Don't Trade Spezza

Black Aces wonders why the blogosphere is against trading Spezza when the media seems hell-bent for it.

Personally, I'm astounded that people think we should trade Spezza. He averages almost a point a game, he's second on the all-time Senators scoring list, and his game has improved so much in the last year.

I know I am beating a horse that's been well-beat elsewhere here. But seriously -- what do people expect is going to be the return for a trade? And who is going to step up to be the top center if he goes? Mike Fisher is a snappy guy, but he isn't a #1 center.

Seriously. We've been here before. (Even to the point of linking to Black Aces again.)

Meta Cup Discussion

The meta-discussion surrounding Chicago's Stanley Cup win last night has been fascinating. Apparently when Chicago won, it meant that three teams had gone, what, 43 years without a Cup win.

Those teams? Los Angeles and St. Louis, who were expansion teams in '67. And the third?

Hmmm... 1967 rings a bell for some reason. Yep that's right -- the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Apparently the Maple Leafs now co-own the longest Cup-free drought.

Why is this fascinating? I mean, besides Maple Leafs fans being miserable, a condition they are well used to by now?

It is fascinating because the vast majority of "coverage" of this issue has been Maple Leafs bloggers and media complaining about how unfair it is that everyone is pointing it out.

Mendez On Spezza

Sportsnet's Ian Mendez takes the Ottawa Media to the woodshed for their treatment of Jason Spezza.

The Blind Leading The Blank

SenShot talkes about Bruce Garrioch. This moved me to write this comment in reply:

I think you give Boo Boo too much credit. History has shown that there's no place in the news, sports news especially, for fair, reasoned, balanced discussion. It is all about shock value and scooping the opposition. The mere fact that you pay attention to him means that at some level his crazy antics are working. Me? I read about what he's up to when you or other 'bloggers write about him.

Admit it, if Boo Boo had been right about the Kings, it wouldn't have mattered that he'd pulled it out of his ass, he'd have looked fucking brilliant.

I think the fundamental problem is that Ottawa sports fans in general are bandwagonists -- they are there when the times are good, and absent when the times are not so good (see also the CFL and the Ottawa Lynx). The problem is that bandwagonists are also lazy fans, they look for the easy answer (Hey! That centerman keeps doing those no-look drop-giveaways!) and not the hard ones (Hey!... um.)

This is why goalies get run out of town. Everyone blames the guy in the crease, but the five guys on the ice (and/or in the penalty box as the case may be) gets a free pass for some reason. I don't think Gerber, Emery, or LeClaire were as bad as the guys in front of them made them look. (Yeah, LeClaire isn't gone yet, but if Spezza goes or July 1 passes... well I think he's next on the hit list, miracle in game 5 not withstanding.)

For a bandwagonist, sports are supposed to be about fun. And for a professional sport that you pay money to go to, "fun" means "winning", and since the home team is the one there most of the time, the home team is the one you want to win. And let's face it, if you are a casual fan who's shelling out $100 to $200 a pop for a night out (plus the required 45 minutes in the parking lot), you want some FUN for your money.

Personally I have my doubts about this team. They were streaky, and only rarely showed the depth and discipline that are needed in the playoffs. There's something fundamental missing, and I'm starting to doubt that something can be found while the current core of the team (Alfredsson, Spezza... um?) are still going to be productive. And given that, wouldn't it be better to trade them now while they have value, in exchange for longer term assets that can be built up?

I don't want to say yes, but it's Murray's job to look at hard questions like this to see if there is an answer either way, no matter who in the media is banging whatever drum.

The media's job is the same as the politician, to figure out where their audience is going and to get out in front of them. And that's all Boo Boo and his ilk are doing.