AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Frank Gunn

By Paul Gotham

Taking time here on the ‘un-official’ holiday known as Super Bowl Sunday to ponder a sampling of topics going on around the sports world.

The NHL getting it right this time

The last time the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins met, the NHL took a little heat. Critics spewed about the league’s perpetual inability to highlight its marquee games. Instead of putting that  game on a major network on a Sunday afternoon, NHL rising stars, Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, dueled on a Thursday night. To make matters worse, the game was pitted opposite the Lakers – Cavs/ Kobe-LeBron match-up.

Today, as sports fans settle in for a long winter’s viewing, they can catch the NHL’s finest on display. Props to the Penguins for doing their finest post man impersonation. Given the record snow fall in the nation’s capital, the Penguins will have to make the trek despite rain, or SNOW, or sleet, or hail, or lots of snow. Wonder if the NHL will be grabbing people off the streets to make sure the seats are full.

The NHL has to figure out a foil to the Kobe-LeBron ad campaign. I love the latest puppet ads with Bryant and James. “LeBron, did you hear that? My shoes started the fire.” That is great stuff.

More frozen pond

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been in existence for over 90 years. Jean-Sebastien Giguere needed two games to etch his name into Leaf lore.

Acquired in a trade on January 31st, Giguere got his first start two days later. The netminder made 30 saves on 30 shots to shutout the New Jersey Devils, 3-0. Four nights later, Giguere repeated the feat shutting out the Senators, 5-0. Giguere is now the first goalie in Leaf history to earn shutouts in his first two starts.

Now, Giguere will need to prove he is worthy of mentioning with Johnny Bower, Turk Broda, and other great Leaf goalies of the past. Of course, Leaf fans would probably be happy to just get out of the Eastern Conference basement.

A small dose of irony for Buffalo Sabre fans when considering Giguere’s feat. Buffalo is 5-0 against the Leafs this year, including a shutout win back in November.  Meanwhile, the Sabres are 0-4 against the Senators.

Buffalo fell for the fourth consecutive time Saturday night. There is reason for concern that Sabre netminder, Ryan Miller, is in need of some rest. The timing is poor considering Miller will be between the pipes for Team USA in the upcoming Olympics. Buffalo currently sits in third place in the conference with a 12-point buffer from the eighth and final playoff spot.

The Sabres schedule after the Olympics is less than kind – at Pittsburgh, Washington, Philadelphia, and at the Rangers in the first week of March.

Did any other Sabre fans just gulp?

Kobe passes West

With 44 points Monday night against the Memphis Grizzlies, Kobe Bryant passed Jerry West on the all-time Laker scoring list. There was some rumblings from Pau Gasol and Phil Jackson that this was not exactly a happy occasion. The two expressed relief in putting the record behind them, so they could focus on team pursuits. This wouldn’t be the first time Kobe put self in front of the team

Maybe I need my antenna adjusted, but I am having a difficult time putting Kobe ahead of Mr. Clutch on my personal pantheon of NBA greats. Okay, Kobe has 25,246 points as opposed to West’s 25,192. It’s important to note that West played 932 games. Kobe has suited up for 999. Something tells me points were more difficult to come by in West’s time. Certainly, money was a lot more difficult when West made his way. I’m thinking Jerry was not afforded as much time to train in the off-season. He probably needed to work jobs to make ends meet.

Nonetheless, I still love the Kobe commercials. Did I mention that already?

Photo by Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images

Measure of an MVP

We are about  to find out the value of Chris Paul. The Hornets’ point guard is out for a month, and the team is already two games out of the playoffs. It does not look good for the Cajun Kings.

Props to Hornets for pulling out the Mardi Gras home colors – nice touch.

Much ado about Phil

Scott McCarron apologized. Phil Mickelson accepted. And a wedge has been put in the bag.

I’m still scratching my head.

McCarron accused Mickelson of gaining an unfair advantage with a club that other tour members use.

I’m not even going to pretend that I know much about golf, but the USGA only allows Ping wedges made prior to 1990?

1990?

Am I wrong in suggesting that there have been some significant advancements in the technology of golf equipment since 1990?

Terry loses the ‘C’

No one knows what goes behind closed doors, and soccer proved golf is not alone in sex scandals.

England’s coach, Fabio Capello, announced this week that John Terry has lost his team captaincy. This after allegations became public of Terry’s affair with teammate Wayne Bridge’s girlfriend.

The situation increased on the weird scale when it unearthed a scandal within the U.S. team from over a decade ago. Now we find out why John Harkes was cut from the 1998 U.S. team: he had an affair with Eric Wynalda’s wife.

Ya just never know.

Winter Olympics anyone?

Who’s looking forward to the Games? I know I will make time to watch the athletes. Time for a confession: I enjoy curling. I know it’s crazy, but there is something hypnotic about it.

Got any rebounds and putbacks? Post them here.

Kobe Bryant:

For the first time, has really bought into Phil Jackson’s system and is playing some of the best team basketball in his career. Has the unique ability to completely take over a game and win a game outright by himself. But Bryant has been doing that for years. Besides Bryant’s play, the timely “steal” of Pau Gasol, as well as the development of some of the younger players (Andrew Bynum, Jordan Farmer and Sasha Vujacic) have been a catalyst in thrusting this team to the top of Western Conference with a 57-25 record. But isn’t this the same Kobe Bryant that not only threw his GM and Owner under the bus during the off-season, but also demanded a trade because he didn’t like the direction of the team? It wasn’t until a couple of weeks INTO the season that he changed his mind and said he wanted to remain a Laker! Is it legit to demand a trade before the season and then receive the MVP award? What standard does this set? Will guys think that by complaining about their team and then raising the level of their play gets them a MVP award?

Chris Paul:

What can you not say about Chris Paul? Paul may be the best PG currently in the NBA – if not in the Top 3. Has been a willing face of a franchise and has helped save basketball in New Orleans – for now. With a cast of David West, Maurice Peterson, and Tyson Chandler, Paul has led the Hornets to the 2nd best record in the Western Conference at 56-26. He is the leader in pts (21.1 ppg), assists (11.6 pg) and steals (2.7 pg) of the Hornets, who have a 2-0 lead against the Spurs and are in position to dethrone the champions. While the question is worthy in Kobe’s case, where would the Hornets be without Paul? Maybe even a lack of controversy hurts him.

Kevin Garnett:

The man has helped change the direction of a franchise and has made the team relevant in a city that is dominated by the Red Sox and Patriots. With the addition of Garnett and Ray Allen, the result was the greatest turnaround in the history of the NBA – finishing with the best record in the NBA at 66-16. His intensity and passion for the game has gotten players like Pierce and Allen who have been more offensive minded in their careers – to play defense. The result: the best defense in the NBA and a “Defensive Player of the Year” award for Garnett. Garnett averaged nearly a double-double with 18.8 ppg and 9.2 assists pg. on a team where there was multiple offensive threats and used its defense as more as a catalyst for its offense.

So when I take a look, and I ask myself – is Kobe Bryant really the MVP this year? My thinking is no – that Chris Paul and Kevin Garnett had more of an impact on their teams. Furthermore, I believe that Garnett’s arrival to Boston changed the ENTIRE organization. It changed its fan base. The Boston Celtics became relevant again. So my vote: Kevin Garnett.

And yes, while my vote may be a little biased, I think it is valid. But let’s hear who your vote is and why? Who is your MVP for the 2008 NBA season?

Other Ramblings:

→ After watching Mike Bibby come up short against the Boston Celtics – do you think the Atlanta Hawks regret not taking Chris Paul instead of Marvin Williams? Williams is turning into a nice NBA player, but great PGs are hard to find. Can you imagine a team of Paul, Joe Johnson and Al Horford? Wow. Actually come to think of it – I am glad they took Marvin Williams.

→ For now the Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy plan is on hold with Hughes on the DL and Kennedy in the minors. Is it possible that the Yankees overrated these guys? Or maybe they just weren’t ready yet. Here is hoping that Hank Steinbrenner doesn’t get impatient and trade both away. Or for that matter – move Joba to the starting rotation. Even as a Red Sox fan, I don’t see either move helping the Yankees.

→ This past weekend’s Kentucky Derby was marred by the fatal injuries to Eight Belles. In talking with a friend who is into horse racing – injuries to horses during a race is rare – and to have it happen twice in recent high publicized races is unfortunate. Even he worried that people would get the wrong idea and think the sport is cruel.

PETA’s calling for the suspension of the jockey – without knowing the facts was ridiculous and irresponsible. I am all for animals not being treated cruelly, but get your facts straight before you go after someone. However, their claims have brought to light some practices within horse racing that I hope are changed in the near future:

1. Whipping of the horses. In listening to Mike and Mike this morning, it was mentioned
that this is a practice that provides NO advantage for the racers. So what’s the point? Leave the whip at home and practice your S&M in the bedroom.

2. The use of painkillers or other masking drugs before a race. Essentially this is doping up
an animal – regardless of injury or defect to allow the horse to race. Now some of our athletes have done this with cortisone shots or other meds. But it is done by choice and they obviously have a means to say “when”. I find this disturbing. Not to speculate that this happened with Eight Belles, but how many other horses are out there with that risk?

→ Roger Clemens apologized for “personal flaws” yesterday, but denied having an affair with 15 year old Mindy McCready. Huh? So there are other personal flaws? Do I really want to know about this? Roger do us a favor and drop the defamation suit. The longer the suit is out there, the more personal history that will continue to come to light. Please Roger, I am begging you – STOP!!

→ Chase Utley for the Philadelphia Phillies has 11 Home Runs already. Is this a product of being the best 2nd baseman in the Major Leagues or hitting in a sandbox ball field? Better yet, hitting in front of Ryan Howard can do wonders for how many fastballs you see in an at-bat.

→ Jim Leyland attempted to jump start his team by making personnel moves and lineup changes. The result? A 4th consecutive loss; this time at the hands of the Red Sox. So what is ailing the Tigers? After watching 10 walks last night issued by Red Sox pitchers, hitting with runners in scoring position seems to be an issue. But so does starting pitching. Verlander has yet to look like an ace. Bonderman and Rogers have been erratic. Willis was terrible before going on the DL. Don’t be surprise if the Twins and Indians surge past the Tigers.

→ Mike D’Antoni is still the Suns coach per Steve Kerr’s comments. Yet, he is allowed to speak with other teams about open coaching positions (Bulls and Knicks). Seems like they are going to fire him, but didn’t want to have it lumped in with the Avery Johnson firing. Which leads me to…

→ Why are NBA analysts suddenly hot choices for open coaching position? No offense to Kenny Smith, but what has he done to make himself a candidate for an NBA position? Mark Jackson is also a candidate. If these guys are candidates, then why is our own Casey not a candidate? Charles Barkley running for Governor is a different story.

That’s it for now. Remember guys – it is Mother’s Day on Sunday. Be good to your Mom.

Chris Paul has been dazzling fans in this his third season in the NBA. The Wake Forest grad averaged over eleven and a half assists per game to go with 21 points. His lithe movements on the court leave opponents back on their heels as they try to figure out what he is going to do next. Hopefully Paul doesn’t have to pay for playing on a team with little if any playoff experience. While the Hornets average age of 27.6 is second only to the Spurs, those players that bring up the average age – Bonzi Wells, Ryan Bowen, Morris Peterson, and Melvin Ely know little about winning a playoff series.

Paul’s agility is matched by Deron Williams’s physicality. Williams is easily able to lower his center of gravity as he drives the lane making it near impossible for defenders to stop the 6’3”, 208lb. point guard’s dribble. Couple that with a nasty step back and finish from behind the arc, and defending Williams is a tough task. It will be interesting to watch Jerry Sloan develop the pick ‘n’ roll with Williams and Carlos Boozer.

Tony Parker has been the oft-overlooked point guard in the West. Don’t know if it’s because he plays with maybe the best power forward the game has known – Tim Duncan, or people want to heap too much credit on to Manu Ginobili. Maybe it’s because Parker gets lost behind those three rings in seven years he has accumulated. This guy gets the job done as evidenced by the way he toyed with the Suns in the opening round.

Derek Fisher is not the ‘sexiest’ of point guards, but he may be the most effective. Playing alongside Kobe, Fisher’s goal is to not screw things up. Sometimes not screwing things up can be a formidable task. Fisher’s nickname should be Elmer because the guy has been glue for the Lakers. While Kobe was doing all his belly-aching last summer, Fisher came to town and settled into to work. While Steve Nash and the Suns couldn’t figure out how to incorporate Shaq into their lineup, Fisher made Pau Gasol right at home in a Laker jersey.

Enjoy the games.