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: FINAL: Jets 0 … Oilers 2 … There wasn’t much to get excited about, nor was there much to be overly critical about. It was a very ho-hum pre-season game with lots of AHLers.
- Chibisov piqued my interest.
- I like Harkins but he is not an NHLer yet.
- I expected a little more from Appleton and Roslovic.
- Poolman looked decent.
- Gustafsson was steady.
2. Blue Bombers: The Blue Bombers sure didn’t get any help from the out of town scoreboard during their bye-week. Oh well.
3. Jets: WOW! Josh is locked up for EIGHT years with an AAV of $6,250,000 per season. Here is something I haven’t said all summer, WELL DONE CHEVY!
4. NHL: I find the Mitch Marner and Maple Leaf hate on Twitter very puzzling. I don’t get it? I’m happy the Leafs are spending over 1/3 of their salary cap on three players.
5. Solheim Cup: I enjoyed the Solheim Cup because I like competition … BUT … I don’t think Karsten Solheim envisioned a world where the best golfers on the planet come from Asia. This current hiccup is making his little competition a little anti-climactic because it’s not really best vs best. I wonder if the Solheim family and the LPGA have the stones to revamp the format? Europe won the Cup with 14 1/2 points.
6. Jets: Unlike the haters, I hope Logan Stanley succeeds and becomes a solid NHL defenceman for the Jets. I don’t know why you would hope an asset fails just so you can say you were right that Jets made a mistake drafting him. Stanley wasn’t my first choice in that spot either but what’s done is done. It’s not his fault he was drafted where he was drafted. It’s time to move on.
7. Jets: Josh Morrissey at $6,250,000 AAV or Jacob Trouba at $8,000,000 AAV? Discuss.
8. Pet Peeve: Jets fans that pine for every NHL player that asks for a trade. The latest flavour of the month is Julius Honka. I really like Honka, he was a stud for Swift Current in the WHL. I just think there is ZERO chance the Dallas Stars would trade within the division unless they were getting a ridiculous return and I don’t see that happening.
9. Vikings: The Vikings are the only team right now that can actually make me scream at my tv. I’ve calmed down quite a bit watching Jets and Blue Bomber games but the Vikings can still push my buttons. The expletives emanating from our house on Sunday morning wasn’t pretty. Keep in mind I’m in AZ right now and the NFL games start at 10 am. My poor wife.
10. Jets: Oh boy, Eric Comrie starts in goal tonight in Edmonton. Does anybody think that Eric Comrie will ever play in the NHL? I don’t.
11. Blue Jays: Jays pitcher Wilmar Font is definitely a keeper going forward, it is just a matter of where the Blue Jays want to use him.
12. NFL: Watching kick-offs fly through the end-zone in the NFL is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen. Kick returns are one of the most exciting plays in football. WHY NFL WHY?
13. NHL: The NHL has suspended Evgeny Kuznetsov for three games for inappropriate conduct. It had nothing to do with a drug policy because blow isn’t considered a performance-enhancing drug by the NHL. The three games were probably for being stupid enough to post pictures on Twitter with nose candy on a table in a hotel room?
14. NFL: What the hell was Cam Newton wearing the other night in his post-game presser. He looked like a character from a “Saturday Night Live” skit.
15. Important Dates:
Sept. 16: Winnipeg Jets pre-season opener at Edmonton. (TSN 3)
Sept. 18: Winnipeg Jets pre-season home opener vs Minnesota. (TSN 3)
Sept. 21: Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Montreal.
Oct. 3: Winnipeg Jets regular-season opener at the New York Rangers. (TSN 3)
Oct. 10: Winnipeg Jets regular-season home opener vs the Minnesota Wild. (TSN 3)
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Thanks, Mitch
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