Sports writers are sometimes underestimated. How hard can it be to write up a game?
David Shoalts found a good way to measure the impact of the three-day suspension of New Jersey Devils' Cam Janssen. Calling it a 12 minute, 36 second suspension, Shoalts multiplies the player's average ice time per game, multiplies it by three games, and voila.
You can fill a book and still not make a strong, clear point like that.
Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette wrote a similarly strong column recently. He pointed out that Ryan Smith, the tearful Edmonton Oiler who found himself traded at the last minute, had turned down a $27 million offer, because it was short of the $27.5 million he was asking for.
Smyth tried to make the trade look like a betrayal of his status as a home-town hero. If he was that worried about it, Cowan writes, he could have taken the deal.
Both writers cut through the crap and make their points economically. We should all do as well.
Tags: sports, new jersey devils, montreal gazette, edmonton oilers, david shoalts, stu cowan
As I was sitting on my couch last night during my nightly dose of Sportscenter, I was looking at the records of each team, and a lot of it just did not make any sense at all! The Saints, who finished last year with ten wins and played in the NFC championship game, are winless after four games. The Bears went from giving the Colts a run for their money in the Super Bowl to having just two wins on the year so far. The Packers have only one loss after an average .500 season in 2006, and the Raiders already have as many wins as they did last year! As the great Vince Lombardi once said, "What the hell is going on out there!"
I would like to begin attempting to answer this question by saying that the NFL is very unique when compared to the other major sports leagues on account that only 16 games are on the schedule. With the NBA and NHL each playing 82 games and MLB playing 162 games, the NFL could be compared to a 5 question final exam in rocket science! Now, I am not at all suggesting that the NFL needs to add more games on the schedule. They have a great system, and I know how much wear and tear each player goes through every Sunday. I am simply asking the question---do the best teams enter the playoffs every year?
This is a very interesting question, so with the MLB postseason currently in progress, I decided to check out the standings back in April when each team was 16 games into the season. I was astonished! Boston, with a record of 11-5, was the only team that would have been in the postseason, who actually made the postseason, if the regular season would have come to an end on that day.
So, does this really mean that the records of each team don't reflect their success? Well, in my opinion, kind of. There are always exceptions to the rule---teams like the Patriots and the Colts, who don't need "luck" on their side. Teams as dominant as these are like the geniuses who know every aspect of rocket science and cannot be tricked or need the right questions to be asked on their exam. However, the majority of the teams in the NFL are so close in talent that it's almost like drawing names out of a hat, and as a result, many surprise teams come out of the woodwork each year.
Also, we have all heard the common cliché that football is a game of inches, and this is all more supporting evidence that is relevant to this question. Many games are decided by a fumble, a costly penalty, or a botched field goal. I guess that this is just the way the ball bounces! But does it always bounce the right way?
-Grant Fogel, please give feedback at [email protected]
Posted by: Grant Fogel | October 08, 2007 at 12:59 PM