As recently as three weeks ago, the Vancouver Canucks were the front-runners in the sweepstakes for the highly-touted Swedish superstar Fabian Brunnström until the organization fired GM Dave Nonis.

The 23-year-old superstar in the Swedish Elite League would have been wonders and made a difference for a team that has struggled offensively to score goals in the last two seasons under coach Alain Vigneault.

Out of the 20 teams that expressed interest, the Canucks were at the top of the list and Vancouver seemed to be his chosen NHL destination. Brunnström and Nonis seeminly forged a close relationship, as the former GM paid a visit to the prospect's hometown of Helsingborg, a city in the southernmost part of Sweden, in an effort to lure him as a free agent.

Continue reading "Nonis Firing Costs Canucks Brunnström"

Aside from its outstanding regular season and Super Bowl run nearly three seasons ago, the Seattle Seahawks have suffered from receivers on the roster that cannot make timely catches, but through all the drops, Bobby Engram's been the most sure-handed and reliable target for quarterback Matt Hasselbeck.

In seven season with the Seahawks, the 35-year-old Engram has done everything on the field for the team and been a standout receiver, grabbing a franchise-record 94 receptions during the 2007 season.

Despite these numbers, the organization is unwilling to extend his contract past this season. Engram wants a two-year deal that would keep him in Seattle through the 2010 season, but President Tim Ruskell is only willing to negotiate a one-year extension.

Continue reading "Seahawks Need to Deal with Engram"

Fans are excited about the launch of mini-camps around the league and the prospects of the upcoming 2008 season. But I thought I'd reflect on the instant classic that was Super Bowl XLII, three months following the shocker that saw the New York Giants knocked off the previously undefeated New England Patriots in a thrilling 17-14 comeback win. 

NFL fans have had time to absorb and reflect upon what happened that fateful Sunday at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Arizona, and the buzz seemingly still remains as teams enter mini-camps and we get geared up for another season. 

The performance put forth by Eli Manning and the front four is still nothing short of amazing, even three months after the fact. Remember that Manning was completely chastised by the New York media throughout much of the season, but took a major step in his overall maturation as a quarterback and proved his critics wrong. 

Continue reading "Super Bowl XLII in Review"

It's little wonder why the San Antonio Spurs are the defending NBA champions and have won four titles in nine seasons in building their own dynasty over that same period. After looking like a non-contenders in New Orleans in the first two games, the Spurs revved up the intensity at home and tied the series 2-2 with a pair of dominant victories.   

Down 2-0 in their Western Conference semi-final series against the young-and-upstart New Orleans Hornets, it looked like the Spurs were dead in the water after Chris Paul and the rest of the Hornets posted two outstanding performances.

In the two road playoff losses, San Antonio didn't seem to have an answer to Paul, especially in the second half that saw New Orleans outscore the Spurs 56-33 during its 101-82 victory in Game 1. Paul and fellow Hornet David West shot the lights out down the stretch, while the defending champs couldn't do the same and hit cold spells in the second half. Tim Duncan was completely shutdown, as Tyson Chandler made things difficult for the two-time MVP. 

Continue reading "Spurs Have Returned to Form"

You have to say that the Detroit Pistons have built a pretty successful organization in the new millennium. While the term "dynasty" is usually reserved for sports teams that put together a string of championships, we can surely make an exception for the Pistons.

After beating the Orlando Magic 91-86 to win its second-round series in five games, Detroit is now making its sixth straight trip to the Eastern Conference final. It marks the first NBA team to accomplish the feat since the Los Angeles Lakers did it from 1984 to 1989.

Out of the five attempts in the conference final, the group hasn't come through in the clutch, advancing to the NBA Finals only twice and winning it once - in 2004 over the Lakers. 

Continue reading "Pistons: Beasts in the East"

Once Matt Walsh handed over the sought-after video evidence the league wanted, most fans thought the door would be closed on Spygate and the controversy sounding the Patriots.

Even NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell declared an end to Spygate after meeting with Walsh for about three hours on Tuesday morning.   

Senator Arlen Specter, however, thinks differently. After a sit-down chat with Walsh, he wants an independent investigation, similar to the Mitchell Report in baseball, into the New England's method of videotaping signals in an effort to save the integrity of the NFL as a league.

In some respect, Specter made some solid points in terms of the lessons that can be learned from Spygate, including a message he emphasized to the younger generation that it's not okay to cheat. He also touched on the need for more accountability among teams to ensure the integrity of the game is not tainted.

Continue reading "Specter Needs to Get Over Spygate"