Mitch Kasprick is the “Motown Curmudgeon” aka “Motown Mitch”
Odds and Ends, Thoughts and Questions, from this past week in sports –
Just so there’s no confusion when I’m spewing my bias, I am a fan of the Winnipeg Jets, Arizona Coyotes, Manitoba Moose, Winnipeg Ice, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Minnesota Vikings, Arizona Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, Arizona Diamondbacks, Winnipeg Goldeyes, Toronto Raptors, all curlers from Manitoba, and all Canadian athletes competing on the international stage.
I am NOT a fan of Gary Bettman or as I call him, Count Chocula. I am a big believer in the 7Ps. You’ve been warned.
1. Jets: The Winnipeg Jets went 1-1-0 for the week and are 6-6-0 overall. Although all the focus is on the Winnipeg Jets blueline it is their forwards that are struggling to provide offence and the special teams aren’t very special at all.
2. Moose: The Manitoba Moose are off to a brutal 1-7-0-0 start to their season. Our prospects don’t seem to be prospecting very well and it looks like Pascal Vincent has some work ahead of him. Kristian Vesalainen has TWO assists in EIGHT games. He is looking more like a bust than a prospect.
3. Jets: Connor Hellebuyck had another real solid week in the net. If he can continue playing like this you know the team’s offence will eventually show up and this team might be okay …. might.
4. Blue Bombers: Winnipeg 29 vs Calgary 28 – This was the game that had Bomber fans wondering what newly acquired Zach Collaros could bring to the table and I would say the Collaros surprised most everybody at IG Field on Friday night. Collaros went 22 for 28 for 221 yards passing with 2 TD passes and 1 interception. It wasn’t so much about the stats he put up but more about how quick he read the defences and his timing. Coach O’Shea has an interesting decision to make at the QB position for the West Semi-final. I think most of us think we will see both Collaros and Streveler under center in this game.
The Good:
- Zach Collaros was pretty good for a guy that hasn’t taken very many snaps in the past two seasons.
- Justin Medlock was money again.
- Welcome back Darvin Adams.
The Bad:
- Mike O’Shea’s lack of feel or common sense in throwing the challenge flag. It seems like he doesn’t challenge the plays he should and the last couple of weeks he has challenged plays that had ZERO chance of being reversed. I think he needs an intervention.
The Ugly:
- The swiss cheese secondary.
5. Jets: This team still plays a little too much on the perimeter for my liking. It is hard to score in this league, the goalies are too good. The Jets need a little more traffic in front of opposition goaltenders.
6. NHL: Does playing on back to back nights this early in the season even matter?
7. Jets: Winnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice is getting a lot of criticism in certain circles and many think he should be fired but for me, I have a greater concern with the GM of this team.
8. Pet Peeve: The term “trap game”. This is the NHL and if you don’t show up ready to play and compete every night there is a good chance you will lose no matter who the opposition is.
9. Blue Bombers: Mike O’Shea might be a good X’s and O’s coach, he might be a likable coach, but is he a good HEAD COACH?
10. Jets: The Dustin Byfuglien watch. Would it be fair to say that if Buff was playing the Jets record would be 7-5-0 or maybe even 8-4-0?
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11. Bombers: Zach Collaros has actually given the Blue Bombers fanbase some hope for a semi-final win however misguided it might be. Knowing Mike O’Shea, he probably won’t start Collaros. Even if he does we still have to hope Richie Hall bought a few extra cartons of Flex Seal to patch the holes in his leaky secondary.
12. Jets: Luca Sbisa? Really Chevy?
13. Jets: I’m with everybody else, I would love to see those Jets Heritage Classic jerseys a whole lot more this season. I know they’re scheduled for two more games but that is not enough.
14. Curling: Seeing the joy and emotion pour out of skip Matt Dunstone and his team after winning the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling Masters (their first) in North Bay this weekend is what sports and competition is all about. It is not about the money for these guys.
15. PGA: I’m not a Tiger Woods guy but I was pulling for him to get win number 82 this weekend and he did. This is a very impressive feat especially when you consider his problems the past 5-6 years.
16. Jets: It is crap like this that really gets me pissed off and I felt the need to respond. Bryan Little deserves more respect than this and especially from an outsider with an agenda.
I’m sorry Pekka but blaming Bryan Little for Patrik Laine’s short comings last season is a bullshit lazy narrative … I would also like to see 27/55/29 BUT Little is not the problem . being “sentenced” to a “Donut line” is disrespectful to an honest hockey player in Bryan Little
— MoTown Curmudgeon (@WpgSportsTalk) October 26, 2019
17. Important Dates:
- Nov. 10: CFL West semi-final … probably Winnipeg at Calgary. (TSN 3)
18. Goaltending:
- Conner Hellebuyck: 5-4-0 … 2.21 GAA … .933 SV%
- Laurent Brossoit: 1-2-0 … 4.86 GAA … .850 SV%
19. Special Teams: Rule of thumb. Have the two red numbers (PK and PP) total at least 100% when added. (as your minimum) I also base the movement (up or down) on the % and not the NHL ranking.
- PP: 22nd at 16.30% down from 20th at 18.20%
- PK: 31st at 64.00% up from 31st at 61.10%
- FO: 9th at 51.40% up from 12th at 51.10%
20. Final Thought: I forgot to mention Tracy Fleury’s win in North Bay this past weekend at the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling. It was the East St. Paul rink’s first Grand Slam title since bringing in their import skip from Sudbury last season to replace the departed Kerri Einarson. Congrats to Team Fleury
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Thanks, Mitch
