Tag Archives: paul holmgren

The Return Of Random Thoughts

Wait a minute... we're still over .500? High five!

You know what we haven’t done in a while? A random thoughts blog.

Just things I’ve thought about that maybe you have as well in the last few weeks of watching sports.

With so much going on as far as sports since March Madness I think it’s time to do some rehashing.

So without further ado… HERE WE GO!

Is Zach Greinke really worth it? I mean he is 7-3 but he’s got a 5.66 ERA.

Anybody else think Kenny Williams is lying about the Adam Dunn deal?

Josh Harrelson a year ago was buried on the bench at Kentucky with Enes Kanter coming in. A year later he was a key component in the Wildcats Final Four run and will get minutes off of the bench for the Knicks. Life.

Hopefully the Sedin Twins take boxing lessons this summer.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, please gain 20 pounds.

Even though she is six foot five how many of us would hit on Jan Vesely’s girlfriend?

Federer couldn’t beat Nadal, Nadal can’t beat Djokovic… So who’s he going to have a problem with?

Why is it that Joe Girardi is the only person who thinks Derek Jeter should lead off?

David Ortiz couldn’t hit anything for the last two years now all of a sudden he’s hitting .301 with 17 home runs and 49 RBI… hmmmm….

Lebron James dunking on a kid doesn’t help his image.

(honestly at this point LeBron could cure cancer and we’d still hate him. And yes I’m serious about that statement.)

Mario Chalmers is now my new least favorite athlete in the world.

Did any team in the NBA Draft really help itself?

Sabine Lisicki also plays tennis. We'll talk about that later.

Nicklas Lidstrom came back for his 20th season. Can we engrave his name on the Norris Trophy in 2012 already?

Lets face it, Dany Heatley will never be “the guy.”

Neither will Andy Murray.

Anybody else happy that Brian Cashman corrected Alex Rodriguez by saying that Robinson Cano is better that Jose Reyes?

Can I call Austin Rivers “Baby Doc?”

Did Jose Bautista really just score the most votes in All-Star voting history?

How awesome was it that Virginia won the lacrosse title?

(think about this for a second. In the last two years lacrosse’s two most controversial teams fought back from media hell to win a title. Last years Duke team won after three years of dealing with the ugly aftermath of a stripper rape allegation and this year Virginia won after one of it’s own murdered women’s lacrosse player Yeardley Love.

The image of the Cavs men’s team was brutally tarnished and the turmoil around both mens and women’s teams was enough make anyone not want to put on pads and a helmet and sprint out onto the field again. However, Virginia fought through it’s adversity and came out a winner. Their win over Maryland in the Memorial Day title game cast a fantastic light on the team an buried whatever demons were left from the 2011 season.

Very commendable indeed.)

Are the Pirates really a game and a half out of first place?

Who the hell is Mike Morse?

Brian Wilson needs to shave that beard… Now!

Is Jim Riggleman; a, a gangster, b, salty or c, out of his bleeping mind?

Iman Shumpert… And yes I’m still stuck on that pick.

How funny would it be if the Winnipeg Jets won the southeast division this year?

(Winnipeg is six hours north of Minneapolis.)

It’s July… NFL step on it.

(I’m serious. The New York Giants tick me off, Eli Manning makes bad throws, I’ll see 85 Coughlin faces and understand each of them… AND IF I MISS ONE FREAKING GAME I WILL HUNT ROGER GOODELL AND DEMAURICE SMITH DOWN!!!)

By the way, if the MLB locks out in November then there is a real possibility that Hockey may be the only game in town come 2012….

New theory behind the Flyers trades; maybe Paul Holmgren used Jeff Carter and Mike Richards just to get the Winter Classic in Philly and then dumped them afterwards… Nope, trade still makes no sense.

I know Brett Favre is retired, but I’m still uncertain.

Quick, 3 things about Luke Picknell. Ready and… GO!

Is Maryland football a better job than Connecticut football? Randy Edsall are you listening?

Seattle Sounders FC draws more fans than the Mariners…

Anybody else think Cam Newton will bomb?

I still have no caption for this.

No seriously are the Pirates really only a game and a half out of first place?

(why is this not a huge story? The Pirates haven’t had a winning season in almost 20 years. That’s back to the Barry Bonds and Bobby Bonilla days.

Ever since then they have traded every and I mean every good player that they’ve had and have been in a never ending rebuild mode. Now here there are with Andrew McCutcheon as a dark horse MVP candidate, an All-Star in Joel Hanrahan and the Brewers, Reds and Cards all looking back in disbelief.

If they make the playoffs they are the story if the year hands down.)

Sabine Lisicki… Mmmmmm.

Will Tiger Woods fade into oblivion?

Even though Roger Federer has “lost it” he’s still the third best tennis player in the world.

And lastly… Dirk, a $90,000 bottle of champagne and pictures with Birdman and Lil’ Wayne… In LeBron and D-Wade’s backyard.

Cough on that Miami.


The Flyers Take A Risk

So explain this to me; how in the world does trading your Captain and one of your top scorers make your team better?

What is Philly thinking?

Beats the hell out of me, but to Philadelphia Flyers GM Paul Holmgren it makes perfect sense.

Yesterday he traded star center Jeff Carter to the Columbus Blue Jackets and team captain Mike Richards to the Los Angeles Kings for draft picks and winger Wayne Simmonds in each deal. The moves were made so that the Flyers could make cap room for recent acquired goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov to be signed to a long term deal.

Now while I understand the need for the Flyers to get a top flight goalie (especially after this pathetic postseason showing) I barely understand the need to trade both of these players.

If you wanted to trade one of the two guys fine, go ahead. The Flyers have more than enough scoring power with Danny Briere, Claude Giroux and James Van Riemsdyk in place to replace Jeff Carter. However, Richards too?!

Mike Richards is one of the best leaders in the NHL. His physicality and spirit helped guide the Flyers to within 2 wins of a Stanley Cup in 2010 and it got them a number 2 seed in the playoffs this year. Richards’s hardnosed style was perfect for the city of Philadelphia and was appreciated by fans of the game in general.

Trading him leaves a huge hole for the Flyers to fill in fans hearts as well as on the ice.

Maybe the Flyers realized that the two huge deals given to Richards and Carter in the last few years were going to prevent them from making the proper moves to get ahead. Flyers management was not happy with the team’s postseason performance and they made goaltending a number one priority this offseason (not that it wasn’t in the last 17 years).

The Bryzgalov deal is a bold move but is it the right one? Giving Bryzgalov $51 million dollars after getting swept out of the playoffs seems like a hell of a reach for a team that has been stuck in goalie purgatory ever since Ron Hextall hung them up. Maybe they could’ve found a better deal for another goalie or used the pick that they got for the Carter deal on one.

Whatever the case is, Holmgren made moves to ensure that the team wouldn’t use three goalies in one series again on his watch. Getting rid of his two most popular players to sign a possible franchise goalie will define Holmgren whether it works or not.

When Holmgren took to the podium in Minnesota to explain the deals to the media I felt glad for him that he wasn’t in Philadelphia. Why? Well here’s a text from my buddy Scully, who is a Flyers fan, after he found out about the deals:

I F***** HATE PAUL HOLMGREN!!!

Yeah… um… you better hope this works out well Paul.


Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.