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“NHL-O Canada-Woe Canada”
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Game 1-of the NHL Stanley Cup finals is upon us.  The Edmonton Oilers are hoping to go where no Canadian team has gone in decades.

A skate around the ice with the Cup when this series is over with the Florida Panthers.

Canada, which invented the game, has been missing from the ceremonies.

Canada, which gave us the Flying Frenchmen, Maple Leaf Gardens, Gretzky-Messier-Kurri-Fuhr has not celebrated in a long time.

Canada, home to Foster Hewitt, Danny Gallivan, Don Cherry and Hockey Night in Canada, has been muzzle in saluting their sports with their flag with the Cup.

Why and How?  Will it end shortly?

A close up look at the Stanley Cup finals sans Canadian teams, courtesy of TSN:
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For a second straight spring, the Edmonton Oilers have a chance to bring the Stanley Cup back to Canada.

After coming agonizingly close last year by forcing a Game 7 with the Florida Panthers following a 3-0 series deficit only to come up short in the deciding game, Connor McDavid and co. have another shot at those very same Panthers. Whether or not the last Canadian team standing in the NHL playoffs will be rallied around by the rest of the country is always a matter of debate, but what isn’t is that the lengthy championship drought in Canada’s national sport has become a sore spot from coast-to-coast.

It’s been 11,682 days since a Canadian team has hoisted the Stanley Cup.

If you are 32 or younger, you have never seen a Canadian team win a Stanley Cup.

Since a Canadian team last won the Stanley Cup, Quebec City lost its team. Winnipeg lost its team, but then got another one back. Vancouver got a basketball team and then lost it. The Montreal Expos split time in Puerto Rico for a bit and then moved to Washington, DC.

Yes, the world has changed more than a great deal since that night when Gary Bettman handed the Stanley Cup over to Guy Carbonneau on June 9, 1993 after the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Los Angeles Kings in five games to make it 24 championships. Nobody knew that night would begin a drought for Canadian hockey that has lasted into a fourth decade. How could they? In the 32 years preceding the Canadiens’ Cup in 1993, a Canadian team had claimed Lord Stanley’s Mug on 20 occasions. Why wouldn’t that continue?

Well, for a couple of major reasons. Expansion, of course, was a big one. By 1993, there were 24 teams in the NHL. That was up four from the previous two seasons. Five years after that, it was 27 and now today, we’re at 32 with only seven of those playing north of the 49th parallel. When fewer than 25 per cent of the league’s teams are Canadian, your chances of winning have steeply declined.

The biggest factor, though, is money. Its American cousin has hammered the Canadian dollar’s purchasing power for much of the past 30-plus years. In 1991, the Canadian dollar reached nearly $0.90 USD. That would be the high point for the decade. It would nosedive for a majority of the next 10 years with the low point coming in 2002 when the Loonie bottomed out at $0.6179 USD. While the CDN flirted with parity at a number of points during the aughts and even went above the USD in 2011, it would crash back down again by 2015. Fluctuations have been relatively muted over the past 10 years with the CDN settling in around the $0.68-to-$0.75 USD range, but that still represents a steep surcharge for the seven teams who pay their players in American dollars and collect revenue in Canadian.

 

Still, the drought has almost ended a number of times over these past 32 years. When the Oilers take the ice on Wednesday night at Rogers Place, they will be the seventh Canadian team to skate in a final and just might be the best positioned to hang a banner in the Great White North come next fall. We all know what happened last year, but let’s take a look back at the other six teams that tried and failed since the Habs last won in 1993.

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“PADRES-HELP WANTED”
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AJ Preller is about to do what AJ Preller is always doing…making another deal.

It’s not panic time in San Diego, but it might be getting  time to address the shortcoming on their rosters.

There’s a hole in leftfield.
The pitching staff is thinned out by injuries.
The catchers aren’t hitting.

And the bigger concern, the schedule is getting tougher and the Dodgers look as if they might be pullihg away in the NL-West.

The big decision as Preller makes these phone calls to other GMs, what’s his biggest need?  Is it a bat in the outfield, or an arm in the rotation?

The story confirmed out of Boston makes sense, pursuing LF-Jarran Durran.  Of course you don’t get talent unless you are willing to give up talent.

You are not going to trade away the top two prospects, Ethan Salas or Leo DeVries.

Do you move one of your set up relievers, Adrian Morejon or Jason Adam?
Would you make Jake Cronenworth available?

What do the Red Sox need that you have plenty of?  It does not seem enough.

The bulk of the Padres really talented young guys, are other places.  Just look at the Washington Nationals batting order these days?

There’s not much ready at El Paso or San Antonio that would help the people at Fenway Park right now, and if Duran is exiting, then someboyd must go to Bosto ready to contribute.

It’s a bit early to get into sellers mode around baseball.  Maybe a trusted veteran rental like Andrew McCutcheon might make a difference, coming out of Pittsburgh.  Low budget, has some power, good glove.

Maybe you search the Athletics last place roster, talk to Tampa Bay or disappointing Baltimore to see if there are deals out there.

Preller has contacts everywhere, so he knows what might be out there to be had.

Sorry, budget restrictions will prevent any phone calls to the Angels (Mike  Trout) or other established players.

But it might be time to start thinking about upgrades, because the Padres are playing the teeth of the schedule now.

Help Wanted, that’s the sign that should be hanging outside Petco Park right now.

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“REACHING THE END OF THE ROAD”
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What a strange couple of nights here on my TV.

You get into a routine, flipping on important games at 4-30 or 5-pm, no not a Padres-Pirates game,or a weekend baseball game.

But rather an important NBA playoff game or an NHL showdown, because at this time of the year, every game being played is by the best in the sport with the most important prize, the chance to move on to the NBA-NHL finals.

And this week-we reach the pinnacle of the off season:

OKLAHOMA CITY-INDIANA..An NBA final,involving one team I predicted would be there, the Thunder, and the other I had no idea could get this far, in fact no one did, in the Pacers.

The Thunder are young, fast, physical, dynamic, explosive.  They shoot tons of threes, run the floor, and play suffocating defense.  It’s more than just Shai Gilegous-Alexander.  It’s the hot-streak-cold streak nights of Jalen Williams.  It’s the bigs Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein.  It’s the do-all chemistry of Alex Caruso.  It is a really deep team with all talent plays..

The Pacers go only as far as Tyrese Haliburton can carry them.  Yes Pascal Siakam is explosive but the rest of the team struggles if Haliburton cannot lead.  They struggled with the tough guy Knicks defense, so you wonder how they breathe much less get into their offense once they taste the Thunder pressure package.

Series could be over in five.

EDMONTON-FLORIDA…1-team has already raised the Stanley Cup Trophy, the other has been building towards it, and seems ready to claim it.

This is firepower (Oilers) vs fury (Florida).  This is the Panthers brand of heavy hockey, forechecking teams into submission every shift.  You look at the Florida roster and you are awed by the names of skaters, hitters, goal scorers: Tkacuhk-Barkov-Vandergae-Benett-Marchand.  Add in a defensive group bolstered by Sean Jones, and then there is Sergei Bobrovsky.  And you want to line up against that?

The Oilers are now more than just (97) Connor McDavid and (29) Leon Draisaitl.  The return to health of veterans like Evander Kane and Adam Henrique, the arrival of big body vetercan Corey Perry, and a group of 2nd line guys led by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins means anyone can, and will score.  And the blue line group is much deeper, more mobile, as if  Darnell Nurse wasn’t good enough.  And if you get a red-hot Stuart Skinner in goal, you have a real challenge.

This will be a war of attrition, a test of wills.  Either can win.  Both might win.  Bet it goes seven games.

But we reach the end of the road, and my TV and yours will be on,  with games we will want to see nightly.  It’s the NBA-NHL finals.

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“QUESTIONS-CAN YOU ANSWER THEM”
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Interesting, I have spent my entire career doing sports talk radio and television, asking questions, seeking answers from the teams-people I cover.

Now I empty my notebook to my WEBSITE readers, asking these questions of you.  The forum is yours to answer via my Email on my WEBSITE.

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BASEBALL:

Letter Grade for GM-AJ Preller.  No doubt excitement has returned to Petco Park, the town loves the team, he makes deals you never expect him to make, but you have never been to a World Series with his team, have you.  Rate Him?

Like-Dislike-Hate-Dodgers baseball?  Is it the money, the arrogance, history, or just being a lst place team?

Angels owner Arte Moreno under big time fire-worst owner beyond Disney or Autrey, or don’t fans cre anymore?

FOOTBALL:

Chargers QB-Justin Herbert is talented-beloved, but owner Dean Spanos remains hated for moving the team.  Can you root for the QB to go 17-0 or do you want the owner to go 0-17?  Do you still hate the Bolts?

Rams owner Stan Kroenke has been tremendously successful in the LA market, the stadium, the front office, the coach, the roster building, a Super Bowl.  You fans in San Diego think you could ever root for the Rams?

The Raiders have fans everywhere, here too, based on franchise history, but they haven’t been worth a damn in a decade.  Now they have Pete Carroll, a new GM, and Tom Brady as a consultant.  Is it a breakout season for the Silver & Black?

BASKETBALL:

Lakers equal mediocrity.  So how do you get better without 1st round picks, they don’t choose till #55…are capped out…have little talent aside from the big three.  How do they make this better?  Tell LeBron James to opt out?

Clippers keep getting close, but cannot get to the NBA West finals despite all the deals.  You have an aging Kawhi Leonard, great heart-bad wheels, and an aging James Harden.  Do you keep it together or have to start over?

HOCKEY:

LA Kings say goodbye to GM-Rob Blake despite a 105-point season, but after a 4th straight ouster by the Edmonton Oilers in the playoffs.  San Diego is a melting pot of fans from everywhere.  Do you root for the Kings?

The Ducks are on the brink of breaking out of failure after failure seasons, but they have allowed the AHL-Gulls to wither on the vine.  You follow the Ducks?

SOCCER:

SDFC is a hit on the field, from the opening ceremonies, pre games, to the action on the pitch.  They are fighting for second place as an expansion team.  But it is marred by the fans in the stands, the homophobic slurs and now the drunken brawls at the end of games.  Has ownership failed to provide enough security?  Too much beer sales?  Or is it just the culture of fans that this is happening?

AZTECS:

The awesome news SDSU gets Miles Byrd back to cap off a phenominal off season of roster building.  But that’s the only positive thing on Montezuma Mesa.  Football is in disrepair.  Baseball has tumbled off the radar.  Season ticket sales are down to 5900 plus in the new stadium.  For a school that sales pitches the idea ‘Aztec-4-Life’, it sounds empty.  Where’s all this alumni and student body support for its failing programs?

OTHER TEAMS:

Do you support, have you gone to see the indoor San Diego Sockers…the indoor football SD Strike Force….San Diego lacrosse or rugby.

Do you read my website?  Care to answer any of these questions?  Reach me thru the Email on my website home page.
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“AZTECS BASKETBALL-A STATEMENT DAY”
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San Diego State has given us big thrills in years gone by.

The NCAA championship game with U-Conn.
The final four games vs the Huskies.
Sweet 16-appearances.
Mountain West Tourney championships
An appearance in the NIT.

All great in season accomplishments.
But Wednesday might be the greatest day in off season SDSU hoops history.

6’7-G-Miles Byrd put the exclamation point on a historical off season of good news for Aztecs basketball, pulling himself out of the NBA draft, and electing to return for a 4th year under the guidance of Brian Dutcher.

It sets off emotional fireworks around the Aztecs basketball program.  It’s like dropping a nuclear bomb on the rest of the Mountain West Conference.

And with the roster construction at SDSU, it is nationwide notice to the country, that San Diego State is the ‘Best in the West’ in hoops, better than Gonzaga, UCLA  or anyone else.

Byrd was not ready for the NBA.  Yes he did play well at the Chicago Draft Camp in Chicago.  He worked out for Boston, the 76ers, Suns and Charlotte.  But he elected to pull out of the NBA-Draft because none of those clubs would guarantee him a 2nd round selection, or would not guarantee him some money as a second round choice.

He could have gambled, waited to get chosen somewhere around pick 50, fought his way onto a roster or wound up somewhere in the NBA-G League, on a 2-way contract.

I still think there is growth he must show.  No more 1-for-9 shooting nights.  No more going scoreless as his team was losing by 40-to-North Carolina, in March Madness.  He averaged (12P-4R) a game, hardly impressive, and he really faltered in last year’s end of season big games.

Instead he comes back for a final season, a chance to grow from what he experienced working out for teams, and push himself into the first round and maybe become a Scottie Pippen player.

He comes back just like Magoon Gwath and Reese Waters decided to do.  He is joined by 3-transfers.  It is too bad Nick Boyd jumped ship to try his hand in the Big 10.  But these veterans coming back, what they have added,  and the young potential stars that learned on the job last year, means this could be as good a team going in, as any team we have seen.

And gets to learn further under the special guidance of a head coach who may best the best in the nation at Xs-Os, motivation, and teaching skills, in Brian Dutcher.

And yes, this is an Aztecs team that brought us Jamal Franklin, Kawhi Leonard and Nathan Mensah’s  past great contributions. Brick by brick, this program has become special.

The right move for Miles Byrd.  A bigger move for San Diego State’s coming season.  A slam dunk of a decision for so many reasons.

Truly a ‘Statement Day’ about the coach, the kids, the leadership, the qualities that Aztecs basketball represents.

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