Salt on Monday

The NHL draft just passed and you can still feel the excitement! Three hours of Pierre ‘Blue Sky’ McGuire, Bob ‘no Doug’ McKenzie, and Farhan (Farhan?) Lalji screaming at you for three hours on a Friday evening! If that isn’t riveting television, then I just don’t know what excites you.

Don’t forget that we also had the thrilling MLB draft this weekend as well!
Wow, yet another draft featuring players that we have never heard of and won’t see for about three years. This is sports broadcasting at it’s best.

There are only two sports leagues that have relevant drafts; the NFL and the NBA.
Why?
The NHL and MLB draft is essentially a draft to stock their minor league teams and develop these players for the future.
The NFL and the NBA draft out of their developmental league – otherwise known as the NCAA. And the beauty of this system is that these leagues don’t even have to worry about funding this NCAA thing as the players aren’t ‘paid’ – stop laughing Chris Webber!! – and the Pro leagues get finely tuned athletes at an age where they can contribute immediately.
In football and basketball, the top picks most often go from high draft pick to on the field impact player in the first year. (In fact if you are a first rounder in either league and you aren’t starting or making a huge contribution, then you are largely considered a bust or a Redskin..)

How far will this notion of a televised draft go? Are we going to start televising the draw for poker tournaments? Or has that already happened.
If someone wants to televise the CFL draft, I might just start living in a park and drinking after-shave for the buzz.

BTW, Bill Simmons kills the NHL draft. You gotta read it.

When Sports Writers Attack!!




I know you all must have been distracted by the momentous hockey and baseball drafts this past weekend, and you might have missed out on a media spat that spilled out of Colorado.
Turns out that a longtime Colarado beat writer Adrian Dater has taken offence to the talking heads at the WORLDWIDE LEADER ESPN, and he flipped out on his blog - the blog is known as ‘The Masterdater Mail bag’. Seems Mr. Dater is sick of ESPN stealing stories and calling it their own. He wants some respect for the guys in the trenches who dig out all those great quotes that the humorists and on air commentators use on their shows and online columns.
Really?
Here is a beat writer, the guy who is forced to go into dressing rooms and get that precious ‘110%’ quote and he is bemoaning a lack of respect for what he does.
Thanks Adrian, I don’t know what I would do without your post game interviews – “the guys were really working tonight”, “ they just kept coming”, “there is no quit in this dressing room” – because everyone knows that the most interesting quotes in the sports world come from players talking to beat writers who are compelled to suck up to the athletes in order to maintain access (and their jobs). In fact Adrian, I’ll give you the post game quotes after the first regular season Avalanche game.

IF THE AV’s WIN:
Paul Stastny – “ I really had good jump out there tonight, I think the whole team is a lot more comfortable with each other this year

Joe Sakic – “ We are really starting to put it together, hopefully we can stay injury free and keep this going.”

Peter Budaj – “I was seeing the puck really well tonight”

Ken Klee – “You want to talk to me?”

IF THE AV’s LOSE;

Paul Stastny – “We just didn’t have any jump out there tonight.”

Joe Sakic – “ We have to put this together. Guys have to realize that training camp is over and we have to get going.”

Peter Budaj – “ I just wasn’t seeing the puck well tonight”

Ken Klee - “ You want to talk to me?”

There you go Adrian. Free of charge. Take the night off, do something nice with your wife or girlfriend.
I am a river to my people.

And finally, (because it seems like this column has gotten all serious like) ,it seems the Anaheim Ducks really know how to celebrate that Cup win.