The Think Tank Episode 4: 9/23/09

This week we preview the THINK TANK field trip up to Seattle to watch the Bears and the Seahawks clash. My sister Danyelle stops by and talks Sharks hockey. We have our latest installment of Ballin and Fallin with some shocking results. Also, BPKO and I have a heated discussion about Plaxico Burress and his trip to prison. Thanks for listening!!

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Think Tank Week 3

This week BPKO and I run down week one of the NFL. We have a new list of The top 5 Ballers and the Top 5 Fallers in the world of sports this week. We go over the Sharks trade to acquire Dany Heatley and we basically just keep it real like always. Thanks for tuning into the show.

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Sharks acquire Dany Heatley, say goodbye to Cheechoo & Michalek

Earlier this week, rumors were running rampant all over the web. I must have gotten 5 text messages from various people telling me ESPN reports the Sharks were trading Patrick Marleau. The deal involved the Ottawa, L.A. and the Sharks. It would send estranged Captain, Patty Marleau to the Kings, Frolov and Stoll to the Sens, and the Sharks would end up with disgruntled Senators forward, Dany Heatley. As soon as I heard that Doug Wilson vehemently denied this report, I knew there was some truth to it. But in order for Marleau to be moved, he had to waive his no-trade clause, which Patty claims they never asked him to do. Also, once I heard Doug Wilson deny it, I knew he wouldn't follow through. Mainly because nobody, especially ESPN's John Buccigross, is going to tell Wilson what he is going to do.
With trade rumors popping up everywhere the last few weeks, it was clear the Sharks were pursuing Heatley. The Sharks front office desperately wanted to shake things up. They wanted to bring in an established sniper. Heatley is a 2 time 50 goal scorer and has over a point per game in his career. Heatley fits that bill. He has also been involved in a D.U.I manslaughter in Atlanta that took the life of his teammate and best friend, Dan Snyder. And his most recent blemish was demanding a trade out of Ottawa and being a locker room disruption. "Heater" is a great player, but he is bringing some serious baggage with him to Norm Mineta airport.
The deal ended up being beloved winger, Jonathan Cheechoo and underachieving, Milan Michalek, and a 2nd rd pick for Heatley and a 5th rounder. The last few years have seen some post season failures and Michalek has been very high on the list of the playoff chokers. A change of scenery might do both of these players some good. Cheech will always be remembered for the 56 goal, Rocket Richard Trophy year of 2006. The only thing that Cheechoo lacks is a ton of natural ability. He is all heart, but parts of his game leave alot to be desired. Michalek on the other hand is blessed with ability, but seems to be lacking in the heart department. Personally, this deal makes more sense than Marleau for Heatley since on many levels, they are the same player.
What this means now for the Sharks is a couple things. First, this is the last chance for the Doug Wilson regime here in San Jose. This is a make or break year for Wilson, Head Coach Todd McLellan, Marleau, and Joe Thornton. But this team that had more points in the regular season last year seems to have gotten grittier. Heatley is a sniper and an agitator. He has a knack for scoring timely goals, which the Sharks have lacked when it matters most. Second, Goalie Evegeni Nabokov and the defense need to hold up there end. If they do, this team will be one of the leagues best.
By making this deal, the Sharks arguably have the best top two lines in the NHL. Depending on how McLellan does it, you could have a top line of Heatley, Thornton, and Devin Setoguchi. That leaves Marleau, Joe Pavelski and Ryane Clowe for the second group. However they are arranged, this group can score some goals.
Although Wilson may not be done dealing, he has accomplished his goal of changing the look of the team while keeping his most important pieces in place. If Marleau can actually survive being traded before the season starts, I look for him to have a huge year, without the pressure of the Captaincy. Heatley will be exciting and the thought of him and Jumbo and Seto together make me downright giddy. However, the success of this deal will be judged in the post season. The Sharks won't play a meaningful game until Game 1 of the playoffs in April. But for now, Doug Wilson and company have put themselves in a position to be successful for years to come. Bottom line, this is going to be a pivotal year in this franchise's history. Stanley Cup Finals or bust!

THE NEW THINK TANK Episode 2: 9/9/09

This week on THE THINK TANK it's back to old school, hardcore sports with myself and Big Papa Knockout. We run down the Top 5 Ballers, and the Top 5 Fallers in the world of sports. Who is on the rise and who is falling from grace? All these questions, some great music and much, much more covered in Episode 2 of THE THINK TANK. Thanks for your support! If you enjoy this, please sign on as a follower of this blog.

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THE THINK TANK returns! 9/3/09

We are back for another semester of hard hitting sports talk on KSFS. Myself (Ryan Covay), and Charles "Big Papa Knockout" Palmore are teaming up once again to share our opinions (however twisted) about the current state of the world of sports. We will be on KSFS every Wednesday night from 8-10 PM. For our first show, we welcome back Nick "Tuch Money" Vertucci to the program. Nick is a huge sports fan with a passion for Chicago Bear football (What a guy!). We had a hardcore football debate with topics ranging from Mike Vick, Brett Favre, and of course, JAY CUTLER!
Thanks for listening and for supporting the program.

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Steroids in baseball? Man, that's old news!

Everyone remembers where they were when Mark McGwire broke Roger Maris's single season home run record in 1998. That summer, Big Mac and Slammin Sammy Sosa brought the fans back to baseball in droves and made the sport relevant again. Very timely for a sport that had lost a significant portion of it's fan base when a labor dispute led to the cancellation of the 1996 World Series. That's right, a CANCELED World Series! Baseball had long been known as "The National Pastime", but many feel the NFL has stripped them of that title. The NFL has brilliantly marketed their product and through that, gave their players the same type of iconic status that baseball had given to Aaron, Ruth, and Mays. There was a changing of the guard. How could baseball keep up? More importantly, how could owners continue to make money? The answer was as simple as a universal truth: "Chicks dig the long ball".

The strike in 1996 was the catalyst for MLB owners to turn a blind eye to some obvious cheating. MLB's inability to police themselves caused this problem to grow exponentially. By the late 1990's the actual number of players on "the juice" grew by the week. Once players saw the country embrace the "Chase for History" in Summer of 98, why wouldn't they feel like it was acceptable and even necessary. But I'm not sure if they (MLB owners and the Commissioner) wouldn't do just a few things differently if they had another chance. The fall-out from this era can be felt on nightly broadcasts of Sportscenter and on sports talk-radio all over the country. It became obvious to anyone with common sense that the games biggest stars had cheated.
So what did MLB lose by turning a blind eye to 'roids for the sake of filling seats? Well for starters, the record book is now a joke. The most hallowed records in the game, the single season home run mark and the all-time home run mark, now belong to an accused and federally indicted steroid user in Barry Bonds. You also had the Mitchell Report released in 2008 which led to Roger Clemens looking like a complete knucklehead on Capitol Hill. He was literally lying through his teeth. The biggest names in the game made this list. Bonds, Clemens, McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Sammy Sosa, and the most heart-breaking of all, Benito Santiago (OK not really). It's really hard to say who looked worse. Clemens straight up lying, McGwire not wanting to talk about the past, or Sammy Sosa's sudden need for the help of an interpreter.



If you think that the owners and the MLB front office, including commissioner Bud Selig weren't aware this was happening, you are delusional. Typically people don't put on 40 or 50 lbs of muscle mass in their late thirties. Now keep in mind, this problem goes back even before Canseco and McGwire were hanging out in the late 80's, injecting each other in a dingy bathroom stall at the Oakland Coliseum. Steroids have always been around, but it didn't hit mainstream acceptability in baseball until the mid-nineties. Bottom line is we will never know how many players actually took juice. However, with no testing in place for so long and the acceptance of 'roids in the culture of baseball, the numbers may be staggering. Mr. Rat, Jose Canseco puts that number at around 75% in the "Golden Age of Steroids".

When it was reported earlier this month that Sammy Sosa tested positive for juice in 2003, it was framed on ESPN as "breaking news". Hardly. Baseball won't be able to put this behind them anytime soon and the owners and Bud Selig have themselves to blame. They sacrificed integrity to put butts in seats and make some cash. And as long as baseball icons like Manny Ramierez keep testing positive for juice, this problem isn't going away. What about the record book? What about the Hall of Fame eligibility of accused steroid users? Bud Selig would be well served to make some kind of ruling on this, however controversial. It would appear if it is left to the Sports Writers, if you are presumed dirty, you aren't going to the HOF. Just ask Big Mac. Once Barry Bonds "officially" retires, he and Clemens will be on the clock counting down to when they become eligible for the HOF. Once thought to be HOF locks, they now appear to be long-shots. Hey Commish, rap your arms around this thing. You made your bed, now lie in it. Bottom line, if the media insists on revealing steroid users one at a time, this is going to be an even longer process. Won't that be exiting! Not really.

Game seven. Anyone want a Stanley Cup?

Well the Penguins did it. Barely. After being embarrassed in Detroit in Game 5 to the tune of 5-0, the Penguins got new life with a superb defensive effort. They did just enough scoring and came away with a 2-1 victory over everyone's favorite dynasty, the Detroit Red Wings(Hold on, I might vomit). So here we go, winner take all, one night only, a chance for the Pens to etch their names on the holy grail. Can Pitt win in Detroit? I'm not so sure. But one thing is for certain: In a one game series, ANYTHING can happen.
So what will it take for the Pens to hoist the cup in Motown? The first goal of the game would be nice. But...they scored first in Games 1 & 2 and the Wings found a way to come back. Time for Sidney Crosby to step up and create his own legacy. Independent of the legacy that the NHL promotions department have created since the day he came to the league and was anointed the next Mario Lemiuex. Crosby had a much better effort in Game 6, but he and Evgeni Malkin both have 0 points in the last two games. It wouldn't seem likely that the Pens would win Game 7 without offensive contributions from these 2 superstars. Chris Osgood has had alot to do with the recent struggles of the Pens top players. He has been nothing short of brilliant and if the Wings win Game 7, he is lock for the Conn Smythe. Are you taking note Evgeni Nabokov?
If the Pens win Game 7 and capture Lord Stanley, they will have beaten Detroit 4 out of the last 5 games, a feat which I have stated I don't think is possible. Losing the first 2 games in Detroit put them in a hole I didn't think they could possibly recover from. Joe Louis Arena will be a MAD house and it is no surprise the Penguins haven't found a way to win there yet. The Wings are a different team at home and you have to think their leadership core (now fully intact) will have that club ready to go. Bottom line is Friday will be one hell of a game and as a Shark fan, this is a close to the Cup Finals as I may get for a long time!

Prediction- Detroit 4, Pittsburgh 2.