facts. I know that Habs fans don't always like to deal in REAL facts, but I'll spew them anyway.
1. Team Canada's defence has more goals than its forwards, and it's not even close. Exactly why would they need another offensive defenceman in the lineup?
2. With Weber, Doughty and Pietrangelo all playing EXTREMELY well and lining up on the right side, why would it make sense to dress and play PK Subban on the right side?
3. PK Subban NEVER takes a regular shift on the left side, so why would you want him in the lineup, on the world's biggest stage, trying to adapt to playing left D, when you have elite left D-men who can get the job done?
4. Why would you need to dress Subban as a 7th D just for the power play? Are Weber and Doughty's bullets from the point, not to mention PP goals, not good enough for you? Plus, it's not like any team gets more than 2-3 power plays a game anyway.
5. This argument that no GM in the NHL would take Vlasic or Hamhuis over Subban is absurd and shows the ignorance of some ...um...observers. No team on the planet would want 6 offensive defencemen on the blue line. You need a mix of defensive D and offensive D. Therefore, with the amount of goals already coming from the D, and with Canada giving up the least amount of shots against per game in the tournament, why would you want to remove any of the current D from the lineup?
6. If there were two minutes left in the game, and the score was tied, who is most likely to pick up a penalty? Weber, Doughty, Pietrangelo or Subban? Right or wrong, refs picking on him or not, you know that the answer is Subban. So why would you want him in the lineup over any of those other D?
I am not a PK Subban hater. But I am a Mike Babcock decision lover. I am also someone who believes in rooting for Team Canada no matter what. So instead of lamenting how Subban, of Toronto, is not in the lineup, maybe Habs fans could root and celebrate players like Vlasic, of Montreal.
But alas, any Habs fan reading this through their red, white and blue goggles will simply read that I am a racist or a PK hater. Sigh, a lost cause.
Enjoy the rest of the games, everyone. Go Canada!
Matthew Ross will be on TSN 690 this Sunday, right after the Hamilton Bulldogs game, until 8pm.
Wednesday, 19 February 2014
Monday, 17 February 2014
Thursday, 13 February 2014
Monday, 10 February 2014
Monday, 3 February 2014
Where do the Concordia Stingers stand with their coaching search?
Congratulations
Concordia Stingers. You have completed the 90-day challenge, however, with no
results to show for it.
As this program
approaches the 100th day in their search for the next football head coach,
where do they stand now in this process? It seems like they have taken the
American Idol approach in filtering out all the contestants, but I wonder if
William Hung applied for the job.
Two weeks ago, five names were revealed by various media outlets ranging from Jacques Chapdelaine,
Bryan Chiu, Peter Chryssomalis, Mickey Donovan,
and Marc Loranger. It appears this list has dwindled down to a two horse race.
To be a fly inside the
complex walls, where multiple football sources have told me that the apple of
their eyes was Jacques Chapdelaine who now has been offered the same position with Simon Fraser University.
No question, this procedure
has worn out even the general CIS football fan. How can a once proud institution
have regressed to this point? Even the Catholic Church took a mere two weeks in
naming Pope Francis as their leader and his job has a bit more importance in
the world.
Whomever assumes this
coaching position, is three years away from being competitive. This is due to
their poor recruiting classes they had in the last few years where the current
cupboard is bare of talent. Unfortunately, former head coach Gerry McGrath didn't
leave much for the next hire to work with.
The longer this course goes,
the more likely this Stingers program will continue to be viewed by outside
observers in a different light.
If the "knights of the roundtable" (their
decision makers) believe they have their
candidate in-place, they can no longer wait. They need to proceed along in
allowing the next head coach to name his staff, implement his systems, and start
recruiting for 2015.
It’s only February, but
2014 is already heading into the abyss. The team will attempt to be competitive
but in reality the Stingers are building for 2015. The next head coach will be
given a clean slate to start building the team in his vision. That starts by
weeding out the excess fat in 2014.
As ironic as it is, it
seems like the Stingers roster is in salary cap hell, but these players are not
being paid. This season will be a long, drawn out painful process, but those
players who buy in will do what is needed by being the building blocks.
As the Stingers attempt
to build something for the future, it is somewhat depressing to Concordia fans knowing
their first preseason game is against their city rival Montreal Carabins. Even
though this game means nothing in the standings, it could get ugly by the coin
toss.
Finally the next hire
needs full autonomy in running this ship. If there are any influences from
those who may hover over this program, it could very well stagnate this
excavation.
It just seems like
Hung's hit song has more relevance than the Stingers at the present moment.
Follow me on Twitter @MoeKhan19
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