Jon Marthaler (.com)

Weekend Links: The NHL’s Identity Crisis

Jul 22, 2013

NOTE: Rand is on vacation, and he never published these. So, for the first time I can remember, this did NOT appear first at RandBall.

The National Hockey League had a chance to make die-hard fans happy when it officially released its 2013-14 schedule on Friday. The league is reorganizing itself into four divisions for next year, and those of us who have been hockey fans for a few decades hoped that the league would take the chance to resurrect the divisional names that persisted from the mid-70’s to the mid-90’s: Adams, Patrick, Norris, and Smythe. Of course, they didn’t – the latest example of the NHL’s identity crisis.

The strangest thing is that I knew, as a hockey die-hard, that whatever I wanted, the NHL would do the opposite. The last twenty years of hockey – not surprisingly, a period coincident with the tenure of Gary Bettman as commissioner – have seen the league consciously try to move away from its roots. Bettman’s NHL has, whenever possible, turned away from its roots and towards becoming more like the NBA, a strategy that has led to three work stoppages, constant drama from several franchises, and zero increase – probably even a decrease – in national attention to the sport.

The one thing I can guarantee is that not one fan will be attracted to hockey because the divisions are named Pacific, Central, Atlantic, and Metropolitan. (You might notice that “Atlantic” and “Metropolitan” make no more sense than “Adams” and “Patrick” would have.) To go back to the old names, if nothing else, would have seemed more authentic than any other choice – a decision made with the person who’s already a fan in mind.

It seems like an obvious choice to me: make the die-hard fan happy. That the NHL didn’t agree – and, moreover, that I had no hope that they would even think about doing so – speaks volumes for the NHL’s identity problem. The league under Gary Bettman has no idea what it wants to be, or who it should appeal to, which is why after twenty years of Bettman’s reign, it’s in danger of being overtaken by soccer as North America’s fourth major team sport.

*On with the links:

*TVFury interviews Seth Reiss, the head writer of The Onion.

*Bryan Curtis at Grantland educates you on Carlin Isles, the future of USA rugby sevens, your new favorite rugby player, and the latest evidence that America would be awesome at rugby, if only we ever tried.

*Bobby Bonilla – yes, the Bobby Bonilla you remember from 25 years ago – is making $1.2million from the Mets this year, thanks to Bernie Madoff, believe it or not.

*And finally: awwwww.

SoccerCentric: Minnesota native Mallace, along with others, arrives to help United

Jul 18, 2013

NOTE: This also appears at SoccerCentric.

Wednesday, Minnesota United announced a pair of players from Major League Soccer’s Montreal Impact would join the team on loan for the fall season – one of whom is a local product. Midfielder Calum Mallace, originally from Scotland, moved to Minnesota as a youngster, and started for Henry Sibley HS for five years. He also played two seasons with the Woodbury Predators club team under head coach Don Gramenz, a former Minnesota Thunder player, and his brother Craig is a Thunder alumnus, as well.

The 23-year-old didn’t have to wait to make his debut, after arriving in town Tuesday night – he came on as a substitute and played the final half-hour for United. Said Mallace, “I remember coming here all those years when I was younger, watching the Thunder play, and now I’m here – so that’s something special.”

Head coach Manny Lagos was equally excited to have Mallace in the squad. “Calum is young in his pro career, and has shown some serious promise at Montreal,” he said. “I think it’s exciting for us to get a player like that, who is from here [in Minnesota], on the roster.”

Mallace was the 2011 Big East Midfielder of the Year at Marquette, and was drafted by Montreal in 2012. He started four times for the Impact last year, but had struggled to find minutes this year, coming on as a sub twice.

“[Montreal] said they highly respect me and see a lot of value in me as a player,” said Mallace, “but with some of the experienced players we have on the team in Montreal, it’s no surprise I wasn’t getting many minutes, especially in the middle of the park – we have about eight midfielders, I think. It’s a positive for me, because they want me to get games and come back as a better player.”

Sinisa Ubiparipovic, a native of Bosnia & Herzegovina, struggled similarly for minutes in the Montreal midfield. He’s made 82 MLS appearances over six years in the league, the first four with New York, the last two with Montreal. He’s a University of Akron product, where he was conference MVP in 2006, when he also was named to the All-American team for the second year running.

He wasn’t in attendance for Wednesday’s game, but Lagos was looking forward to adding him to the team, as well. “I know him pretty well,” said the coach. ” I’ve always followed his career in MLS, and in our league as well. We’re excited to get somebody with his experience to add to the team and try to get better.”

Both players can be recalled to Montreal by August 8, if needed, but if either is still here on that date, they’re here for the duration of the fall season.

Another player to watch is defender Logan Emory, who started at center back on Wednesday night and played the full 90 minutes. Emory was released by Toronto near the end of June, after making 22 appearances for the MLS side over the past two years. He’s a second-division veteran, having spent two years with the now-(mostly-)defunct Puerto Rico Islanders before catching on with Toronto.

Emory, who is still on trial and hasn’t signed for United, was looking forward to trying to turn things around after his release. “It’s difficult, but I need to be playing soccer, and Minnesota’s given me the opportunity to do that,” he said. “I’ve just got to get my head right and get ready for the season and help win a championship. Playing time would be nice, but winning is the most important thing.”

Jamaican international winger Omar Daley was also on the field for United for the final 20 minutes of the match on Wednesday. Daley, who has played 50 times for his country, spent parts of eight seasons playing for various clubs in the English lower divisions, and played the last two years for Motherwell in the Scottish Premier League.

Other triallists in uniform on Wenesday included former West Virginia University forward Uwem Etuk, Brazilian forward Allisson Faramilio, veteran USL Pro forward Aaron King, and a young striker named Bruno Borba, who if nothing else has a great name.

Minnesota beats Edmonton 2-0 in exhibition – but it’s “important” all the same

Jul 17, 2013

NOTE: This also appeared at SoccerCentric.

You won’t find Minnesota United’s 2-0 win over Edmonton on Wednesday night anywhere in the NASL standings, but for head coach Manny Lagos, it was important all the same – if for no other reason than to help erase the memories of the team’s collapse at the end of spring’s first half of the season.

“I just thought it was important for us to get a win, in a weird way,” he said. “Even if it was an exhbition and not the league, I thought it was important that the guys came out and reminded themselves that they are good players. That’s the thing about this game, the stress sometimes causes you to forget that.”

Max Griffin scored moments before halftime, and Simone Bracalello added another near the hour mark, just seconds after coming on as a sub. Maybe more importantly, the Matt Van Oekel-led defense kept a clean sheet, their first since April 20.

Griffin continued his record of scoring in preseason games, and was just happy to get back on the scoresheet after struggling with in the first half.

“Now that I’m healthy again, I’m trying to stay that way, because once I get on form I know I have the ability to score goals,” said the forward, who said he was at 100% after his first-half injuries. “I just have to stay healthy and the goals will eventually come.”

Asked how he could get his confidence back, Griffin said, “It’s just a matter of scoring goals and not losing not losing the ball. If I do those two things it should be good. Whenever I score goals, I’m happy. ”

It’s worth noting that Edmonton played what was basically its starting lineup, though they substituted freely in the second half. Still, this was virtually the same Edmonton team that waxed Minnesota 3-1 just a few weeks ago, and Lagos wants his team to get back into that competitive mindset. “I think the team has got to reboot and get excited about the second half of the season,” he said. “It was a good test to play against a team that was playing its first eleven, and came into it playing hard. I was proud of the guys; I think we came through well and played really well.”

Weekend Links: No need for Twins anger

Jul 13, 2013

NOTE: This appeared first at RandBall.

The Twins have lost, at last count, 46 of their past 47 games. This number may not be entirely accurate, but that’s what it feels like; I can hardly remember the Twins doing anything but losing every day. Stu captured the feeling pretty well here (warning: profanity) – it’s just losing, day after day, without end.

Despite the rapidly-filling “L” column in the standings, though, I can’t say with any real conviction that it’s bothering me, as a fan. I’d rather see wins than losses, but like most Twins fans, I labored under no illusions about this year’s chapter of Twins history; most of the team is either young and filled with potential, or Eddie Harris-like stopgaps, here to fill in until other players arrive.

It’s a shame to see another year of Joe Mauer go for nothing, and it’s a shame that Glen Perkins can’t pitch on a better team, but it’s hard to feel anything other than curiosity about the rest of the squad. From the rookies, like Oswaldo Arcia and Aaron Hicks, to the guys like Brian Dozier, Chris Parmelee, and Trevor Plouffe who are in the neighborhood of 500-1000 career at-bats, the losing is less interesting than the question that we ask about any young player: is this guy going to be any good?

I’m sure there are plenty of fans out there who are irrepressibly angry about the Twins’ losing, even now. Perhaps you want Ron Gardenhire fired at the All-Star break; perhaps you want Bill Smith waterboarded for his crimes against success. If you’re angry, though, truly angry about this Twins year, I have only one question for you: what did you expect?

*On with the links:

*John Bonnes looks at the Ricky Nolasco trade to learn a few important lessons about this year’s MLB trade market.

* And finally: Having trouble remembering the schools that are in the new American Conference? Spencer Hall has written a poem to help you. (Well, I laughed.)

The Sportive After Dark

Jul 10, 2013

We’ve promised this episode a few times, but it’s finally here (by which we mean our planning was finally bad enough that we don’t have an actual episode this week.) Every so often, we stick around and shoot the breeze after the podcast is actually over, and sometimes we remember to record it. This episode is an amalgamation of three of these – following episodes 10, 11, and 17.