2012 Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Advice & Analysis
During the 1930 season, Montreal Maroons’ goaltender Clint Benedict took an American football leather nose-guard mask to protect his broken nose, and thus the goalie mask was born. It only lasted two games, however. It wouldn’t be until 1959 that Canadiens’ goalie Jacques Plante would become the first to wear one full-time. Boston Bruins’ net-minder Gary Cheevers was the first to customize his, drawing a stitch in every place he took a blast of a puck. Since then, the painted mask has become an identifying and distinguishing mark of the hockey goalie at all levels. Since the late 1980’s, early 1990’s, the customized mask has become mainstream to the point where just about all NHL goalies now have one. The design a goalie chooses on his helmet is a direct and visible reflection of his personality, beliefs, and likes. It is a mark of individuality and team, all at the same time. The design can accentuate the city or mascot the goalie represents, or become a personal symbol. I have taken into account three major factors to come with up with my all-time, top-25 list. They are: 1) paying homage to the city/team uniform/mascot 2) originality 3) overall coolness.  25) Mike Smith: Dallas Stars I have mixed feelings about this one. There is certainly no shortage of homage to Texas here, and the colors match the uniform. However, it is a bit much, and looking at it for more than 10 seconds is similar to sitting 6 inches from the television. But, it is certainly cool, and the artwork and thought that went into are fantastic, so it does crack the list, but barely. On one side we have a few horses, an old-western town and a stagecoach. I’m a big fan of the other side, which has a cowboy playing guitar by the campfire, out in the desert. The only thing this ode to Texas is missing is an oil well and the most overrated quarterback (possibly athlete) in sports history.  24) Thunder Bay Bombers Goalie: Spoiler Alert….The following is from the movie Youngblood and therefore exists only in a Hollywood prop closet. Nothing says intimidation like Thunder Bay minor league hockey. Therefore, nothing says Thunder Bay minor league hockey like staring down a skull while trying to score. What could be more appropriate from the team that brought us Carl Racki, THE most fearsome and fearless goon the sport has ever seen, real or fictional. Keep in mind Youngblood came out in 1986, before customized masks really started to take off. Therefore, high marks for originality. And since it’s just simply a skull, high marks for overall coolness as well.  23) Gary Cheevers: Boston Bruins As I mentioned in my brief history of the mask, Cheevers was the first to customize his mask, so originality is through the roof. Drawing stitches really sums up the life of the hockey goalie before masks became the norm. He added a stitch to every place he took a puck to the face. Look at the mask, and then imagine being a goalie before they wore them. He makes light of their dangerous lives, and at the same time gives him enough overall coolness to make this list, but mostly I’m just paying homage to the man who paved the way for all the coolness that followed in his wake.  22) Marc Denis: Tampa Bay Lightning Anybody can have lightning bolts painted on their mask to represent the team. Denis put some thought behind it and gave us the source: Zeus. Let alone that Zeus is the king of all gods, ruler of Mount Olympus, which is a bold, necessary confidence booster for a goalie. But more importantly, Zeus is the one that controls and dishes out the lightning. So this design works all around. However, the image is kind of cartoonish, and Zeus looks almost puzzled, rather than punishing. We all know he’s only letting us have it when he’s furious about something. So the mask would be higher on the list if the image looked more like a photograph, and featured a much more pissed off looking god .  21) Jose Theodore: Washington Capitals There is a lot going on all over this mask, making it the Washington equivalent of Mike Smith’s Texas collage. The color scheme and logo obviously check out. Trying to identify all the symbols of Americana is like trying to find Waldo. We have the majestic, always intimidating bald eagle, which seems to be either hugging the Capitol building or trying to pry the roof off to eat every useless member of Congress. On the other side, we have another eagle, doing the same thing to the White House. Not so prevalent, down by the ears, are the D.C. memorial of Honest Abe on the right, and the world famous Iwo Jima flag-raising by U.S. Marines on the left. And this is not the only mask on this list that gives us that. I’ll go out on a limb and say that the artist had more input on this one than his Quebec native client did.  20) Martin Gerber: Ottawa Senators I know what you’re thinking: How is a Darth Vader mask possibly this low on the list? Well, while overall coolness points are higher than Charley Sheen, unfortunately there isn’t much to do with Ottawa, Canada, or the Senators here. Yes, there is a silhouette of the Sens’ logo near the ears, but the main theme, while incredible, doesn’t pay much homage to the team or city. So if the Senators change their name to the Jedi Knights or Sith Lords (either of which would “force” me to buy a jersey yesterday,) Gerber’s mask would instantly jump 19 spots.  19) Ken Wregget: Pittsburgh Penguins If I played goalie for the Penguins, my mask would be a snarling, rabid penguin, tearing the head off a fish, set in an Antarctic, oceanic background. Unfortunately, nobody else shares my vision. Ken Wregget, however, went in a direction almost as good. He went the Batman route, using the image of the Penguin. This works on many levels. First of all, he’s opting for the villain, which works for intimidation. The Penguin is creepy looking yet classy. And with whiny, diving, mama’s boy Sydney Crosby, the team is certainly the league’s top villain right now.  18) Corey Hirsch: Vancouver Canucks There’s not much one can do with the team name Canucks. So Corey did what he could, using the color scheme they had at the time. Note: This is the same team that is now green and blue. You may remember the jersey from the blonde flasher during the conference finals…well, before she lifted it. Every Ranger fan surely remembers the black and yellow they had up until the late 90’s. Here we have a very spooky looking Bates house from Psycho, complete with Norman watching the game from the second floor window. Obviously a Hitchcock fan, he has Alfred’s famous silhouette down the middle. On the chin, he includes the team logo, set in front of a brick wall, a common metaphor for goalies. Unfortunately, Hirsch was anything but; retiring 11 games under .500, with a goals-per-game over 3.  17) Johnny Grahame: Carolina Hurricanes One of two ‘Canes to make the list, obviously Grahame is an American who knows his geography. Upon playing in Raleigh, NC, he went with a design that sums up Dixie to a tee: NASCAR and blonde belles. The mask has a stockcar near the top, and a checkered flag pattern all over, including the blonde’s (barely fitting) bikini and the flag she is holding. Oh, and by the way, there’s a nasty storm off shore on the beach she is standing on. Oh right…hurricanes. No really, there’s a hurricane there, right behind her breasts. Having trouble getting past them? Me too.  16) Ilya Bryzgalov: Phoenix Coyotes I’m a sucker for the old west, and the painted desert. So Ilya’s mask generates more interest to me than the team does to Arizona. Which is a shame because I want the team to thrive, and they have been quite good lately. We have the Arizona desert on the top, with the Coyotes logo painted over it. On the right side we have a cowboy riding into an area he probably shouldn’t. On the left, a real coyote howling at a full moon. All it’s missing is a few illegals running towards a landscaping job, and the cartel wrapping someone in burning tires   15) Martin Biron: Philadelphia Flyers The city of Philadelphia was once the cornerstone of the founding of this nation. In the late 1700’s, the people demonstrated a defiance for authority and contempt of colonial society necessary to draft and sign a very importance declaration and put us on the path towards independence. Unfortunately, the people still exhibit that same defiance and disdain for authority and society, and have since added human decency to that list. Martin Biron’s helmet, however, sums all that is good about Philly. He has the Liberty Bell front and center. He has the skyline, overlooked by the city bridge named for one Benjamin Franklin, the second greatest American of all time next to General George Patton. And finally, he has the Rocky Balboa statue, arms raised, in front of the art museum. All this mask needs is Santa Claus getting knocked out by a flying battery at an Eagles’ game, and it will be complete.  14) Dwayne Roloson: Edmonton Oilers Playing for the Oilers is a tough one. They are aptly named, as petroleum is a major industry of the region. While we usually associate negative images with the oil industry, like spills, oily birds, insanely rich white men and rape at the gas pump, Dwayne Roloson focused on the blue-collar end of it all, and found some positive images. We have a towering derrick on the right that seems to have sound the lode. On the left we have an actual oiler hoisting a barrel, probably taking it to ebay for about $90. Finally, he put his nickname, “Roli,” into the team logo on the chin.  13) Cam Ward: Carolina Hurricanes What’s the difference between the Carolina Hurricanes and Miami Hurricanes? Well, other than the gross differential in probation, academic, penal code, and parking violations, the difference is the uniforms. I am a huge fan of team names that are indigenous to the city or state in which they reside; i.e., New Jersey Devils, Florida State Seminoles, Nebraska Cornhuskers, New York/New Jersey Hitmen. If you’ve ever watched The Weather Channel guy getting blown around Cape Hatteras, you’ll agree this a great name too, as long as they make it work. Carolina’s colors are black and red; the same colors as the international hurricane warning flag. They feature that flag on their trim as well their shoulder patch, and their main, chest insignia is a high-tech version of the symbol that blows across weather maps, hopefully heading somewhere you’re not. The Miami Hurricanes’ colors are orange and green, their mascot is a duck, and their insignia is some kind of big symbol that tells me I’m allowed to make a U-turn there. No points awarded to them. Cam has had several masks, with similar artwork and themes, but only this one is worthy of cracking the top-25. He stays within the color scheme, making the wind-whipped ocean gray, and bashing a lighthouse, always a good effect. He has lightning all around accentuating the storm, which doesn’t seem to bother the Wright Brothers plane (Kitty Hawk, North Carolina for my younger readers.) And the storm also doesn’t seem to be bothering the battleship, which happens to be shining a spotlight on the hurricanes logo, which I interpret to be a version of the bat signal. So in addition to obvious homage to NC, he gets double points from me for overall coolness for a battleship and the bat signal. Oh, and the ship #55…you guessed it…the U.S.S. North Carolina. Well done.  12) John Vanbiesbrouck: Florida Panthers The artwork at times can be a bit over the top, or too much if you will. Sometimes the adage, “less is more” makes for a more effective mask. Beezer’s mask is exactly that. His mask upon arrival to the Panthers in 1994 was simple, yet very effective. The top of the helmet was a panthers head, with the lower jaw and teeth down by his chin piece. When he looked down, like in this photo, the cat was a spitting image of the one in the logo, with eyes deadlocked on you, or whatever opposing player he was about to deny. So obviously homage to the mascot and uniform has been paid, as has coolness, and originality.  11) Andrew Raycroft: Toronto Maple Leafs When paying homage, it doesn’t get much easier than playing for an Original Six franchise like Toronto. This work of art is an entire semester’s worth of Canadian elementary school history lessons. Front and center we have Maple Leaf Gardens, the Yankee Stadium of the north. Scattered all around, we have the likenesses of Leaf greats, Felix Potvin, Mike Palmateer, Johnny Bower, Wendel Clark, Doug Gilmour, and a few more classics I cannot identify. Much better job than putting a big leaf dripping with blood, which is probably what I would have come up with.  10) Jimmy Howard: Detroit Red Wings If anything says Detroit, it’s gunfire. If anything else says Detroit, it’s the American automobile industry. So Jimmy Howard cracks the top 10 with a simple, yet sweet mask that canonizes the city of Detroit with the American iconic symbol that is the Ford Mustang, in Wings color scheme of course, which coincidentally happens to be the ever-badass red with white racing stripes. An American muscle car staple since the 1960’s, the Mustang is more of a symbol of pride to the city of Detroit than even the 11-time Cup champion Wings themselves. For good measure, the Syracuse, NY-native added the always inspirational, “Let’s Roll” to the back of the helmet. Forever etched into our hearts on 9/11/01 by Todd Beamer on United flight 93, that phrase will always be something to get not only the fans, team and himself fired up, but of course, the nation.  9) Curtis McElhinney: Calgary Flames Nothing is more badass than flaming skulls. Unless of course those flaming skulls were painted on a battleship. But a goalie mask is almost as good. Especially since the team name is in fact the Flames with red and yellow colors. Oh, and the skulls have long fangs, as if that was even necessary. On the right side we have an undead cowboy, pointing a revolver at anyone who tries to stuff one in on the short side. And since Calgary is cowboy country, homage is more than paid.  8) Jason Bacashiua: Lake Erie Monsters This mask certainly is eerie (yes, pun intended), and while he does include some Colorado Avalanche (the Monsters are a minor league affiliate,) Bacashiua chose to pay homage to Crystal Lake, and the original intimidating, pissed off goalie, Jason Vorhees. Skate through Ron Hextall’s crease and get a slash to the back of the knee. Skate through Mr. Voorhees’ crease and get your throat slashed. Bacashiua has had this theme since day 1, with similar designs of the killer on his Stars, Blues, and Hershey Bears masks. But this one is my favorite. In addition to the mask front and center, with black spaces and no eyes for full effect, we have the camp counselor slayer on each side, one wearing an Avalanche jersey under his tattered overcoat, and the other wearing a Team U.S.A. Olympic jersey. But not just any Olympic jersey, that is a certified 1980 Miracle on Ice edition. Well done. When asked why that became his trademark he replied, “He wears the goalie mask, my name is Jason and I’m the goalie.” Enough said.  7) Mike Richter: New York Rangers Other than Spiderman (we’ll get to that), nothing says New York like Lady Liberty. Even though the Supreme Court ruled she resides in New Jersey, forcing the Empire State to remove her image from their license plates. It’s true, look it up. The mask is simple, beautiful, effective and more practical than you can imagine. Richter unveiled it a year or two before the Rangers Cup run. The color scheme obviously works perfectly with the Rangers’ red, white, and blue. In the late 90’s, when the Rangers brought out their dark blue alternatives with the Statue of Liberty chest logo, the mask was still a perfect match. And when Richter sported his Team U.S.A. uniform in the 1998 and 2002 Olympics as well led the team to the 1996 World Cup title…you guessed it…a perfect match.  6) Josh Harding: Minnesota Wild The Wild have yet to be chosen for the Winter Classic, despite the fact that the Penguins and Flyers have been chosen twice. But that didn’t stop Josh Harding from sporting this winter wonderland mural on his head. In a scene all too familiar to Great Lakes youth, we have the Minnesota equivalent of what would be hitting the playground to shoot some hoops for the rest of us. First and foremost, the scene is all kids; good stuff. We have a game of pond-hockey, surrounded by snowy fields and pine trees. And even better, he had the guts to have each kid wear a different jersey, rather than all Wild sweaters, each of which can be identified with a different NHL team. A subtle effect that adds to the realism. Even the boards appear to be homemade from plywood and planks. With all this, a red sky keeps with the uniform’s color scheme.  5) Curtis Joseph: Toronto Maple Leafs What does a big rabid dog have to do with Toronto or maple leaves? About as much as it has to do with St. Louis, blues music, Edmonton or the oil industry; nothing. But early in his career with the Blues, he developed his own mascot, an anagram of his name. It just so happens the first two letters of his first and last name happen to spell the most badass canine of all time. Rumor has it even Jason Vorhees wouldn’t keep Cujo for a pet because he had trouble training him. From the Blues to the Oilers, Leafs and Red Wings, his masks were similar, featuring the big nasty pooch, painted the color of the uniform he donned. But the best, most badass looking design is hands down the one for the Leafs. We have fangs and yellow eyes that say don’t even think about telling me to sit. Team logos past and present on the side, are a good shoutout to the Leafs’ rich history, and the bottom jaw has the telltale foam that makes you pray that fence is sturdy.  4) Rick Dipietro: New York Islanders….X2 As you may have picked up on through my articles by now, I love the American military, and symbols of American might and power. Apparently, so does Rick Dipietro. Therefore, the only way these masks could possibly be any cooler, is it had a Saturn V rocket and Seal Team 6 on it. Technically, Rick should lose points because these masks have just about nothing to do with Long Island or the Islanders, but I believe I could actually be tried for treason for doing that. Since both masks have the same owner and similar themes and designs, I put them both in, and we’ll just call it a tie amongst himself.  In 2006, Dipetro signed a 70-year deal with the Islanders, and came out with this visual national anthem. In addition to the stars and flag, we have World War II on the right, and Vietnam on the left. The right features a bayonette charging Ranger up top, and the world famous Iwo Jima flag-raising toward the bottom. The Vietnam side features the P.O.W./M.I.A. insignia up top, as well as a helmet on top of an M-16 rifle dug into the ground by bayonette with dog-tags, topped by a helmet; a U.S. Marine’s battlefield gravestone. Further down he pays homage to black soldiers, and includes a chopper. In 2010, Rick redesigned his helmet with basically the same theme, but a little more geared toward the colors of his Islanders team. He also added the equally as world famous 9/11/01 scene of the three New York City firefighters raising an American flag they found in the rubble at Ground Zero. The following year, he came out with yet another mask, very similar to the 2010 edition, but with painted camouflage in blue and orange. The inspiration for all this? His father was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam. As much as I hate the Islanders, Mr. Dipietro…I salute you.  3) Mike Dunham: New Jersey Devils One might assume that an all-time greatest list that featured a Devils’ goalie would automatically include Martin Brodeur. One might also assume that with a team name like the Devils, and a red and black color scheme, there would be plenty of badass masks to choose from. Remember what we learned in grade school about what happens when you assume? (I don’t think they teach that today because hearing the word ass can scar a child for life and turn them into axe murderers or something.) Surprisingly, in the 18 years since they ditched the Christmas tree uniforms for the red and black, there has only been one mask even close to worthy of recognition: Mike Dunham. This disappoints me because as much as I hate the New Jersey Devils, I love the team name (as mentioned previously) and the homegrown legend which they are named for. Behold, the one mask that does the legend justice. It features a demon head spooky enough to make the Frog brothers from the Lost Boys and Blade head for the hills. Well, maybe not Blade. Like Beezer’s, it has that creepy effect of when the head is tucked down, the eyes of the mask lock on to yours. Sort of like how that cardboard cutout at the mall always seems to be staring you as you walk by. (I spent a lot of time in the record store when Britney’s first album came out in ’99.) The devil has long sharp teeth, horns, and a generally pissed off look I would not like to encounter under my bed. Major points for homage to the mascot and team name, as well as overall coolness and badassedness.  2) Steven Valiquette: New York Rangers Anyone who knows me knows that I love my superheroes, and apparently so does Valiquette. I also love America, so this mask just all around rules. Spiderman gives him high marks for overall coolness as well as city homage. Unlike Batman and Superman, who protect fictional cities (which in no way diminishes their badassedness,) the web-slinger is property of New York City. Not to mention Spidey’s color scheme is dead on with that of the Rangers. The mask also features Lady Liberty wearing a Rangers’ jersey, several Manhattan skyscrapers, and the Twin Towers wrapped in a shroud of Old Glory. Finally, the plate that connects to the back of the head is a big stop sign, which sums up what every goalie should be.  1) Brian Hayward: San Jose Sharks A team name of sharks gives endless possibilities for a great mask. Which is why it is so baffling that so many goalies have completely blown the opportunity. There’s been Evgeni Nabokov, with a giant creature on each side that looks like the offspring of the snow creature that tried to kill Luke on the planet Hoth, and the ghost of Christmas future. Not exactly sure how he came up with that one. And there’s a small shark on the chin with baby teeth. Brian Boucher’s wasn’t bad, but it looks like an aquarium. I am more inclined to sprinkle pellets on his head than be shocked and awed. And then there was Brian Hayward’s masterpiece. He wore this trophy fish for the Sharks’ first game in their history. And no San Jose netminder since has even come close. It is, in a word: perfect. Simple, to the point, in your face, in his mouth. Originality? Absolutely. He was the Sharks’ first goalie. Homage? Obviously. The great white has a teal tint like the color of the jersey, but go ahead, taunt it for that. Let me know how that works out for you. Overall coolness? Badassedness? In case you didn’t notice, Hayward’s head is inside a great white’s mouth! Look at those teeth! If Chief Brody were alive, he would instinctively smash Hayward in the face with an oxygen tank, and then shoot him with an M-1 rifle, but not before crapping his pants. (Fortunately for Hayward, Myth Busters proved the tank would not explode.) Written by Scott Blander aka Mr. Ice Guy exclusively for TheFantasyFix.comHave any thoughts, comments or questions? Leave a note in the comment section or hit us up on Twitter @TheFantasyFix Tags: The Fantasy Fix, NHL Playoffs, Fantasy Hockey, 2011, Boston Bruins, Vancouver Canucks  23 Comments  Another hockey season is behind us. The good news is, the NHL has the shortest offseason of any sport, and players report to training camp in roughly 60 days. As always, this season brought us many memories. For the second straight year, and third in the last four, we had an Original 6 Stanley Cup Champion. For my novice hockey readers, Original 6 refers to the six teams that comprised the NHL from its early years in the 1920’s until the league’s first expansion in 1967: New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Montreal Canadiens, (or Les Habitants de Montreal, Habs for short if you’ve ever wondered the little “H” inside the big “C” stands for in their logo. Congratulations to the Boston Bruins, keeping the Stanley Cup safely in America’s hands, under the protection of Navy Seal Team 6 for an incredible 18th straight year. From mites and squirts, to the plethora of big time college hockey, and of course right up to the Bruins, Boston is a true hockey town. The morning after my Rangers @ Bruins road game in October, the Boston Globe had four glorious full pages of coverage including a lengthy article strictly about the four fights in the game. And by the way, the article was an in-depth, blow-by-blow analysis of the bouts, and how they shaped the course of the game. Because like I said, Boston is an intelligent hockey town, and like anyone who knows the game, their sports media knows that fighting is an absolutely necessary part of the game, and should stay exactly as it is. With the exception of the few Chris Simons of the hockey world, players respect each other, and respect the rules of engagement. Players only pick fights with others in the same weight class, never throw a punch until all gloves are off and the other guy is ready, back off when one’s foe has been defeated, and occasionally, warn their opponent of a trip hazard before the fight begins. Case in point, take Ryan Reeves (St. Louis) vs. Paul Bissonnette (Phoenix) March 22nd. The two drop the gloves and square off. Before any punches are thrown, Bissonnette sees that Reeves is standing right next to one of his discarded gloves, and points to it, giving Reeves time to move to a safer spot, and then they go at it. It’s almost as if he said, “Excuse me sir, kindly move over a bit so you don’t trip and hurt yourself. And now I will beat your ass.” CLICK HERE TO SEE THE GENTLEMEN’S FIGHT CLUB (courtesy hockeyfights.com.) So anyway, congratulations Boston. If any American city deserves Lord Stanley, it is you. Fun fact: Remember the juggernaut, unbeatable dynasty we know as the New England Patriots? Would you believe the Pats are now the Boston (area) professional sports team that has gone the longest without winning a championship? It’s true. Bruins 2011, Celtics 2008, Red Sox 2007, Patriots 2004. This article is mostly pro-Boston, as am I right now, but this has now become a perfect opportunity to throw this in…18-1!!!! Check out how Beantown celebrates the Cup at the Green Monstah. To see a great celebration of Lord Stanley’s newest conquering heroes riding into Fenway Park during a Sox game, on Boston-famous duckboats, Holy Grail in hand, CLICK HERE. Either Big Papi is the Dominican Republican’s biggest (and probably only) hockey fan, or he’s just extremely caught up in the moment. The Red Sox and Bruins are having a better time than the fans. This season also brought official notice that the American dollar is completely useless outside of our borders. Remember the 1990’s exodus of Canadian franchises to the United States? The Winnipeg Jets became the Phoenix Coyotes, the Quebec Nordiques became the Colorado Avalanche, and the Carolina Hurricanes snatched up the…um….Hartford Whalers. I guess they felt the Whalers were too dangerously close to Canada. This was due to the NHL experiencing a financial boom due to great attendance and ratings, combined with a Canadian dollar worth about half of our own benjamins. America was where the money was. So the stars came here to play, and a few teams came with them. Well we have officially come full circle, as the Atlanta Thrashers, the weakest link in the Southeast hockey experiment, has been cut, and shipped up to Winnipeg. I for one, once a big supporter of as many American franchises as possible, am now all in favor of this move, as common sense prevails (occasionally), and I now have the league’s best interests at heart. And the best thing for the league is as many franchises as possible, as long as they have rock-solid fan bases and the financial means to survive. If that means Canada, then so be it, as they respect the game like no other. Speaking of which, Vancouver fans did a wonderful job after their game 7 defeat. No, I’m not kidding, and yes, I saw the riot videos. We’ll get back to that, as soon as I’m done tearing Atlanta a new one (sorry Alan). Atlanta may be the worst sports city in the country. Yes far worse than even Philadelphia. At least they’re loyal. They have two sports interests: Georgia Bulldogs (and Yellow Jackets to an extent) football and NASCAR, which I have to admit, they’re crazy about. Everything else, like the Falcons, Hawks and Thrashers, don’t exist. Even the Braves, who won an incredible 11 straight division titles from 1995-2005, may have sold out 3 games during that span. And so, during the 12-year existence of the Thrashers, Atlanta fans have done for hockey what Twilight has done for vampires: everything they possibly could to destroy it. Really? Vampires that have sworn off eating humans, attend high school and fall in love? All three of those are so wrong to the vampire image, I don’t even where to begin. Could you possibly de-coolify blood-suckers anymore? So whatcha hoping to accomplish after high school Eddie…college? Night manager at Walmart? Oh right, you can somehow survive in sunlight now. Am I the only one praying Wesley Snipes tries to pay off his massive income tax debts by doing a Blade vs. Twilight flick? So anyway, good riddance Thrashers, welcome back Winnipeg Jets! We know the good people of Manitoba will take good care of you because the sport is sacred in the true north strong and free. Which brings me back to Vancouver fans. We learned that 1994 was no fluke. No, I’m not talking about the Canucks’ ability to make it to the Stanley Cup Finals, I’m talking about the city protesting their team’s game 7 loss the same way they did in ’94….violently. So how exactly did they impress me? No need to bring up the boob flash again…oops, too late. So here is Mr. Ice Guy’s top 4 reasons Vancouver fans impressed me. Why not a top-5 like everyone else? Like I said before, I have the conch, so it’s 4. Deal with it. 4) The Canadian National Anthem. A Canadian opera singer named Mark Donnelly sang Oh Canada for the Vancouver home games. After the first verse, he stopped singing and let the crowd take over and it reminded me of Eddie Vedder doing that during Betterman at Pearl Jam concerts. Completely gave me chills. Have a look-see. It truly is amazing. CLICK HERE. 3) Booing Gary Bettman. Every year, Commissioner Bettman comes out to present the Stanley Cup to the champions. And every year, he is booed considerably by the fans, as he too is doing everything he possibly can to destroy our great league. This year was the loudest yet. The fans were so loud in fact, he literally had to scream out his announcements, he was visibly rattled and upset by the end, and had to cut short his introduction of Bruins captain Zdeno Chara to take the Cup. 2) Staying and cheering for the final 2 minutes. With a 4-0 final in game 7, Canucks fans knew this game was over before the third period even began. Nobody (at least not enough to notice empty seats) left the arena. Fans sucked up the heartbreak of coming so close and cheered for the final 2 minutes, getting a team-wide, raised-stick salute in return. They also gave a hearty ovation to Vancouver-born, Bruins tough guy Milan Lucic, when it was his turn to raise the Cup. 1) The Riot: Yes I’ve seen the videos. A bunch of people in Canucks jerseys behaving very badly. And of course, the now world-famous photo of the couple making out on the ground in front of the riot police has become the Canadian version of the U.S. Navy Sailor kissing the Nurse in Times Square on V-J Day in 1945. But there are true fans, and there are local townies. And like I mentioned above, the true fans were respectful of their team, the sport, and the Stanley Cup. From what I’ve heard from people who have been to Vancouver, while it is a beautiful city with many good people, also a good portion of the locals are a mix of Detroit and Seaside Heights. So all Vancouver fans are now demonized in the news, especially since this is not the first time. Why is it hockey only that makes for a national story when it’s something negative? I personally went through a similar situation in College Park, Maryland for the 2002 NCAA Final Four. As a loyal Terrapin alum, I was in town for the national semis. After the victory over Kansas to advance to the finals, there was a joyous and PEACEFUL celebration throughout route 1, the main strip along campus. The road was closed and it was wall-to-wall people having a blast. And then it turned violent with fires, store-front windows smashed, fights, riot police and arrests. The same joyous-to-melee scene was repeated two days later when the Terps knocked off Indiana to win it all. And so, the newspapers and news sites had plenty of harsh words for the “Maryland students gone wild.” But what you didn’t read in the ultra-PC news, is that the melee began about the same time hundreds of Washington D.C. teens and young adults made the short 15-minute drive to College Park to get involved in the celebration. So Vancouver was a similar situation. “Real” hockey and Canucks’ fans are innocent here. Like I said, well done. I was going to include my thoughts on the big news of the Rangers finally making the upcoming Winter Classic. With how much I’ve whined about their exclusion, one would think I’d have been all over this by now. But of course I still have lots to bitch about. Everything to this point has been positive, so that will be a story for another time. Written by Scott Blander aka Mr. Ice Guy exclusively for TheFantasyFix.comHave any thoughts, comments or questions? Leave a note in the comment section or hit us up on Twitter @TheFantasyFix Tags: The Fantasy Fix, NHL Playoffs, Fantasy Hockey, 2011, Boston Bruins, Vancouver Canucks After scoring the first two goals Saturday at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, the Americans surrendered four consecutive goals to Mexico, to give the Mexicans a 4-2 victory in the Gold Cup Final. Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez won the Golden Boot as the Cup's Most Valuable Player. Mexico will now represent CONCACAF in FIFA's Confederation's Cup in 2013 in Brazil. See Giovani Dos Santos' amazing goal below. Tags: CONCACAF, Mexico, USA, Giovani Dos Santos, Chicharito, Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, Soccer, Tim Howard, Michael Bradley  This article will take on a slightly different format than the normal recaps, mostly because my work schedule was insane and I did not get the opportunity to break down each game, but I have the conch, so let’s face it, the article will follow whatever format I choose. So without further delay… (1) Vancouver over (3) San Jose: BOOBIES!! No, that was not just a cheap attention-grabbing attempt. I like to think I’m better than that. Boobies were very relevant to the Vancouver/San Jose series. But then again, when aren’t they relevant? The answer: when the Sharks will live up to expectations (which means never in case you haven’t figured it out yet.) This series was set to be a titillating matchup before it even started. The two top seeds battling in the conference finals, the Sharks having finally got over the hump known as Detroit, and the Canucks rolling through the Preds and looking close to unstoppable. In fact, if you’ll recall from my second round Western Conference recap, I compared the Canucks to a great pair of breasts. It’s as if the hockey gods, who laughed at me by taking my best player in the second to last game of the regular season, apologized by turning my metaphor into the ultimate real life play on words. I think it’s time to seriously consider the possibility that either I’m psychic, or I am the chosen one. Game 1 was great. Vancouver scored two in the third period to win. Now on to the good stuff. If there was ever a hockey game made to try and attract the red-blooded American male, average sports fan, it was game 2. It featured 10 goals, a Gordie Howe hat-trick (the previously mentioned one player notching a goal, assist, and a fight.), and then it happened…. San Jose’s Ben Eager sat in the penalty box and was given a treat for his troubles. A blonde Canucks fan approached the glass, lifted her jersey and took two for flashing. While the event was cut from the Versus network here in the states (see below), the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in Canada does not have a time-delay, thus marking another major nationally broadcast professional sporting event featuring live and uncensored sweater-meat. Sound familiar? Of course. We went through this during Super Bowl 38 in 2004 when Janet Jackson finally gave us what we’ve been waiting two and half painful decades for. Our media turned it into a bigger event than the game. And this brings me to my new feature I’m praying my editors won’t cut… Mr. Ice Guy Political Commentary: There are many, many reasons why I’m proud to be an American: World War II, our space program, Miracle on Ice, Fleet Week, Navy Seals, 9/11, the American college experience, spring break, Hollywood blockbusters, not giving soccer the light of day, Dodge Vipers, Batman and Megan Fox to name a few. But every now and then, however, there is an event that temporarily embarrasses the Stars and Stripes and the American public’s reaction to the so-called Super Bowl “wardrobe malfunction” is one of them. Let’s examine this reaction. Every religious and parents’ group filing over 540,000 complaints resulting in over half a million dollars in FCC fines, a class-action lawsuit claiming mental anguish and damage (really? like really?), and new FCC regulations for time-delays on live events. I was in Ireland a month later, and the incident was brought up in a pub, to which a group of Irish girls laughed at this great nation of ours, calling Americans far too uptight. And I couldn’t agree more. When did we become a bunch of oversensitive whiners that run to lawyers and demand apologies every time someone claims their feelings are hurt? Now let’s examine the Canadian reaction to the same type of event. And before anyone tries to say, well a hockey game isn’t exactly the Super Bowl; you obviously don’t know Canadians very well. This was the conference finals, with a Canadian team not only playing, but poised to bring the Stanley Cup north of the border for the first time in 18 years. Over 3 million Canadians watched the game, and thus saw the flash. Not to mention this flash featured both breasts, while the Super Bowl only gave us one. So technically that doubles viewership to 6 million… just go with it. The Canadian media and public response? Well, there really hasn’t been one. No fines, no lawsuits as of yet, no little Canadian kids supposedly scarred for life. CBC’s head of media relations, Jeff Keay, did however offer a statement, “there are no plans at this time to institute a tape delay to prevent a similar incident in the future.” Thank you Jeff, for reacting exactly as outraged as was required. If you are still reading then thank you for letting me vent. As your reward, I present you with the goods. Warning: Not safe for work, those under 18 (in America only of course) and those who are too uptight and whiny to handle bare breasts. CLICK HERE! Vancouver won the game 7-3 by the way. San Jose made a series of it by getting game 3 at home. The Canucks stormed out of the gate in game 4, scoring three goals in the second period, and a fourth early in the third. The Sharks got two back, but time ran out on their comeback and Vancouver had a commanding 3-1 series lead going back home. The Sharks fought hard in game 4, knowing that if this post-season has taught us anything, it’s that a 3-1 series lead is anything but secure. The Sharks overcame an early deficit to take a lead into the final minute, falling just 16 seconds short before Ryan Kesler tied the game, tipping in a Henrik Sedin wrist-shot. The game went to double overtime before Vancouver sent all of Canada into a Cup frenzy on a goal (I literally had to watch four times before I figured out how it went in). Alexander Edler tried to play the puck deep around the net, high off the glass. The puck hit a scansion that connects the glass, and bounced back to the waiting stick of Kevin Bieksa, unbeknownst to absolutely everyone. Bieksa hurried a shot and although he got terrible wood on it, it had enough steam to slip past unsuspecting Sharks’ goalie Antti Niemi, caught still looking around for the puck. And exactly like 1994, the Canucks won the Western Conference Finals in double overtime of game 5. As for San Jose? Once again, here in mid-to-late May, the Sharks have gone belly-up. They are fish out of water, they are the catch of the day. There. I noted in my last article that I did not exploit nearly enough puns the team name had to offer. Now I got my fill. No wait, I’m not done yet. As Larry Vaughn, the once proud former mayor of Amity Island once said, “This is not the time nor the place to perform some half-assed autopsy on a fish.” Well Mr. Mayor, just as Chief Brody and Dr. Hooper knew you were wrong then, we know you’re wrong now. After all, it didn’t take a genius to know the little Kintner boy was not about to spill out all over the dock from that particular trophy catch. The Sharks have had their chances, and now need to be filleted, or as we say in sports, broken up, fire-sold and rebuilt. They just signed franchise marquee player Joe Thornton to a three-year contract extension. Combined with super rookie Logan Couture, those are two players to rebuild the franchise around. Everyone else should not be safe. Written by Scott Blander aka Mr. Ice Guy exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com Have any thoughts, comments or questions? Leave a note in the comment section or hit us up on Twitter @TheFantasyFix  Tags: The Fantasy Fix, NHL Playoffs, Fantasy Hockey, 2011, Western Conference Recap, Scott Blander, Mr. Ice Guy, Vancouver Canucks, San Jose Sharks  The Wings Took a Midnight Train Going Home 2nd Round Western Conference Recap (2) Sharks over (4) Red Wings: I finally had one prediction correct: this was to be the most entertaining series of the second round, and it lived up to every bit of the hype. Six of the seven games were decided by just one goal with two of the first three needing sudden death. Each game was exciting with the outcome in doubt until either the final buzzer or red light. I mentioned in the Tampa/Washington recap that this playoff year’s recurring theme seems to be winning the first two games on the road to open a series. Well that is so last week. The Red Wings joined Chicago as yet another team to erase a 3-0 series deficit to force a game 7. The Sharks won the first two on home ice and then dashed the Wings’ effort to hold serve, when Devin Setoguchi stunned the former octopi launching crowd 9:21 into overtime, grabbing the Wings by the throat. Had the Sharks won game 4, it would have been the first time Detroit had been swept out of the playoffs since the Devils blew them out of the 1995 Finals to capture their first Stanley Cup. But before you could say this is not your just-slightly-older-brother’s San Jose Sharks, the Wings began to try and make history, and the Sharks went from looking like Jaws, to looking like Jaws 4. After one period, game 4 looked to be the turning point of the series, with Todd Bertuzzi opening the scoring, and two goals from Nicklas Lidstrom, who is finishing up his 63rd season with the Wings. In all seriousness, the 41 (going on 28) year old captain joined Detroit in 1991, coincidentally the same year San Jose joined the league. The Sharks got on the board near the end of the period, and cut the lead to one with the only goal of the second period. Incredibly, Dany Heatley tied the game early in the third, and the sweep seemed all but inevitable. But Darren Helm scored the game winner for the Wings with less than two minutes left to send the series back to San Jose. Detroit proved they planned to make a series out of it by twice overcoming two-goal Shark leads in game 5. Trailing 2-1 to start the third period, the Wings overcame a first-minute Logan Couture goal that appeared to be a back-breaker, putting the Sharks up 3-1. But Jonathon Ericsson answered just two minutes later, and Danny Cleary tied the game less than two minutes after that. Detroit capped off the third period explosion when Tomas Holmstrom tipped in the game-winner off the stick of Nicklas Lidstrom of course. The Wings would not be denied a return trip to Joe Louis Arena. An extremely tense game was scoreless heading to the final stanza, when 22-year old Couture, wishing the playoffs figured into rookie of the year voting, opened the scoring with his sixth goal of the post-season. But for the second straight game, the Wings ended the final period with three goals, and the series was unbelievably tied. One can say that San Jose showed they would not complete the collapse by scoring twice in the first period to take a two-goal lead into the locker room. But if the prior six games of this series taught us anything, it was that a two-goal lead between these two teams is basically a tie. It also taught us that the Detroit playoff staple of throwing octopi on the ice, established in 1952, is now a punishable offense (although the fans didn’t seem to mind the risk after the game 6 winner). Really, PETA? Do you feel better about yourselves? What’s next on your hit list, Easter eggs? Anyway, the Wings cut the lead to one by the end of the second, but Patrick Marleau gave the Sharks yet another 3-1, third period lead. Pavel Datsyuk cut it back to one with 6 minutes left, but the Sharks hung on and ran the clock out to advance to the conference finals for the second straight year. I for one am glad, partially because this is the fourth straight season I’ve said this is their year, but mostly because there are so many metaphors for this team name I have yet to exploit. I will sink my teeth in next round. As for Detroit; like most of the hockey world, I’ve had enough of the Red Wings to last me two lifetimes. However, I do like them hanging around because to be honest, I get chills every time I hear 20,000 strong at Joe Louis Arena scream, “Born and raised in South Detroit,” when Journey booms over the loud-speaker about that city boy who meets that small town girl in Don’t Stop Believing. Unfortunately, the Wings took a midnight train going anywhere but Vancouver. (1) Vancouver over (5) Predators: The Nashville Predators, the potential this year’s Flyers (only likeable), fought valiantly, but came up just short against the Canucks. The series opener was short on offense all around, as Vancouver had a 30-20 shot advantage. This was the type of game that favored Nashville, as they would fare better in a game in which they could slow Vancouver’s rocket-fuel (high-octane does not do them justice) offense. They were able to limit Vancouver to only one goal, but that is often all Roberto Luongo needs, and the Canucks took the opener 1-0. Nashville showed they belonged in this series, as they came out flying in game 2. They peppered Luongo with 46 shots, 13 more than Vancouver. They also threw a game-leading 41 hits and held a 51-38 faceoff advantage. But with two minutes left in the third period, it appeared as if Luongo would steal another one. Alexandre Burrows’ second period goal was the only one. With Pekka Rinne pulled for a sixth attacker, Ryan Suter tied the game with just over a minute left. The game would go fifteen minutes into a second overtime before Matt Halischuk gave Nashville a well-deserved win to tie the series at one. Vancouver would take a stranglehold on the series by winning both games in Tennessee. The Preds, though, once again showed their resolve as the series moved back to Vancouver, where many believed it would end. Vancouver scored twice after David Legwand opened the scoring for Nashville. Legwand scored again to tie the game in the second period, before Joel Ward scored two early third period goals to put Nashville up for good. Ryan Kessler cut the lead to one with four minutes left, but the Preds hung on and earned one last home game. Unfortunately, this exciting series would end in game 6. Vancouver scored twice in the first ten minutes of the game, but once again David Legwand came through, pulling Nashville to within one. Much like in last year’s Olympics after the United States shellacked Marty Brodeur, Roberto Luongo stopped everything thrown his way, and kept the Preds off the board for the final 36:29, and Vancouver was back to the conference finals for the first time in 18 years. Every Canadian is well aware that the last time the Stanley Cup resided north of the border was in 1993. To put it mildly, they are not pleased that it has been property of the United States since the Rangers gave it a one-year home in Manhattan, removing it from the hockey Jerusalem known as Montreal. Ironically, the team on the losing end of the ’94 Finals was in fact the Vancouver Canucks. Since then, a Canadian team has only made the finals three times: Calgary in 2003, Edmonton in 2006 and Ottawa the following year. While there were many other great Canadian teams that underachieved or were just beaten by better teams, I honestly believe this Canucks team is the best chance Canada has had to regain Cup control since ‘93. Vancouver is loaded, stacked, stocked, built, or any other adjective used to describe a great team or great beasts (which I guess could also be described as a great team). Written by Scott Blander aka Mr. Ice Guy exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com Have any thoughts, comments or questions? Leave a note in the comment section or hit us up on Twitter @TheFantasyFix  Tags: The Fantasy Fix, NHL Playoffs, Fantasy Hockey, 2011, Western Conference Recap, Scott Blander, Mr. Ice Guy  Sweep the Leg Johnny! NHL Playoffs: 2nd Round Well the Flyers and Capitals are done, so I can officially kick off my hatin’ shoes, lay back and enjoy the Conference Finals. Not only are they done, but between the two, neither won one game this round, joining Phoenix in the first round. I haven’t seen this many entertaining sweeps since the 1984 all-valley, under-18 karate tournament. If only Mr. Miyagi were alive to have performed his friction-clap on Ryan Callahan’s ankle. (Sorry Jackie Chan’s Mr. Han….your creation is an abomination and therefore, I do not acknowledge your existence.) On with the show… (3) Bruins over (2) Flyers: If there’s one sports team in this country that’s hated by all, it’s the Flyers, Eagles, 76’ers, Phillies, Temple, Penn and Villanova. Nevertheless, I was actually looking forward to an entertaining series. I have to admit I was wrong about this one. I expected the addition of Chris Pronger, combined with Brian Boucher’s experience from his incredible run last year to give the Flyers the complete package. The Flyers’ goaltending was terrible, and it cost them. I also knew the Bruins are stacked, and said that coming back from dropping the first two games at home to Montreal, had finally put the painful memories of last year’s pair of blown 3-0 leads to Philly (3-0 in games, 3-0 lead in game 7) behind them. I was wrong about that too. Not only did the Bruins not forget, but they made sure the Flyers knew they did not forget. They rubbed their face in that reminder, curb-stomped it in, and had a tea party down Broad Street. The Bruins announced their redemption plan by putting up a touchdown before a stunned Philly crowd, chasing Boucher from the net in favor of Sergei Bobrovsky. David Krecji and Brad Marchand each scored twice and three other Bruins pitched in the rout. I can confidently say this series was over in game 2. The Flyers looked excellent in this game, scoring just 29 seconds in, and adding to the lead 9 minutes later. Tim Thomas was better, putting up a wall that would have made Roger Waters jealous. He stopped the next 52…yes 52 shots, 10 of them in overtime, and many of them defying belief, giving his offense a chance to find their game. They had the game tied by the end of the first period, and won it on a blast that needed the war room in Toronto to overrule the referee’s no-goal call to validate. Even without the services of Pronger and Jeff Carter, the Flyers gave it everything they had and still managed to come up short, limping to Boston, down 2-0. The Bruins and their fans welcomed the Flyers with a blowout in game 3. Although they were once again outshot, they found twine twice before the crowd even sat down from the National Anthem, and then added two more late in the second period, building a four goal lead before the Flyers finally found the scoreboard near the end of the period. Referencing last season, some people actually said that Philly being down 3-0 in games had Boston exactly where they wanted them. And of course, the media tried to fuel that fire. The rest of us were quick to call those people morons. The 5-1 score in game 4 doesn’t reflect how close this game actually was. The Flyers fought hard for their lives, tying the game at one, midway through the second period, and trailing 2-1 until the Bruins broke it open with three goals in the final five minutes, two of them into an empty net, sending Beantown, a classic Original-Six franchise, to the conference finals for the first time since 1992. (I had trouble believing that myself.) The good news for Flyers fans is that the organization has already unveiled their 2012 playoffs motivational slogan: “Arm Yourselves!” (5) Lightning over (1) Capitals: For the third straight season, the Capitals have underachieved, having their season ended at the hands of a lower seed. For the second time in three seasons, a team with an actual offense brought a rookie Caps goaltender back down to earth after the Rangers made him look like Patrick Roy in the prior round. Ok, I promise that there is a very good chance I will consider not making any more Rangers references. Although coach Boudreau did wonders teaching his team a completely new defensive system that they seemed to excel at, they looked about as effective as a house full of bin Laden’s bodyguards against Tampa’s “Seal Team 6” offense. (Sorry, I had to throw that in somewhere. Way to go boys.) The Lightning were everywhere, swarming and scoring, and the Capitals were just too green with their new defensive style, and it quickly devolved into a chaotic mix of panic and reverting to their old, “let’s just try and outscore everybody” ways. There seems to be a recurring theme in this year’s playoffs: winning the first two games on the road. Tampa joined Boston this round, and Montreal last round in accomplishing the feat. The Lightning wasted just two minutes of this series before Sean Bergenheim gave the Caps a taste of how things were to be. Although Washington tied it shortly after and took the lead early in the second period, Tampa scored twice late in that period to regain the lead for good. My new hero Steve Downie, who you’ll recall led Tampa in points, and all 16 playoff team in penalty minutes through the first round, came just short of the Gordie Howe hat-trick, notching a goal, an assist, and an elbowing minor. (A fight would have been needed to complete Mr. Hockey’s hat-trick.) Much like the Bruins/Flyers series, one can say game 2 just about decided this series. The Caps threw everything they had at the Lightning, determined not to let their not-quite-as-raucus-as-Madison-Square-Garden-but-still-very-loud, D.C. crowd see them drop both games before leaving town. They outshot Tampa 37-23, and outhit them 26-18. They had an answer for each one of Tampa’s 1-goal leads. But they had no answer for Vinny Lecavalier, who scored twice, including the overtime winner. Going 0-6 on the power-play surely did not help their cause. I am serious, and don’t call me Shirley. (For my younger readers, that’s an Airplane reference.) Losing the first two at home isn’t really a new concept to most of the Caps, as they overcame the same scenario just two years ago, coming back to beat….on second thought, let’s not go there. Now would be an excellent time to cut down on Rangers references. Game 3 was very entertaining, as was the entire series. Washington scored three times in the second period to take leads of 2-1 and 3-2 heading into the final period. But Steven Stamkos and Ryan Malone lit the lamp 24 seconds apart to put Tampa ahead to stay. Coach Boudreau may have had a case when he protested the eventual game-winner not being waved off. Malone charged the net to tip in a centering pass, knocking Washington defenseman John Carlson into his own goaltender in the process. Neuvirth could only watch helplessly as the puck slid over the goal-line. Boudreau argued that the contact prevented Neuvirth from having a chance to even try and make the save, and I actually have to agree. That was the last of the scoring, and the series was all but over. Nobody’s really sure exactly what Alex Ovechkin was guaranteeing after game 3 when he said, “We will win.” Was it one game? The series? The Cup? A faceoff? My first reaction was that it was ridiculous. But I quickly gave him credit for finally being the team captain. It was genius. If they lost, it was a sweep and nobody would have really cared what he said the night before. But if they did manage to win four straight games, then the Great Eight knocks both Nostradamus and Punxsutawney Phil off the title of world’s greatest predictor. Alas, it was not meant to be. The Lightning put up five goals, their highest scoring output of the short series, and earned themselves a trip to Boston. Note to Alex: Next time you guarantee victory in an elimination game, no goals, one assist and five shots just doesn’t cut it. Try an assist, followed by a third period hat trick…all after your team goes down 2-0 early. Like I said on my facebook post; you sir, are no Mark Messier. Written by Scott Blander aka Mr. Ice Guy exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com Have any thoughts, comments or questions? Leave a note in the comment section or hit us up on Twitter @TheFantasyFix __________________________________________________________________________ The Fantasy Fix is sponsoring a free one-day fantasy baseball matchup on DraftStreet this Friday for $150 cash, with the top 4 places getting paid. Click here to Learn More! __________________________________________________________________________ Tags: The Fantasy Fix, NHL Playoffs, Fantasy Hockey, 2011, Eastern Conference Recap, Scott Blander, Mr. Ice Guy  Western Conference 2 Sharks over 7 Kings: Like the Rangers and Penguins, file this one as well in the, “What could have been,” pile. The San Jose Sharks narrowly avoided becoming this year’s….San Jose Sharks, a term used to describe an incredible team that repeatedly finds unimaginable ways to not get it done in the playoffs (i.e. the pre-’97 Red Wings, the pre-’04 Boston Red Sox, and the entire existence of the Philadelphia Eagles.) Down the stretch, the Kings lost Anze Kopitar, their leading scorer with 73 points in 75 games. Although they still managed an impressive 20 goals in 6 games, giving the Sharks a serious run, and 3 of their 4 losses came in overtime, leaving one to wonder if the absence of the explosive Kopitar could have made a difference in just one of those games, the series goes to game 7, where anything can happen. 5 Predators over 4 Ducks: Congratulations are in order to the Nashville Predators, winners of their first playoff series in franchise history. Your reward? The best team in the league, Vancouver. Kind of reminds me of that tiny college basketball school who wins a thrilling conference championship to make their first NCAA tournament. Congratulations…now here’s Duke. Coming into this series, the Ducks were billed (no pun intended, seriously) as one of those teams nobody wants to play. But then again, so were the Rangers. While most of mainstream America doesn’t know the Nashville Predators even exist, and would probably guess they are an arena football team, I for one am not only on the Preds bandwagon, I’m driving it. They are my VCU, my George Mason, my Mystery, Alaska boys. Luckily, they won’t have to run into the New York Rangers, although they might have wanted to. 1 Canucks over 8 Blackhawks: Throughout the first 30,000 years of human existence, we had only seen a professional sports team erase a 3-0 series deficit to win twice: the 1942 Maple Leafs and 1975 Islanders. In the past 8 years, we have seen that count doubled, with the 2004 Boston Red Sox, and again last year with the Flyers. The Blackhawks fell just short of a valiant effort to add to that historic list, rallying back from 3-0 to force game 7, and they did it against the best team in the league. Chicago erupted for 12 combined goals in games 4 and 5 to let the world know they didn’t intend to go gently into that goodnight, or give up control of the Holy Grail without a fight. They overcame a third period deficit in game 6 to force overtime, and then force a deciding game 7 on Ben Smith’s third goal of the series. We were then treated to our second thrilling game 7 OT of these young playoffs. It looked as though the Hawks were once again a team of destiny, tying the game with less than two minutes left in regulation, before Vancouver’s Alexandre Burrows told the world, “Hey remember us? We’re a pretty good team over here,” ending the comeback just over 5 minutes into sudden death. And so Lord Stanley’s Cup is now officially up for grabs, and Vancouver definitely has an ultimate set of power tools to shake off the near-collapse and go after it. I hope you all picked up the Fast Times reference there. 3 Red Wings over 6 Coyotes: I listed this one last because the Detroit Red Wings won their opening round series. That’s about as big and surprising of a news story as, it may get hot this summer. For the second straight year, my Coyotes bandwagon has crashed and burned in the first round. This franchise has still not won a playoff series since the Winnipeg Jets days in 1987. The Wings swept through the series, and each game with ease. I guess nobody told them about the recent rash of 3-0 series comebacks, as they dropped the hammer in game 4, by a 6-2 score. Pavel Datsyuk led the way for the Wings with 6 points in the 4 brief games. A very good Detroit team is about to get much better, welcoming back Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen from injuries that kept them both out of the first round. This couldn’t come at a better time, as they get ready for another playoff matchup with San Jose, in what should be one of the great series of the second round. As for the Jets/Coyotes; At least they will always be known as the first NHL team to take down the mighty Soviet national team in 1978. The same Soviet team that rolled the NHL all-star team 6-1 two years later, and the U.S. team 10-3 just 3 days before the 1980 Olympics and…well, we all know how those Olympics turned out. If you don’t, you should renounce your citizenship like Superman. Missed the Eastern Conference Round 1 Recap? Written by Scott Blander aka Mr. Ice Guy exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com Have any thoughts, comments or questions? Leave a note in the comment section or hit us up on Twitter @TheFantasyFix Tags: The Fantasy Fix, NHL Playoffs, Fantasy Hockey, 2011, Western Conference Recap, Scott Blander  Bruins' Tim Thomas It is the end of April, which brings about a few annual constants in my life: Madison Square Garden is padlocked for the season, the Mets are almost mathematically eliminated from the playoffs (although currently on a bit of a tear) and I have given up hope for one last Northeast blizzard. With yet another early round exit by the Rangers, I am left with just three major sporting events until college and hopefully pro football begin in late August: 1) Praying the Stanley Cup is not lifted by a Devil, Islander, Penguin, Flyer, or Capital. 2) Being disappointed in yet another lack of a triple-crown winner in horseracing. 3) Wondering why the Rangers were excluded from the Crosby (Winter) Classic yet again. Am I being Nancy Negative? Sure. You try being a Rangers and Mets fan for a few years and then come question my attitude. Sure the Giants have given me some bliss as of late, but most of that was obliterated in 8 painful minutes against the Eagles. Even though my beloved Blueshirts were sent home early again, I am still very much interested in the playoffs. We have had four series go seven games, two of them incredible comebacks to force the deciding game, 14 overtime games, one of which, a deciding game 7, and two double OT games. So here is my breakdown of what we’ve seen so far, in no particular order. Eastern Conference 8 Rangers/ 1 Capitals: It’s hard to feel sorry for a team that lost in five games and has scored a whopping two goals on its last 49 power play attempts, but this series went exactly like I hoped it would not for my beloved Rangers. The Rangers just barely lost each game, with games 1 and especially 4 in the “heartbreaking loss” category. They generated no offense, and one could only wonder what could have been if Ryan Callahan hadn’t gone down on the final week of the regular season. With the exception of maybe Henrik Lundqvist, no single Ranger’s loss could have possibly been more devastating. In addition to being their leading scorer, the Callahan-Dubinsky-Anisimov line was the only one that generated scoring opportunities at will. His tireless work ethic and heart gives the Rangers solid fore-checking and forced turnovers, blocked shots, and signs of life on the power play. The game 4 debacle that saw a 3-0 third period lead evaporate into a double-OT shocker might have been avoided with just one quality shift in the third period or even in overtime had it gone that far. Tack on a goal or a brilliant setup in game one, and the Rangers are coming back to the Garden up 3 games to 2. About the only series highlight for us bluebloods was a glorious 15 minute span in the 2nd period of game 4, just after two goals in seven seconds opened up the three goal lead, when 18,200 of the greatest fans in sports answered Washington Head Coach, Bruce Boudreau’s insult to MSG and her faithful subjects with a chant of “Can You Hear Us.” About an hour later, the chant could have been, “Can you hear a pin drop?” I do have to give the Caps credit though. This is no longer the nuclear-powered offense, hamster wheel-fueled defense that blows through the regular season and wonders why they can’t win playoff games 9-6, that we’ve grown accustomed to over the past few years. They learned how to play defense since the all-star break, and they appear to very quick learners. It would not surprise me if this is their year. 3 Bruins over 6 Canadiens: The Habs once again did what they do best: win the first two games of an opening round series on the road, and then completely fall apart and lose the series. (They accomplished this same “feat” against the Rangers in ’96, and again vs. the Hurricanes in ’06.) Katey, didn’t I tell you after game 2 not to worry? Overpaid Scott Gomez is now being booed in his own arena due to a lack of production, meaning he now gets booed in almost as many arenas as Sean Avery. Devils fans boo him because he took off to the Rangers for $7 million a year. Ranger fans boo him because in two seasons, he didn’t exactly produce $7 million worth of results. It wouldn’t surprise me if we see Gomez back in his home Alaska next season making $7 million as a greenhorn on Deadliest Catch, before getting booed by Captain Sig. This was a very entertaining series that, in addition to the road team winning the first 4 games, had 3 of its final 4 games decided in overtime, including the ever-elusive, game 7. Bruins’ goalie Tim Thomas was amazing as usual, and my personal MVP goes to the ageless wonder (43 years young) Mark Recchi, netting a respectable 4 points, including a goal in game 7, and a very impressive 18 minutes of playing time per game for the old man. Recovering from losing the opening two games at home to win the series was just the confidence boost they needed to finally bury the memory of last season’s 3-0 series lead collapse to the Flyers. They are the complete package. With Tim Thomas backing up a solid defense and potent offense, and the two-time Cup champion Recchi contributing just as much on the ice as in the locker room, this team has definite potential to give the United States’ greatest hockey-loving town their long awaited reunion with Lord Stanley. 2 Flyers over 7 Sabres: I was never a big supporter of momentum carrying into the playoffs. When you step out onto the ice in front your home crowd for your first playoff home game, how you got there is immediately forgiven and forgotten. Take last season for example. The Flyers lost 7 out 9 in late March before squeaking into the 8th and final seed in an epic shootout. And then they were in the Stanley Cup Finals, respectfully overpowered by an unstoppable Chicago Blackhawks. You see Don? I told you they would be fine. This season they won just 7 of their final 21 games, including losing 5 of their final 6. Ok, this time the slumber may have extended into game one, as they were blanked 1-0. Ryan Miller or not, the Flyers potent offense should not open the playoffs by getting blanked before their raucous crowd. They soon woke up, winning the next two, scoring 9 goals in the process. After getting shut out again in game 4, and then dropping game 5 at home to face elimination before a frenzied Buffalo crowd, they showed their resolve by overcoming two-goal deficits twice, tying the game in the third period and winning it in overtime. Game 7 was never in doubt. With the return of Chris Pronger solidifying their defense, their only question mark for another deep run is goaltending. They used three different goaltenders in this series, uncharacteristic of a team destined for the Cup. But their go-to guy Brian Boucher put up a wall in game 7, and the good news for Philly fans (as if they deserve any,) is that he has last year’s Finals run in his repertoire of experience. 5 Lightning over 4 Penguins: Sidney Crosby is out of the playoffs, thus making another Crosby/Ovechkin matchup impossible this year. The good news for Commissioner Gary Bettman is that Crosby has been out for months, and Bettman has had plenty of time to dry his eyes and emotionally heal. The good news for us is that THERE IS NO RIVALRY BETWEEN THESE TWO AND THERE ARE OTHER TALENTED PLAYERS IN THE LEAGUE!! I will however admit, that not having Crosby and Malkin on this Penguins team for most of what still managed to be a very good regular season, just barely losing the Atlantic division title to the Flyers, does make me have to wonder what might have been. That seems to be a recurring theme this playoff season (see Rangers above and Kings below.) So back to the league’s other talent. Case in point, the Tampa Bay Lightning. Stephen Stamkos has quickly become one of the most electrifying players in the league to watch, following up last year’s 51 goal, 95 point coming-out party with 45 goals and 91 points. Apparently nobody told Martin St. Louis he’s getting old, racking up an NHL’s second-best 99 points this season. He, along with the always dangerous Vinny Lecavalier each had 8 points in their 7 game win over Pittsburgh. Lecavalier is tied for the NHL’s lead with 8 playoff goals. But my series MVP goes to Steve Downie. He somehow managed a team best 9 points in the series, while racking up a whopping league-leading 18 penalty minutes. I like him already. Check back tomorrow for the Western Conference Recap! Written by Scott Blander aka Mr. Ice Guy exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com Have any thoughts, comments or questions? Leave a note in the comment section or hit us up on Twitter @TheFantasyFix Tags: The Fantasy Fix, NHL Playoffs, Fantasy Hockey, 2011, Eastern Conference Recap, Scott Blander  Jordy Smith It's on! I am not talking about another surf contest in subpar conditions. I am referring to the man and the boy - Kelly Slater v. Jordy Smith. Jordy Smith born in 1988 is currently sitting at the top of the rankings as the tour rolls into San Clemente, California for the Hurley Pro at Trestles. Smith is only 250 points ahead of Slater, born in 1971 and is facing a huge amount of pressure as Slater focuses in at a contesthe first won when Smith was 2 years old. Smith, undoubtedly will win multiple world titles by the time he is done, but Slater is frantically attempting to secure his tenth world title and Smith may be forced to wait one more year for a title. With the conditions being typical for this summer - crap - it will be a hard one to pick a solid team. Teahupoo treated my picks well and I am currently sitting at 785th place out of 15,984 players. Not too good, but it could be worse and it most likely will as I try to pick a team for a contest held in less than ideal conditions. I invested most of my allotted $50 million into my top two picks and then was forced to pick up some average pros and a few local wildcards to get a full roster. Hurley Pro 2010 Roster Kelly Slater - is in 2nd place but is having a hard time winning contests. Sater needs a win, not a 3rd. Has he lost his mojo to seal the deal? Go Old Man Go! Jordy Smith - Smith and Slater could have been the best rivalry in all of surfing if they were closer in age. I expect a top 5 finish. Taylor Knox - the old guy is sinking fast - hopefully, his familiarity with his local break will propel him into a top 10 finish. Born in 1971 and still going. Jeremy Flores - small and weak conditions could help the Frenchy see a solid result Brett Simpson - local knowledge and surfing for Hurley may influence the judges for a few high scores Adam Melling - unsponsored and surfing well- he will get through a few heats here -needs the money. Is he the new Bede Durbidge? Rob Machado - wildcard pick - I think the new judging criteria exposes his age. Kolohe Andino - wildcard pick - born in 1994 - the future is near, but not now. Local knowledge may get him through few heats. Need to waste a few hours at work? Watch it live at http://www.hurley.com/hurleypro/ Patrick Reilly is not a grom. He is actually the Fantasy Surfer Editor @TheFantasyFix.com. Email - Patrick@thefantasyfix.com Who is in your starting lineup for the Billabong Pro Tahiti? Let us know on Twitter @TheFantasyFix! Tags: The Fantasy Fix, Fantasy Sports Blog, Fantasy Surfer, Pro Surfing, Patrick Reilly, Hurley, Hurley Pro, Lower Trestles, San Clemente, Jordy Smith, Kelly Slater Times are changing and Twitter has quickly become a great source of sports information. Everyone from sports stars to professional sports writers to internet-famed sports bloggers are writing daily. So TheFantasyFix.com decided it was far by time to do a roundtable with the LADIES of TWITTER! So here was the question: As the conclusion of the 2010 Major League Baseball regular season approaches, we would like to identify those players who fell short of expectations (busts) and those who exceeded expectations (surprises). Name one bust/surprise to this point of the 2010 season (describe their 2010) and state what you expect from them in the 2011 season. (rebound, maintain, regress etc..) And away we go!...  Biggest Bust Of 2010: Jason Bay | LF | New York Mets Jason Bay was a highly coveted free agent after the 2009 season. He was a three-time All-Star who had just hit .267 with 36 home runs and 119 RBIs. With the exception of a .745 OPS in 2007, Bay had an OPS of near .900 or better every season from 2003-09. As a result, the New York Mets rewarded him with one of the worst contracts in Major League Baseball – a four-year, $66 million deal that could top $80 million with a vesting option in the fifth year. Bay will turn 32 in less than a month. His age, history of injuries (shoulder surgery in 2003 and arthroscopic knee surgery in 2006), and subpar defense (lifetime UZR/150 of -7.8 in left field) should have deterred the Mets from offering such a lopsided contract. The Boston Red Sox’s best offer in retaining Bay was a four-year deal between $60 million and $65 million; they refused to include a fifth year. Thus, with his monstrous contract and even higher expectations for on-field performance, Bay is the biggest bust of 2010. He has not played since suffering a concussion in July nor do the Mets expect him to come back before season’s end. Not only was his fielding below average (-3.9 UZR/150), he struggled with swinging the bat. Bay was batting .259 with six home runs, 47 RBIs, and an OPS of .749. He’ll most likely miss 40% of the season. The Mets clearly didn’t pay Bay an average of $16.5 million a year for him to play bad defense, hit an offensive wall, and then sit out with an injury.  Biggest Surprise Of 2010: Jaime Garcia | LHP | St. Louis Cardinals Jaime Garcia was drafted 680th overall in the 22nd round of the 2005 draft by the St. Louis Cardinals. After making appearances in ten games in 2008, he underwent Tommy John surgery. He came back in 2009 to pitch 37 2/3 innings in the minors. No one expected Garcia to make the Cardinals’ 40-man roster. Manager, Tony La Russa, and pitching coach, Dave Duncan, both told Garcia numerous times in spring training that a return to Triple-A Memphis would be more beneficial to his development. Instead, Garcia was so impressive with a 3.00 ERA and a 4.0 K/BB ratio in 24 IP that he earned the No. five spot in the starting rotation. This season, he has astounded everyone with his prowess on the mound. He is now the No. three pitcher on staff after aces Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright. Of his 25 starts, 17 are quality starts. His ERA of 2.33 is the sixth best in the NL and his GB% of 55.2% ranks third in the NL. After Garcia got off to a hot start with a 1.04 ERA in April and 1.53 ERA in May, many worried that he had hit a rookie wall. His 4.50 ERA in June was highlighted by a 2.0 IP outing against the Kansas City Royals where he gave up five earned runs, the most allowed by Garcia this year. However, he has bounced back in the last two months and hasn’t given up an earned run in his last three starts. He even pitched his first ever complete game shutout on August 22nd against the San Francisco Giants in 89 pitches. Garcia has been a highly reliable arm in the wake of injuries to starters Brad Penny and Kyle Lohse. The lift he has given the Cardinals cannot be understated or overlooked, especially after coming back from Tommy John surgery.  Susan Shan, known as the Asian Sensation, is an independent sports analyst and writer. Check out Susan's writing, radio appearances, and video clips at http://www.susanshan.com. Feel free to tweet at her at http://twitter.com/susan_shan, as well. She's all about sports, all the time.  Biggest Surprise of 2010: Scott Rolen | 3B | Cincinnati Reds When Walt Jocketty traded for Scott Rolen on July 31st of last year, he was looking for veteran leadership, everyday all out effort, consistent hitting, strong RBI production and Gold Glove caliber fielding from the 34 yr old. Jocketty knew exactly what he was getting in Rolen. He was GM of the Cardinals in July 2002 when he traded four players to get Rolen from the Phillies. He also knew he was taking on Rolen’s eight-year, $90 million deal he signed him to in St. Louis. Rolen was a five-time All-Star, a seven- time Gold Glover and the 1997 NL Rookie of the Year with Philadelphia. He helped lead St. Louis to their 2006 World Series win. While Rolen was still playing Gold Glove-caliber defense at the hot corner, and was having a fine season at the plate, he had seen a dip in his power numbers. He was due $11 million last year and in 2010. That salary and the fact that injuries had limited Scott over the past four seasons, was seen as a major drawback. He was averaging just 379 at bats per season. This trade was not looked upon as a stellar one by many Cincy fans and some members of the press. Those that doubted the trade have been pleasantly surprised. He has provided everything that Jocketty was sure he could. From his veteran leadership to his increased power numbers, Rolen has been one of the key catalysts for the Reds turnaround this season. While appearing in just 106 games due to a hamstring injury, the 35 yr old Rolen is 2nd behind the hot as the face of the sun Joey Votto in most of the Reds major hitting numbers. Rolen has 19 home runs and has driven in 73 RBI. He has a .366 OBP, .528 SLG, .294 AVG and .893 OPS. All put him in 2nd place on the Reds roster. He has a .996 FPCT which is 2nd for 3rd basemen in the majors in 2010. He leads all active major league 3rd basemen in assists and Total Zone Runs and is 2nd for all active 3rd basemen in Range Factor per game. He ranks 6th in the NL in slugging and 9th in OPS for this season. He was named to the 2010 NL All Star Team. He also renegotiated his contract to assist the Reds and instead of the $11 million he was due, he deferred his salary and is making ‘only’ $7.6 million. As of the All Star break, in the year since they acquired Rolen, the Reds were 70 and 42 when he’s in the lineup and 12-26 when he’s not. He is projected to hit 25 HR’s and drive in 96 RBI, with a .366 OBP, .528 SLG and an .893 OPS in 2010. If he stays healthy, there is no reason to believe his 15th yr in the majors will show much regression. Irony watch: St.Louis is on the hook for paying the $4 million bonus due to Rolen in 2010.  Written by Jacqueline Hadley Conrad. Follow her on twitter @jhadleyconrad  Biggest Bust of 2010: Carlos Zambrano | RHP | Chicago Cubs RHP Carlos Zambrano was reinstated from the restricted list on July 30th of this year. That about sums up his 2010 season. Zambrano threw a tirade in the dugout on June 25th, after he gave up four runs in the first inning to their crosstown rivals, the White Sox. He then started a fight with teammate Derrek Lee. The Cubs coaching staff had to separate the two players. Piniella did not let Zambrano back in the game and he was later suspended indefinitely by the Cubs GM. Zambrano had to undergo anger management training during his suspension. Zambrano started the season as the Cubbies ace. He stumbled badly and gave up 8 runs to the Braves in one and a third innings. The Cubbies lost the game 16-5. His season has been up and down since that day. On April 21st he was sent to the bullpen. On May 30th the Cubbies moved Zambrano back to the rotation. In his four starts before his meltdown he went 2 and 2. After he returned from suspension he was moved back to the bullpen until Aug 9th. The Cubbies returned Zambrano to the rotation for the second time this season. He hasn't given up more than two runs and he's allowed only six runs in 24 innings. Although Zambrano has had some good results since his return, his velocity is diminished and his command is poor, which has always been his weakness. The $18 million the Cubbies are paying Zambrano has produced a W/L record of 5 wins and 6 losses. He has an ERA of 4.64 and a WHIP of 1.680. His W/L % is .455 with 0 shut outs and 72 strike outs. Compare that to his career averages of 110 wins and 74 losses, a 3.57 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. His career W/L % is .598 with 4 shut outs and 1396 strike outs. Between 2003 and 2006 he never had less than 13 wins. In 2007 he had 18 wins and 13 losses with a 3.95 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. He lead the NL in wins in 2006, is a three time All Star, as well as a three time Silver Slugger. From pitching a no hitter and playing in the All Star Game in 2008 to the disaster of this year, Zambrano is certainly a major disappointment.    Biggest Surprise of 2010: Jose Bautista | OF | Toronto Blue Jays I’d like to thank the Fantasy Fix for inviting me to the roundtable...and I’d like to curse the Fantasy Fix for inviting me to the roundtable. Having to choose just one surprise and one bust for the 2010 MLB season? For someone who tends to overanalyze, overthink and obsess about every little detail, this was no easy task. Here goes. Let’s start with my 2010 surprise: Toronto Blue Jays’ right fielder Jose Bautista. If you don’t know why I chose Bautista, that’s an even bigger surprise than his astounding numbers. Through 127 games, Bautista’s slash line is a remarkable .263/.380/.616, good for an eye-popping .996 OPS. That’s not why I chose Bautista. No, I chose him because of his Major League leading 42 home runs. Forty-two home runs (so far) from a player who has never topped 20 in a single season; from a player with his fifth team in six years. Bautista’s home runs (42) and RBI (99) totals so far are higher than those from his last two seasons combined. Whether it’s fantasy or reality, nobody in their right mind could have expected this output from Bautista. I did not choose Bautista to capitalize on sensationalistic speculation about potential PED use. I did not choose him because he’s a Yankee killer (.366/.527/.854; 6 HR in 12 games). I chose him solely because his production has been flat-out incredible, and completely surprising. For more, I recommend this piece by Fanhouse’s Frankie Pilliere about Bautista’s altered swing mechanics as a key to his success. Do I expect Bautista to replicate this season? No way. This is truly a once in a lifetime year. Do I think he can hit 30 home runs per season with regular playing time and adequate protection in the lineup? Absolutely. Note that Bautista will be a free agent after this season.  Biggest Bust of 2010: Pablo Sandoval | 1B/3B | San Francisco Giants Now for my choice for 2010 MLB bust. Unfortunately, I had many to choose from, including Josh Beckett and Chase Utley, but I wanted to avoid guys who have been injured and missed significant time. So who did I select as this year’s biggest disappointment? San Francisco Giant 1B/3B Pablo Sandoval. Though his position on the MLB All-Fat Team is secure, poor Kung Fu Panda just hasn’t lived up to expectations after his breakout rookie season. Let’s look at the numbers:  That’s a big drop, but most stunning is his inability to deliver with RISP this season. Last year, Sandoval hit .301/.390/.517 with RISP. In 2010 it’s .207/.294/.267. Those numbers are terrible, in both fantasy and reality. Admittedly, RISP production is often erratic, and for the long haul, players are rarely "clutch" or "unclutch." Assuming Sandoval is an .800 OPS hitter (somewhere between his 2009 and 2010 numbers), that's in the ballpark of what’s expected with RISP (rather than 2009's insanely good numbers in that spot, or 2010's horribly bad ones). Sandoval’s hitting has improved since Pat Burrell joined the Giants, and his K rate is about the same as last season’s. I would not give up on KFP. Next season I expect better than this season’s performance, but to come close to 2009 he needs to improve his numbers with RISP. If the Giants bring in another big bat to protect their rotund star, he has a chance. All data in this post sourced from Baseball-Reference.com, without which posts like this would be impossible.  Amanda Rykoff is a NYC-based sports fan, TiVo junkie and social media enthusiast. Amanda shares her observations, commentary and diatribes on these and many other topics on her blog, The OCD Chick. She is a former Director of Business Affairs at ESPN and previously hosted the ESPN podcast, “Play Ball! with Amanda and Melissa.” Her fantasy baseball team, Longorious Basterds, is currently in second place but hopes to make a late season push for the title. You can follow her on Twitter @amandarykoff.  Biggest Bust Of 2010: Chone Figgins | 2B/3B | Seattle Mariners After acquiring Cliff Lee, Milton Bradley and Chone Figgins over the winter, the Seattle Mariners were thought to be a key contender in 2010. However, things did not go the way the franchise had planned. Bradley took a leave of absence to deal with personal issues, leaving him on the bench as a utility man, and Lee, perennial trade bait, was sent to the Texas Rangers in July. That left Figgins to provide the Mariners with the solace that their off-season aggressiveness wasn’t all for naught. In 2009, Chone Figgins was among American League leaders in WAR, on-base %, tripples and stolen bases. He also led the league in walks, finished 10th in MVP voting and also played in his first All-Star Game. He was batting .292 in five full seasons as an Angel, averaging 162 hits, 52 RBI, and 44 stolen bases in 850 games from 2004-2009. After swinging at a career high 22.3% of pitches outside of the strike zone in 2007, his plate discipline was improving drastically, with his o-swing% in 2008 and 2009 at 16.5% and 15.1% respectively. He was considered one of the most desirable free agents on the market following the 2009 season. When Figgins arrived in Seattle, however, he was another player. In 127 games in 2010, Figgins is batting well below his career batting average, at .246. His o-swing% has crept to 19.7%. His saving grace from a fantasy perspective is that he has still stolen 32 bases, but for the most part, that is where his allure ends. ESPN buffs project that he will have another turn-around year in 2011, and for the sake of his 4-year, $36 million agreement with the Mariners, I hope they’re right.  Biggest Surprise Of 2010: Carlos Ruiz | C | Philadelphia Phillies In his first three full seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies, Ruiz was batting .245, and averaged 83 hits and 43 RBIs in 339 games. Among MLB catchers with a minimum 330 plate appearances, his batting average ranked 15th in 2007, 23rd in 2008, and 13th in 2009. In 2010, he is batting a career high .287, second only to Joe Mauer. To date, Chooch has started 84 games, and sat out 20 days with a concussion. Before being placed on the disabled list, Ruiz was hitting .275. Since returning to the lineup on July 10, he is batting .301 with an on-base percentage of .359 and slugging .496 in 40 games. Ruiz also has 22 of his 35 RBIs since July 10 and has had 10 go-ahead hits year to date. What’s easy to forget is that while 2010 may be the year of the pitcher, there is a catcher behind every staff ace. On April 5, Roy Halladay made his first start as a Phillie and reportedly never shook off Chooch once. On May 29, Doc pitched the 20th perfect game in history as Ruiz called the game from behind the plate. When the Phillies honored the perfect game on August 26, Doc presented Ruiz with a ring engraved with the phrase “We Did It Together”. Chooch has been a remarkable asset to the team both at and behind the plate, and if the projections are any indication, he will continue to lead the Phillies in their playoff hunt.  About “Chicks Dig the Long Ball” http://digphilly.wordpress.com Twitter: @BaseballLadies Founded by Michelle O’Malley (@M_OMalley on Twitter), Chicks Dig the Long Ball is a Philadelphia Phillies baseball blog written solely by women from all over the country. Game recaps range from the traditional play-by-play and box score style articles, to limericks, to virtual Twitter archives. Mixed in amongst all the statistical analysis are heartfelt pleas to underperforming players, odes to the plays that leave us speechless and even recipes dedicated to our men in red. It is ever expanding and still finding its niche in the Phillies blogosphere, but day after day proves that chicks do in fact dig not only the long ball but every other facet of the game as well. Tags: The Fantasy Fix, Fantasy Sports Blog, Fantasy Sports Advice, Fantasy Baseball, MLB, Twitter, Jaime Garcia, Jason Bay, Carlos Zambrano, Scott Rolen, Jose Bautista, Pablo Sandoval, Chone Figgins, Carlos Ruiz, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Toronto Blue Jays, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies |
