A can full of iced worms

By Scott Antoszewski

The arbitrator ruled in favor of the NHL this week and has voided the 17 year $102 million contract Kovalchuk signed with the New Jersey Devils. Kovalchuk is now a free agent again and can sign with any NHL team. The problem is not who wants him; it’s who can afford him.

He’s stated that he wants at least $10 million a season. The Thrashers offered him that last season and he flat turned them down. He’s not only looking for big bucks, but he wants them from a contender, which limits his options dramatically. The arbitrator ruling will prevent teams from offering a front loaded contract, so the question becomes who has the money to pay for a $10 million a year player who hasn’t led a team to victory or won anything of note himself. I believe that Ilya is in a real bind here. He’s going to have to lower his demands or face playing in the KHL next season, both of which may be a good thing for hockey fans.

The arbitrator’s decision has also opened up a whole new can of worms that the Players Association most likely never thought through. The collective bargaining agreement with the NHL has two clauses that state that the league can review any contract, even after it has been approved, and there is no time deadline for the review of any contract.

A player can be in year two or three of a ten year contract, and if the league chooses to review it and reject it, that player is going to be up the creek without a contract. I think the NHL has let these super long term deals go on for a few years to build up enough ammunition to enact these clauses and make the players pay. The NHL has apparently already started reviewing the contracts of Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo, Blackhawks winger Marian Hossa, and Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger. The league will use the Kovalchuk decision as its precedent because the arbitrator even went so far as to mention those three contracts by name in his decision on the Kovalchuk case.

Long story short, Kovalchuck is back on the market, and now any player who signed a mega deal in the past few years, has reason to sweat. Stay tuned, it looks like this is just getting good.

(Not so) rapid reactions

By Dr. Jekyll

Apologies for the hiatus, but when life gives you Stanley cup and NBA finals and a world cup, sometimes forget to share opinions. With that being said, here are some (not so) rapid reactions to the past few weeks in sports:

The Los Angeles Lakers remind me that every sport constantly needs a bad guy. I’m not an NBA fan by any stretch of the imagination, but I tune in to watch them lose… Andrew Bynum makes me feel like a failure at life for doing what he does at my age. Originally, I ate cake while watching the game for enjoyment, now it’s eating feelings…

Strasmus came early this year in DC, as the resurrection of the franchise is in the hands of ohmygodthiskidcanpitch… For how awful it is that Baltimore has more opponent fans in the stadium than O’s fans, it really makes me more likely to make the trip up to “Fenway South” a few times each year… MASN2 had coverage of the Strasburg start, MASN covered the O’s vs. Yankees. That’s like having the Super Bowl on ESPN2 and the “Puppy Bowl” on ESPN…

I really hate Chris Pronger, and Duncan Keith was robbed of a playoff MVP trophy in the only sport where the playoff MVP trophy is just about pointless…

I watch soccer games on mute, thank you vuvuzela. Also, ESPN should have Spanish announcers do the World Cup as well; they’re much more active…

Speaking of active, Rajon Rondo is the reason the Celtics will win this NBA finals, as opposed to ’08 where they won in spite of him…Kobe Bryant is still “the next Michael Jordan”. No knock on LeBron, but when Kobe takes over, it’s a beautiful thing to watch…

Everyone throwing no-hitters every week is getting annoying. Want to make an anniversary less special? Have one every other day. See what I mean…?

Soccer won’t make it big in the states for one reason: that all of our best athletes play football or basketball. And the moment they’re good enough to play at an international level for soccer, they’re shipped to England (not that I particularly care)…

The realignment of the conferences will be the death of age old rivalries, but will eventually lead to the playoff system over the BCS that we all desperately want…USC is doomed, Lane Kiffin will miss Oakland, if such a thing is possible…

Stanley Cup: game five recap

By Scott Antoszewski

Blackhawks 7 Flyers 4

Blackhawks lead series 3-2

The scoreboard at the “Madhouse on Madison” had a very simple image. There was a picture of the Stanley Cup and a number one. The Hawks torched both Philly goalies for seven more goals, and are now one win away from winning their first Stanley Cup in 49 years.

There were many strong similarities to the first game of the series, as the teams combined for 11 goals, and Flyers goalie Michael Leighton got pulled. Chicago jumped all over the Flyers in the first period, scoring three goals and taking that 3-0 lead to the first intermission. The Flyers showed the resilience that is their trademark in this years playoffs, getting the deficit down to two goals twice, but they just couldn’t overcome the Hawks fast start. Neither Leighton nor Boucher were overly spectacular for the Flyers. Chicago coach Joel Quenneville moved Patrick Kane to the second line in an effort to spread out the scoring threat. Chris Pronger had been on the ice every time the Toews, Kane and Byfuglien(pronounced buff-len) line was on the ice in the first four games. The move allowed Kane to get more time and space with the puck and he responded with a huge game.

Byfuglien had a much better night against Pronger in the trenches as well. The Blackhawks power play was two goals out of four chances on the evening, which was the first time special teams has made an impact in the series. The best analogy I can give you is the Blackhawks were like the bully, who have just enough strength to keep the Flyers at arms length. The Flyers certainly didn’t quit in this game, but they just couldn’t get close after Chicago went up 3-0. The game was very entertaining, which has been a nice trend throughout the series. All the matches have been fun to watch so far.

Now the series shifts back to Philly on Wednesday night. Will the home ice advantage hold true? Home ice had been almost a disadvantage so far in the playoffs, it’s nice to see that has turned around for the Finals. It will be interesting to see how both teams play with the Stanley Cup in the building. I can’t wait for this one!

Goal scorers in game five:

Chicago: Brent Seabrook(Power Play), Dave Bolland, and Kris Versteeg in the first. Patrick Kane and Dustin Byfuglien(Power Play) in the second. Partick Sharp and Dustin Byfuglien(Empty Net) in the third.

Philadelphia: Scotty Hartnell and Kimo Timmanen in the second. James Van Reimsdyk and Simon Gagne in the 3^rd.