Author Danny Vinik

2008 NHL Draft and Off Season

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A slower day in sports today so I want to look back at the NHL Draft and look ahead to the off season. I consider myself an NHL fan (a Boston Bruin fan to be precise), but I cannot say that I followed the draft very closely. I can tell you that the Tampa Bay Lightning chose center Steven Stamkos number one and that the Bruins drafted center Joe Colborne number 16. I can tell you that after Stamkos, the next four players chosen were all defense man and that 12 defense man were chosen in the first round. I can tell you that the tallest player taken in the first round was Tyler Myers by the Buffalo Sabres (12th pick).

If you want me to start analyzing individual picks, don’t get your hopes up. Most players in this draft will not be in the NHL for years to come, whether they are going to college or playing overseas. However, the top picks in the draft will look to make a difference next year. Stamkos will make the Lightning better immediately and the four defense man chosen after that should all have impacts on their respective teams next year.  Almost none of the playerstaken after the top five will see NHL ice time next year. With that in mind, it is extremely difficult to grade teams in the draft. Not just are most players not ready for the NHL and will spend a couple years getting better, but it is tough for NHL general managers to predict their respective team’s needs years in advance. So I am sticking away from grading each teams. I can barely grade my beloved Bruins. I have mixed feelings over picking Colborne. He is a talented player with great upside, but from what I’ve read, he may be too soft for the NHL. I guess Bruins management (and their fans) are hoping his time at Denver University will toughen him up. Continue reading “2008 NHL Draft and Off Season” →

Euro 2008

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Phew. What an incredible couple days of quarterfinal action. There were two overtime games, both of which had two goals scored during the extra time and one game went to a shootout. Let’s begin at the first quarterfinal match of the week, Portugal vs Germany, where Germany survived a furious final 10 minutes from the Portugese to win 3-2. The Germans were lead by Bastian Schweinsteiger, who scored a beautiful first goal and assisted on the next two. Schweinsteiger scored at the 22nd minute and Miroslav Klose scored just 4 minutes later to give the Germans a quick 2-0 advantage. Portugal rebounded right before the end of the first half, at the 41st minute, as captain Nuno Gomes fired a bouncing ball into the back of the net to get Portugal back into the game at halftime. However, Germany took a huge 3-1 advantage in the 62nd minute when star Michael Ballack headed one in. As Portugal’s Euro 2008 time ticked away, desperation set in and the Portugese were able to get one goal back off of a free kick with Helder Postiga heading a ball past German keeper Jens Lehmann to make the score 3-2, but it was not enough. Christiano Ronaldo and Portugal could not find that third goal in the final couple minutes of the game and Germany advanced on to the semifinals. Stats wise, Portugal outplayed Germany as they had twice as many shots on goal as the Germans  (10-5) and collected nearly three times as many corner kicks (8-3), but Lehmann held strong andGermany made good on their opportunities. An extremely entertaining game, the quarterfinals began with a bang, but the best was yet to come. Continue reading “Euro 2008” →

2008 NBA Draft

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The 2008 NBA Draft is coming up in 6 days and the Chicago Bulls have to decide who to choose with their number one pick. One choice is hometown boy Derrick Rose from Memphis who has begged with the Bulls over the last few days to choose him and allow him to play close to home. The other choice is Michael Beasley from Kansas State who is an exceptional rebounder and great big man. The Bulls have not tilted their hand one way or the other as Beasley worked out for the team on Wednesday while Rose worked out on Thursday. Yet, those workouts have not seemed to clarify anything as Bulls’ GM John Paxson said that both had excellent workouts. With the Bulls not giving any inclination to whom they will choose number one, it is up to us to sort through statistics and team needs to choose who the best choice is for Paxson and Chicago.

Beasley put up phenomenal numbers at Kansas State, averaging 26.2 points and 12.4 rebounds per game while shooting 53.2% from the field.  Though Rose’s stats are not as impressive (14.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 4.7 apg), many people have questioned Beasley’s character as he had a couple of off the court incidents duringhigh school. While I watched Beasley and Rose play at college, it was clear who was the more talented player: Beasley. However, Rose is a true point guard and the Bulls are in need of a true passer. They have Ben Gordon, but he is more of a shooting guard and drafting Rose will allow Chicago to move Gordon to a more comfortable position for him. With Luol Deng at small forward and Drew Gooden at power forward, the Bulls may be in greater need of a point guard than a big man. That’s not to say that Beasley would not help the Bulls. Selecting Beasley would improve Chicago immensely, but the concern over Beasley’s character, Rose’s deep desire not just to play at home, but to win at home, and the Bulls’ need for a true point guard lead me to believe that come Thursday, David Stern will be announcing Derrick Rose as the number one pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. Continue reading “2008 NBA Draft” →