Mats Sundin is not Mark Messier

I have heard alot of talk from fellow Canuck fans that bringing in Mats Sundin was a mistake, I have even heard it be compared to the dreaded Mark Messier move from 1997 (Yuk!). While everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I think it is only fair that everyone get their facts straight before forming opinions. So here are some fun factoids that may alter your opinion:

The Vancouver Canucks have gone 17-5-1 in their last 23 games (best mark in the NHL)

When Canuck’s Captain Robert Luongo was asked who the hardest working player on the team was he undoubtedly answered, “Mats Sundin.”

When Mats Sundin missed the first few months of the season he was not under contract by any NHL team, therefor he was not involved in a holdout of any kind.

Mats Sundin will make roughly 3.5 million this year, not 8 million.

So now you have the facts, if you still have a problem with the move you can always point the finger at management. Then again, you would be pointing your finger at the same management that has been here not even a full year and has already performed a bigger transformation then Mickey Rouke’s acting career. Mike Gillis and company have drafted the best prospect in recent memory, (Cody Hodgeson) taken a non playoff team to within 1 point of 3rd place and given the Canuck’s major cap flexibility this summer.

I hope what you have just read will give you some prospective on the situation. Then again, just as Mats Sundin is free to hang out in Sweden and work on his non tan, you are free to point your finger at whom ever you see fit.

Guy Carbonneau Takes Blame In Montreal

The  Montreal Canadians announced today that GM Bob Gainey will be taking over the coaching duties for Guy Carbonneau. Carbonneau who last year led the surprising Canadians to the top seed in the Eastern Conference  has been made the scape goat for his teams recent struggles.

Many Canadian fans had high hopes entering the 100th season in Montreal Canadians franchise history as the team looked poised to make a run for Lord Stanley’s Cup. The dream season started off as many optimist had imagined, the Canadians were battling it out with long time rivals The Boston Bruins for top spot in the East and they even got to host one of the more exciting All-star games in recent memory.

Now the Montreal Canadians sit fifth in the East and are falling fast, All-star forward Alexi Kovalev has been so non existent he has been asked to sit in the press box and watch from a slightly higher vantage point. And then there are the Koistitsyn brothers, who have been rumored to be involved with the Russian mob (What!?) among other things… Even “Golden Boy” Goaltender Carey Price has seemed to be broken down by the pressures of the lime light now looking  like a North American version of Pete Doherty (not a complement).

Yet with all this going on GM Bob Gainey has decided to point the finger at the coach, maybe the only one on the team who hasn’t disappointed. So with just 15 games left until the playoffs Gainey will try his hand at turning the season around but with a deep playoff run looking less likely then Quebec separating from Canada, you have to wonder if perhaps he has dug his own grave and will be barried in it… by the Koistitsyns… allegedly…

Indiana Pacers: Down But Not Out?

When the Indiana Pacer’s All-Star forward Danny Granger went down with a torn tendon in his right foot on February 18th in a loss to the Charlotte Bobcats it had even the most optimistic of Pacer fans (myself included) all but throwing in the towel on what has been a season of bitter disappointment.

As so often in sports what we expect and what we get, come out as two completely different things, something Pacer fans are all too familiar with. Enter this years squad who have been hanging around in the playoff hunt, competing with a brash of injuries and a schedule tougher then Rocky Balboa’s right hook, much due to the emergence of  the above mentioned Danny Granger. Yet without their young superstar the Pacers have been able to rally furthermore around their deficiencies and have posted a 5-2 record and climbed to within 2 games of the 8th and final playoff spot currently held by the Milwaukee Bucks.

So how has this team done it without their two best players? One of the biggest factors has undoubtedly been the play of  combo guard Jarret Jack, the Georgia Tech product who often gets the assignment of shutting down the top guard  of the opposition has more then chipped in on the offensive end averaging  22.1 points 4.7 assists 2.7 rebounds per contest, not bad for a guy who was all but casted out of a point guard deprived Portland team.  You add the ever so consistent and often overlooked Troy Murphy, along with the strong supporting cast of  TJ Ford, Marquis Daniels and Jeff Foster and perhaps we are more surprised then we should be.

Continuing with the under the radar theme of this team, is a coach that flies perhaps lower then anyone of the players. Now, I cant speak for all Pacer fans but I know for one I have been, lets say, “critical” of coach Jim O’Briens late game decision making and play calling (or lack there of). While I am not convinced the problem has been completely resolved I must say the way he gets this team ready to compete every night is a marvel and a true testament to him as a coach.

For a franchise that has so many bad breaks (no pun intended) it is sometimes hard to tell when a good one comes along, and while no one wants to see a player like Danny Granger on the sidelines, it has seem to have brought the team together and may prove to be just the break (or tear) that Pacer fans have been waiting for.

Andrea ‘Barg’nani

Yes everybody, despite what you have heard his name is actually Andrea ‘Barg’nani, not ‘Bust’nani as he is so often referred too on Toronto Raptor message boards and around the NBA. This 23 year old sharp shooter who was drafted 1st overall in the shallow NBA draft of ’06  by many accounts has been more of a disappointment then the movie “Max Payne”.  After a solid rookie campaign that saw him average a respectable 11.6 points and 3.9 rebounds per game as well as finishing a close 2nd in Rookie of the Year voting to the very talented Brandon Roy, Bargnani took a step backwards averaging 1.6 points and .2 rebounds less his sophomore year. This had Raptor fans foaming at the mouth calling for him to be dealt for the flavor of the week and Raptors GM Brian Colangelo’s head for dessert.

A slow start to the ’09 campaign, a head coaching change and an injury to starting center Jermaine O’neal provided Bargnani with yet another chance to prove his doubters wrong and show what he had only revealed in flashes his rookie season. An opportunity the 7-footer would take full advantage of averaging 19.1 points and 6.4 rebounds in 29 games. More impressively is out of those 29 games just two have seen him fail to score in double digits, one could only question the vast improvement and overall maturity in both his game and his demeanor.

Now as his critics stand quiet, Raptor fans rapidly go back through their message board posts deleting any evidence of doubt along with the changing of signatures to “IL MAGO!!” (The Wizard) we are reminded that players are human too and sometimes all they need is a little time to grow up.

Hello world!

Hello and good day to all!

First off, I would like to explain where my username comes from, Millertime101 was chosen for the great Reggie Miller, he was an icon when I was growing up and was one of the main reasons I got into sports.

This being my first post (no cherry jokes please) I figured I would give you my life in a nutshell,  so here it is:

I am 22 years old and I live in beautiful British Columbia Canada, I was born in a small city known as Victoria, the same hospital as 2 time NBA MVP Steve Nash for all you basketball fans out there.  As I am sure you can already tell sports play a huge role in my life, they are my passion, my joy and thus, my reason for starting a blog.

While sports represent a big part of my life they are not the only part, family, music, friends and cinema also make up  who I am and what I am all about. While writing this blog my goal is to touch on all these subjects and to give the reader not only some entertaining views but something useful that can be taken away. Whether it’s a new movie that has just come out, or a basketball rumor, I hope to both inform and entertain.

I sincerely thank you for reading and hope you will not be a stranger.

– MillerTime101