Trade Time: Or What I Got in the Mail Yesterday

I was banging around on the internets a few weeks ago and decided to upload some images to Zistle.  I’ve been using their site to track my progress on completing the 2011-12 Score Hockey set (progress is not going well…so many cards still needed) so I figured I’d help them out and with some images. As I was doing that I noticed a gentleman needing some 2009-10 UD Champs.

Justin from Off-Centered is working on completing some of the vintage-esque newer sets like Champs and Allen & Ginter.  I can’t blame him since over the last few years those sets have garnered a lot of positive feedback in the industry.  As I’ve mentioned in the past – Champs has been my go-to set for hand-signed autographs of older and newer players. 

Needing to clear out some space in my hockey box I flipped through my doubles and saw that I had about 16 base cards that he needed.  A message here, a response there, a trip to the post office and we had ourselves a trade.

On Friday I saw a delightful, yellow, padded envelope in my mail slot and it was my return haul for the cards.  With hockey trades I’m trying a new system, since I don’t have a lot of wants outside of the Lightning I’ve given folks the option of just sending me a pack of 2011-12 Score.

The reason for this is two-fold.

1.       It saves me from having to spend money on packs and it isn’t that expensive for others. I think retail is 99 cents for a pack. That way I can chase a set and it won’t cost me too much out of pocket.

2.       I get a chance of actually pulling a Vincent Lecavalier card from a pack.  My inability to pull cards of my favorite player from packs is getting to be annoying. So I figured if someone else bought the packs I could fool the card gods into getting a card I wanted.  Would it work?

First off – some of the extras that Justin threw in.  As one of the few Lightning collectors out here I think people just feel obliged to throw in their extra Lightning cards – I ain’t got a problem with that.

Hey Steve…how ya doin’ in Colorado?  Pretty good, eh?  Just wanted to say I miss you. 

Was that creepy? It felt a little creepy….

My Marty, that’s an awful big trophy you got there. I mean look at it, it looks like it’s almost half of his size.  One thing I like about Pinnacle is that they use non-traditional photos to break up the set a bit. There are only so many ways to take photos of guys skating down the ice so it’s nice to see something different every once in a while.

Now onto the packs.

 Each pack had a Hot Rookie in it so I feel like I beat the odds a bit on that.

Bobby Luongo looking like he’s not in a happy place. I wonder if he’ll be looking for a new address this summer.

And finally – could it be? Is it? My God, that’s VINNY LECAVALIER’S MUSIC!!!!!!

Yup, so my theory has been proven sound.  The only way I will ever pull a Vinny out of a pack is to have someone else buy it for me.

Thanks, for the cards Justin and good luck in finishing your set!

Question of the Week - Final Thoughts on the Deadline

At the 2000 deadline the Lightning acquired the immortal Dwayne Hay. So yeah, this year wasn't too bad.

Here we go with round two of The Raw Charge Question of the Week!  Yeah, I missed last week’s question what with all of that boxing stuff I posted, but now I’m back on point and raring to write some hockey stuff.  The question, put forth by Editor John Fontana, is:

How would you describe the Tampa Bay Lightning’s tradedeadline moves?

In one word – strategery.  

Just kidding. 

I would say progress.

Taking into consideration the moves made before the actual deadline day on the 27^th, General Manager Steve Yzerman brought in several assets that will benefit the organization in the long term. While it did cost him a popular player in Steve Downie and left the team with essentially one scoring line as it fights for its playoff life, the draft picks and young players he brought in continues the rebuild he started when he took over control of the club.

Please remember that the product on the ice is still a work in progress.  He openly admitted that he delayed some of his plans to restructure the farm system when last year’s squad got themselves involved in a legitimate Stanley Cup run.  This season’s are-they-aren’t-they-in-the-race run hasn’t been easy for him to judge either.  Sure they were only 8 points out of a playoff spot at one time, but they were also only a point or two away from last in the conference and a top 4 draft pick at the same time.

With the Dominic Moore, Pavel Kubina and Downie moves he signaled that he wouldn’t be a buyer as the deadline moved in, but that’s not the same as being a seller.  The Steve Yzerman Garage Sell and Pancake Social never opened.  Rather he kept his phone lines open and waited to see what would end up in his lap.

In the end, he brought in three new defensemen in Keith Aulie, Mike Commodore and Brian Lee (who I will call Chris Lee at least once in the foreseeable future. I can’t help it, I worked with a Chris Lee for a long time) in exchange for Carter Ashton, Matt Gilroy and a conditional draft pick.

For the record I think Commodore is here for the next 20 games and that’s it. It was purely a depth move for a defensive unit that lost Victor Hedman and doesn’t know when Marc-Andre Bergeron and his 65-year-old back will return.  I have no problem with Mr. Yzerman bringing in a veteran player for basically a couple of game checks and a pick that the Bolts will probably end up keeping.

The Gilroy-for-Lee deal I see as a lateral move.  They are two young defensemen who have potential that may have stalled in their current organization.  More so in Lee’s case than Gilroy’s.  The former Boston University Terrier showed some offensive promise in Coach Boucher’s scheme, but also struggled with defensive zone coverage.  Given a full season I wouldn’t have been surprised to see him figuring it out and even eventually manning a power play point, but in the end the play of Brendan Mikkelson made him expendable. 

Now, the one move I’m still questioning is the Carter Ashton trade.  A lot of Lightning fans have mentioned that the organization has a lot of offensive prospects in the farm system.  I say you can never have enough.  The jump from the American Hockey League to the NHL is prodigious. No matter how good Cory Conacher or Tyler Johnson has looked in Norfolk there is no guarantee that they are going to be able to do the same with the big boys.

Having as many potential contributors available to promote heightens the chances that at least one of them will succeed.  Especially one who is a big-bodied forward willing to crash the net.  However, in order to get something of value one has to trade something of value (despite what people on message boards tend to think).

If Mr. Yzerman believes Keith Aulie can develop into a top-pairing defenseman then moving Ashton is worth it.  A Hedman-Aulie pairing could be a defensive foundation for the Lightning for many years to come.  If that happens then this trade ends up looking like genius while I, as usual, have to admit I was wrong.

There was a lot of screaming on the internet and radio about Mr. Yzerman needing to pick up a goalie at the deadline.  That wasn’t going to happen.  When Paul Gaustad, basically a solid defensive forward, goes for a first round pick then Corey Schneider and Jonathan Bernier are going to cost a fortune.  It was a seller’s market and Mr. Yzerman wasn’t going to overpay for what he wanted.

Yes, I will use this everytime I mention SY's "vision".

The GM had a vision for this team when he took it over, and he’s not going to change it to meet expectation based off the team overperforming last season. He knows that to make this team competitive for the long haul he needs to find and build off of young talent.  That’s what he did in this deadline and I can’t feel bad about that.

Trade Deadline! Time for a Running Diary

Welcome to Rick Nash Day!

It’s time for my favorite day of the year – the NHL Trade Deadline Day! It’s the day where playoff bound teams find the missing piece of their Stanley Cup puzzle and struggling teams stockpile for the future.  Where do the Lightning stand – somewhere in the middle.  General Manager Steve Yzerman has sold off two of his best assets in Dominic Moore and Pavel Kubina, and he pulled a bit of a surprise by turning Steve Downie into a 1^st round pick.

For the most part he’s said that he’s done with the big trades and he’s basically run out of live bodies to trade. Will that just be Mr. Yzerman setting a trap for other GM’s? Or is he happy with the roster as it currently sits? Only time will tell so HERE WE GO……

(all times Central, cause I live in Chicago folks!)

7:42am – Boot up computer.  Internet is down. Contemplate firebombing AT&T then I realize it wouldn’t do any good so I add “Call Comcast” to the list of things to do.  Unplug modem, plug it back in and start making breakfast.

8:00am – Internet is back up, but I realize I am too lazy to make breakfast so I grab the open box of Tagalongs and finish them off.  Currently have twitter, tsn.com, Sportsnet trade special streaming and yahoo mail up.  Fire off first update to friends who are working.

8:13 – You know it’s a slow start to the trade deadline when the big names being thrown around are Steve Ott and PA Parenteau. Best part of watching trade coverage – the analysts talking while looking at their Blackberry’s and texting.

8:24 – Love that Sportsnet has Brian Lawton on a panel of experts.  “Hey I traded for Teddy Purcell!!!” He also tried to trade a draft pick the team didn’t have for the late Derrick Boogaard. Joining him on the panel are Neil Smith and Pat Quinn.  It’s like a room full of people openly begging for a job.

8:27 – The Twitter stories going out with the “Lightning are done”. It’s really the only Lightning news hitting the Twitter-wire.  Is Mr. Yzerman playing coy on his thin cupboard of assets? Oh Nigella Lawson tweets a recipe for a “ridiculously easy spinach and coconut soup”

8:35 – I’m working on some copy about flash drives.  Luckily I sold the stuff long enough that I don’t have to focus on research too much. Which is kind of hard to do that when I’m checking Twitter every 30 seconds.  Oh my Boston calling troops up from the AHL! 

9:29 – There is not much happening so I spent most of the hour cleaning up the “work” I was doing.  It looks like the first deal is close to being done.  Nashville reunites the fabulous Kostitsyn brothers.  Love the paparazzi style TV coverage of Brian Burke walking into a building.

9:45 – I get the shower out of the way and return to  Pierre Lebrun reporting that the first trade of the day is finished as Kostitsyn goes to Nashville in return for a 2^nd round pick and the conditional pick Nashville got in the Hal Gill trade.  Whatever happened to no takebacks?

9:57 – There are a lot of tweeters going with the “NOT” posts. As in Paul Gausted is NOT going to Detroit.  Let me try one. Steven Stamkos is NOT going to Columbus.  Yea. I’m an insider now.

10:10 OMG Joffrey Lupul has a soft cast on.  What does it all mean? It means it’s time for me to get a sandwich.  Love the tweets “so-and-so” just came off the ice.  Montreal was smart to cancel team practice.  It’s just not worth it for the players to be put through the speculation. Pat Quinn just referred to his panel (with Lawton and Neil Smith) as the “Dead Poets Society”.  Made me chuckle.

10:18 – Have a feeling Brian Burke is trolling the media.  Walking between buildings and feeding James Reimer rumors. I wouldn’t be surprised if he started tweeting random information.

10:34 – The cat joins me on the desk and I start scrolling through thechive.com .  In other words, not much going on.  I don’t see the Bolts being too active today, although if the price stays high on some of the names out there teams might turn to Yzerman for Hall or Clark.

10:39 – Is the Nash hype any different than the Brad Richards hype from last year?  Chances are the result will be the same.  To trade someone who has been the face of the franchise since the moment he was drafted would take a franchise-altering bounty.  That’s not something that can come together in 3 hours.  Better to wait until the draft

10:55 – Still holding by my declaration not to read the comments made by St Pete Times readers on Lightning related articles.  Feel like my blood pressure has dropped by at least 3 points. Whole lot of nothing going on officially which has led to a lot of trade jokes involving sandwiches. Joe Jonas is the sexiest has been trending all day long on Twitter.  Just thought you should know that.

11:03 –one of the “anonymous” bloggers is reporting that the Nash banner is being taken down in Columbus.  He also reported that Paul Gaustad was going to Detroit.  Soooo yeah…

11:05 – Jets claim Grant Clitsome on waivers! Waiver moves way more interesting than trades so far today.

11:12 – Lightning news – Teddy Purcell named 2^nd star of the week.  Good news for my fantasy team which is fighting for its playoff life.

11:36 – Sportsnet was coming up with reasons for the lack of activity today and mentioned the parity in the league as if it’s a bad thing.  If I’m a fan of a team I’m more excited that they’re in a position to make the playoffs then in a position to sell. As much as I like big trades, I’m not sad the Lightning aren’t more active today.

11:44 – And just like that Steve Yzerman pulls the trigger picking up Mike Commodore.  No word on what went the other way yet.  To me this makes me think Hedman is going to be out longer than expected.

11:53 – Some confusion over his contract status.  He signed a one-year, $1 million contract with Detroit this year after his previous contract was bought out.  So he’ll be a UFA in a couple of months.  Didn’t cost anything (7^th round pick) and gives the bolts some depth.

11:56 – Things picking up as Edmonton trades Tom Gilbert to Minnesota to Nick Schultz.  Some rumors saying Detroit is close to dealing a d-man and Chicago is close to picking up Johnny Oduya .  Guess everyone needed some lunch to think over the deals.

1:02 – With an hour or so to go, Mr. Yzerman continues his defensive overhaul.  Prospect Carter Ashton to Toronto for Keith Aulie.  Matt Gilroy to Ottawa for Brian Lee.  I wouldn’t be surprised if 2 of the 3 d-men picked up today are in the lineup tomorrow.

And I was never able to use my "Gilroy was here" photoshop

1:10 The trades are coming in now, but no big name deals.  A lot of depth moves going on like Paulson to Vancouver and Oduya to Chicago.  These are good solid moves that end up meaning more than trading for the big name.

Well he's been in one fight, that's one more than Gilroy.

1:13 – Not sure who the grumpy radio guy is on SportsNet, but his shtick isn’t going over well.  Thanks for playing Saliva though, guys!

1:18 – Starting to come around on the Aulie deal.  Still not a big fan, but the Lightning desperately need depth on the blue line and Aulie is only 22.  He could be a solid foundation along with Hedman.

Wait, a d-man who knocks people over? I'm listening....

1:25 – Other than Martin Short I’m not sure who they are, but the “Canada’s Got Talent” judges seem excited to have their jobs. I find out that the conditional pick the Lightning are sending to Detroit for Commodore is based on the Lightning making the playoffs and Commodore playing 15 games. So basically Mr. Yzerman gets him for nothing.

1:26 – If Columbus doesn’t trade Nash it will be interesting to see how they use the picks they’re acquiring to build around him.

1:40 – 20 minutes to go and if I had to wager right now, none of the big names will move. Doesn’t mean they won’t move in the summer.  I’m kind of surprised that not a single goaltender has moved yet. Oh and in case you’re wondering….yeah none of the names I mentioned have been traded by the Lightning.

2:05 – The deadline shows up and a few deals are trickling as are the confirmations from teams that they are done for the day.  Looks like Nash finishes the season in Columbus. Will make for an interesting summer in Columbus.

2:09 – Spent 6 hours staring at twitter.  Did manage to write a couple of product review during that time, but still feels like a bit of a waste.  For next year I think Deadline day will start at 10:00am.

2:11 – I find it funny that the “anonymous” rumor mongers taunt legitimate reporters who actually have reputations to protect.  Taunting Darren Dreger because he is actually confirming Greg Zanon to Boston instead of tweeting it first is weak.

2:33 – I enjoy Brian Burke as the Maple Leafs GM.  Not sure how I’d feel about him as the Lightning GM.  He’s taking the Toronto media to task for the stress they put on players around the deadline. Small deals still trickling through the twitter-wire with 34 minutes gone past the deadline.  Not the best deadline in terms of big names being moved, but a couple of teams made solid moves.

2:39 – With a late Cody Hodgson deal to Buffalo I’m shutting it down.  Everyone on my email chain is on their own.

There ya go.  The Lightning did indeed become a player on deadline day as Mr. Yzerman continues to revamp his blueline.  I’m not sure if I’ll ever come fully around on the Carter Ashton deal, I just have a feeling that he’s going to be a solid player in the NHL for a long, long time.

For me the Gilroy for Lee deal is a lateral move.  Two teams traded young defensemen who haven’t fulfilled their potential yet.  Sometimes a change in scenery is what they need.

I think Nashville  was the boldest team as they went for offense with Kostitsyn and Paul Gaustad (which cost them a 1^st round pick).  Vancouver made some solid pickups to strengthen a very good playoff-bound team.  I’m not sure what Washington was doing sitting on the sidelines and the same can be said for Philadelphia

It wasn’t the most exciting deadline in history, but with a lot of teams still in the race and the looming CBA crises I didn’t think it would be. 

A Recap of Windy City Fight Night 21 in Chicago

With snow swirling outside the UIC Pavallian west of Chicago’s downtown, some of Chicago’s best professional fighters were getting ready to meet up for Windy City Fight Night 21. Put on by 8 Count Production and sponsored by Jack Daniel’s, el Jimador Tequila and X-sport Fitness the line-up featured several up-and-coming fighters taking on their best competition to date.

Here is a quick review of the fights.

Match 1: Curtis Tate (3-3-0, 3 KO’s) vs. Alejandro Otero (3-11-2)

The first matchup of the night pitted the two biggest men on the fight card against each other.  Otero, a 42-year-old Cuban, weighed in at 211lbs while Tate was a very soft 258lbs.  Both fighters were game from the first bell as they came together in the middle of the ring like two bulls crashing together, winging wild haymakers at each other. 

Otero went down early in the first more from exhaustion then one shot.  Both fighters were winded by the 2:00 minute mark and the activity slowed a bit.  Tate, while not in the best of shape, did show a little form and kept the pressure on the Cuban.  The fighter from Tennessee did get caught towards the end of the round as a wild left from Otero knocked his mouth guard out.

The second was a carbon copy of the first with Otero under siege from Tate.  Otero went down again early, again not a clean knockout, more of a stumble aided by a glancing blow from Tate.  He’d make it back up and last until the 1:49 mark when he was dropped by Tate again and referee Gerald Scott had seen enough and put Otero (and the crowd) out of his misery by calling a halt to the fight.

Match 2:  Juan Bustamante (2-0-0, 1 KO) vs. Ryan Strickland (1-3-0, 1 KO)

Barely after the ring was cleared for the first match, the next competitors were announced and heading down the ring.  The super flyweights looked like teenagers, well maybe soccer players, in the ring. I doubt there combined weight was much more than Tate’s.

Once the bell sounding it was apparent that what the two lacked in weight they made up for in talent.  Both fighters had solid exchanges with Strickland getting the better of the action early.  That wouldn’t last.  Bustamante quickly discovered that his hand speed was better than Strickland and started to dominate the action. 

At the 2:29 mark he would land a perfect right hand on Strickland’s chin.  The fight was over before Strickland hit the canvas. The referee could have counted to 100 and it wouldn’t have mattered, Kirkland was out. There is a certain sound from the crowd when a clean shot leads to a knockout no matter what level of competition it is, a noise that is repeated with each replay on the video screen. The crowd made that noise when Kirkland went down.

Match 3:

Junior Wright (2-0-0, 2 KO’s) vs. Rogelio Saldana (1-1-0, 1KO)

Wright, a Chicago native, is an up-and-comer with an extensive amateur background (3-time Golden Gloves winner) who dominated his first two fights scoring knockouts in the first round.  Saldana came out looking to make this a competitive junior lightweight fight.  It was – for about 45 seconds.

Wright weathered a few jabs from his opponent without difficulty.  He spent the first minute snapping off the occasional jab of his own before working Saldana into the corner and unleashing a delicious left hook to his midsection.  Saldana took a knee and wasn’t able to meet the ref’s count and Wright had his third 1^st-round knockout of his young career.  After the fight, Wright admitted that he had hoped Saldana could have lasted a little longer because he knew that he needed to get some rounds under his belt as he continues his pro career.

Match 4:

Dimar Ortiz (2-0-0 2 KO’s) vs. Francois Russell (0-1-0)

Ortiz, another Chicago based fighter, brought a boisterous cheering section with him and he didn’t disappoint them. He clearly outclassed Russell throughout the first three rounds of the fight as he muscled the timid fighter around the ring. 

Ortiz would get him into a corner and unleash several combinations while Russell could only hold on until the ref broke them up. Russell offered almost no resistance through the four rounds as he only fired an occasional left jab despite his corner’s fervent pleading to “let your hands go!”

As Ortiz stalked Russell around the ring with a slightly crazed look in his eye it was apparent that it was only a matter of time before he would drop his opponent.  It did in the 4^th round as a thunderous right hand brought the crowd out of their seats and the ref stopped the fight at the 2:59 mark.

Ortiz dominated much of the fight and could have ended it sooner, but continued to make the young fighter’s mistake of smothering his punches by getting in too close when he had him along the ring.  Finally during the flurry that ended the match, Ortiz took a half-step back and found the room to land his victorious right hook.

Match 5:

Paul Littleton (1-0-0, 1 KO) vs. Cesar Martinez (1-4-1)

The last of the undercard matches featured another promising fighter in Littleton as he took on the 36-year-old Mexican fighter Martinez.  The Chicago-based Littleton was able to land his jab repeatedly from the beginning of the fight as Martinez kept walking into it.  The older fighter’s primary means of defense was to lunch forward and duck at the waist to avoid Littleton’s power shots.

It took Littleton a round to time the weaving Martinez, but when he did he was able to land 4 crushing right hands that knocked Martinez out at the 2:33 mark of the second round. Littleton did look solid when he was pressing the fight, but a better class fighter might be able to take advantage of some of the holes in his defense.  Martinez landed the occasional shot, but couldn’t hurt the younger man.

Match 6:

Edner Cherry (28-6-2, 16 KO’s) vs. Guillermo Sanchez (13-4-1, 5 KO’s)

The first of the co-main events saw former title contender Edner “The Cherry Bomb” Cherry take on Guillermo Sanchez, a Puerto Rican fighter with thirteen wins to his name. This match, featuring the two most experienced fighters on the card, promised to be a good contest.  And it lived up to the anticipation.

Cherry, a member of the 8 Count stable, is rebuilding his career after losing to the WBC Light Welterweight Champion Timothy Bradley (aka Manny Pacquiao’s next opponent) in 2008. A native of the Bahamas currently residing in Wauchula, FL, he had helped his family pick oranges as a child.

The first round didn’t get off as well as he would have hoped as Sanchez was able to land four huge left hands.  The fourth one send Cherry stumbling to the mat.  He was able to easily beat the count and remained wary of the lethal left for the rest of the match.

And a grueling eight-round match it turned out to be.  Cherry was able to get inside and bully Sanchez around the ring, stifling the younger fighter’s big punch.  By the end of the second it became apparent that Sanchez’s game plan was based entirely on that one punch and Cherry was wise to take it out of play.

Still, Sanchez’s defense was rather tight and Cherry was only able to land a few of his famous “Cherry Bomb” power rights.  His most effective punch was a left hook that he was able to land consistently when the two brawled along the ropes.  In the end, Cherry’s ability to control the ring and land the more effective punches won him an unanimous decision.

Match 7:

Adrian Granados (6-1-1, 3 KO’s) vs. Jamie Herrera (7-1-0, 4 KO’s)

The final match pitted Granados, one of the most exciting sluggers in the 8 Count roster, against a brawler in Herrera.  The two fighters provided the UIC Pavilion with an exciting eight rounds of almost non-stop action.  The handspeed of the two welterweight fighters was head-and-shoulders above any of the other boxers on the card with maybe the exception of Junior Wright.

For most of the eight rounds both fighters stood toe-to-toe in the ring and hit each other with the best that they had.  Very few jabs were thrown with any real intention as both gentlemen decided it would be better to fight in tight and wing power shots at each other.

As the fight wore on, Granados realized his best course of action was to fight in close and then dance away before Herrera could counter his shots.  Frustrated a bit with that tactic, Herrera illicited a few boos from the audience as he continually clinched Granados before he could dance away.

That was the only thing that displeased the crowd as they rose to their feet several times during the match as the action rose in the ring. The fourth round featured an epic exchange along the ropes as Herrera landed a solid left to the body and a follow-up right landed flush on Granados’ face.  Adrian wasn’t deterred as he countered with a solid left of his own that drove Herrera back.

Granados emerged the unanimous victor on points as he dominated a tired Herrera in the last round. After the fight he admitted that he knew he had to outbox Herrera as he couldn’t outbrawl him and Herrera was gracious in his defeat, admitting that the better boxer won the fight.

Windy City Fights 21 was an excellent night of boxing.  8 Count Productions provided an exciting card that featured knockouts, toe-to-toe exchanges, and hard-fought victories.  With another night of fighting already scheduled for March 16^th, it’s easy to see why they put on some of the best boxing events in the Chicago area.

Friday Night Light - As in Light-Heavyweight

There are a few things left on my Sports Bucket list to accomplish, attend a Super Bowl, watch a football game at Notre Dame, play Scotland Yards, etc, but on Friday night I was able to check one off my list.  Attend a boxing match as a credentialed member of the press.  There is a part of me that wants to turn this lonely piece of internet real estate into something of a career, you know get paid to write about sports I like.  Boxing is one of those sports.

Last week I contacted Bernie Bahrmasel at 8 Count Productions to see if I could secure a media pass for Windy City Fight Night 21 which they were promoting.  I sent him a couple of links from this site and he said that I would be added to the list.  Awesome, my first press pass since my college days.

So last Friday, I braved the snowstorm (OK a few lonely flakes were falling), left the Duchess to her own devices, jumped on the Red Line, switched to the Blue Line downtown and an hour later I was standing outside the UIC Pavilion waiting for the doors to open. As usual I overestimated the time it would take me to get there and had a half-hour to kill.

It went by pretty quick as I started talking to another gentleman who was there to cover the fight. He had started a blog, got picked up by a boxing website and was looking at possibly working for Ring Magazine.  See dreams can come true!

Finally, the doors opened and I met Bernie to pick up my pass.  He looked busy so I didn't chat too long, just headed down to the ring where there was literally a seat with my name on it.  I was stationed at the end of the row of folding chairs ringside and directly behind the blue corner.  Not a bad place to watch a fight if you don't mind doing some ducking and weaving yourself.

I was pretty much alone in my section so I sat down and prepared some notes, got my fight cards lined up so I could score the fights as they progressed. Then I waited, and waited, and waited some more.  I got the distinct impression that I should have been somewhere else, but this being my first time I really had no idea where to go.

There was some action in the ring as one of the refs was testing the ropes and the floor to make sure there weren't any bad spots.  Oh, and the ring girls were practicing.  Holding a sign card and walking around the ring in 4-inch, spiked heels isn't the easiest thing in the world.  Especially getting in and out of the ring.  I'm glad I can say that there were no incidents and they performed their duties admirably.

Eventually the ringside personal showed up, judges, doctors, officials, a nattily-attired ring announcer and the photographers.  The crowd was slowly making its way in as well.  When the first fight started I would say that the blocked off seating was about half full and by the end of the night pretty much filled.  There was a security guard next to me that I chatted up throughout the fight and he said that they draw pretty well for most of their fights, especially when the "the Polish kid fights".  Alas, Andrezej Fonfara was not on the card for Friday's contest so I'll have to wait to see that in the future.

The first match got under way around the scheduled 8:00pm start time and steamrolled through right up until about 11:00pm.  I have a full review of the seven matches following this post if you want the details, but for now here are some observations of attending a live boxing match.

- TV does a decent job of mic'ing up the ring, but there is no way it can capture the sound of a perfect punch landing on the face or body of a person.  I was lucky enough to see examples of both types of punches and the collective gasps/screams from the audience when they landed.

- If there are more than two people working a fighter's corner, the time between rounds is complete chaos.  Only one member of the crew is allowed in the ring, but the rest still get up on the apron.  When it's time to leave the ring there's people leaping off, stools being dragged away, ice bags and water bottles getting knocked over and people streaming through the ropes and trying to navigate extremely steep stairs.  It's like a NASCAR pit crew without the air wrenches.

- Each corner seems to have one guy who shouts the same advice to the fighter through the whole match. It's usually something along the lines of "Don't get on the ropes!" or "Let your hands go!" or "Set the trap!". There was a lot of Spanish too, I can assume it's pretty much the same but can't be sure because the only words I understood were "mano derecha" and "la cabeza".

- Guillermo Sanchez has a very excitable trainer who talks with his hands a lot.  Which wouldn't be bad if he didn't have huge globs of Vaseline on them that went flying over his shoulder when his boxer was doing well. Remember that ducking and weaving I mentioned earlier?

- Watching a fight without having to listen to commentators or having access to replays definitely changes the way you feel about a fight.  You miss some of the insight, but also the subtle bias toward a particular fighter.

- Two things that will instantly get the crowd against you - entering to religious music and not being from Chicago. However, putting on a good show will win them back as Edner Cherry proved.

- That being said, the crowd was really pretty good.  It was extremely diverse and supported most of the boxers. They seemed to have a good time without getting out of control. The guard next to me said that the boxing crowd is generally well behaved and he would "rather work 12 boxing matches in a row than one rock concert".

- One thing they don't show a lot on TV is the aftermath of a knockout.  When Ryan Franklin (spoiler alert) was KO'd he was down on the canvas for a solid 10 minutes and when he did finally leave the ring it was on wobbly legs.  For a second I thought he was going to be tumbling down the ring steps even with assistance.  Yet, an hour later he was in the crowd, enjoying a beer and seemingly no worse for wear.

Franklin not doing so well at that moment.

- Junior Wright is a name to keep an eye on. As is Adrian Granados.  Wright had an extensive amateur career and was probably the most polished boxer on the card. He actually reminds me of a young Sugar Shane Moseley.  Granados is a bit more of a brawler, but definitely a crowd-pleaser. His night-closing bout with Jamie Herrera would have fit right in on any Pay-Per-View undercard.

- Taking pictures and trying to follow a round does not work.

It doesn't help when you don't bring the right lens, either.

- A crowd's reaction to a big punch is awesome live.  I'm not sure there is anything like it in sports.  There is a mix of yelling with some "oh man'ing" and some "damn that had to hurt" all thrown together in a two-second yelp.  And when a fighter is on the ropes, the word "frenzy" is the only one that can describe the crowd.

- The 10-bell count is one of the most spine-tingling traditions in all of sports.

- My favorite note that I took was "crazy-eyed son of a bitch".  Which was in reference to the look Dimar Ortiz had in the ring when he was looking to finish off Francois Russell.

- The poor ring girls didn't get much action early on as there were two 1st-round stoppages and two 2nd-round stoppages in the first four fights.  So there was a brief intermission where they got to do their thing in the ring (walking around in high heels and bikini's) while tossing t-shirts to the crowd.

For once - not a shirtless hockey player.

Overall it was a very entertaining night.  I would like to thank Bernie and promoter Dominic Pesoli of 8 Count Productions for allowing me to attend. I would also like to thank all of the fighters for putting on a good show.  If you're in town on March 16th I highly recommend picking up some tickets for Windy City Fight Night 22 - that Polish kid will be fighting so it should be a great night of fighting!

Nothing to See Here - Just Some Pros Playing Table Tennis

Nice crowd - wonder who's taking side bets - photo from evan longoria's twitter feed

I think the boys are onto something. A celebrity Ping-Pong league. Just tour the country challenging other professional athletes in their respective cities.  It's gold, Jerry, GOLD!

I do enjoy how Longoria looks exactly like he does at third base when a pitch is thrown. Meanwhile, Martin St. Louis has the hand out for balance and looks like he's gonna snap that one by him on glove/paddle side.

Steve Yzerman - Keeping the Trade Deadline Interesting

If it’s game day, General Manager Steve Yzerman must be making a roster move.  This time, in a bit of twist, he actually added a player to the roster.  Former Penguin and Islander Tim Wallace is the newest Bolt having been claimed on waivers prior to Thursday’s match-up with the Winnipeg Jets.

TAMPA FAN LIKE FIGHT - photo from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Listed at 6’1” and 207 lbs. the native of Alaska (and former Alaskan All-Star teammate of Nate Thompson) brings some size to the Lightning.  According to my source in Pittsburgh (Hi Link!) he is physical but not the fastest skater.  That makes me wonder how he’ll adapt to Coach Boucher’s style of play which, quite frankly, requires a lot of skating.

One thing Wallace probably won’t be doing a lot of is scoring, as he’s racked up a scintillating 3 assists in his 55 game NHL career.  Then again, you never know with the Lightning.  Over the last two seasons Thompson has potted 17 goals compared to the 4 he had in his previous three seasons of play. Teddy Purcell has blossomed into a sniper and the recently departed Dominic Moore also saw his goal scoring increase when coming to Tampa.

The 27-year-old winger carries a $700,000 cap hit and is only signed through the rest of the season.  If he’s part of Mr. Yzerman’s rebuild, no make that remodel, of the club has yet to be determined.  At the moment he is an affordable forward with NHL experience.  It allows Mr. Yzerman to fill a roster spot without further depleting a Norfolk Admirals squad that is in the midst of a heated playoff race in the AHL.

Since 2011 there have been reports that Norfolk has been seeking to replace the Lightning (or Tampa Bay seeking to replace the Admirals depending on who is writing the article). Continuing to pull key contributors up to the big club isn’t the best way to smooth over a possible rocky relationship with your highest level affiliate. 

In the meantime the gradual reshaping of the Lightning continues.  The moves Mr. Yzerman has made and will possibly make up to Monday and then in the off-season have to be taken as a whole.  Trading a top –six forward for a draft pick isn’t the best deal until we find out what he does with that pick. Removing three key players from a team that is creeping closer to a play-off spot may not be wise in the short-term, but could keep the team competitive for the long run.

During an interview with Dave Mishkin after the Steve Downie trade the General Manager admitted that last year’s success put a bit of a crimp in his plans to build up the farm system and acquire young talent.  He turned down deals for future assets in order to pursue a shot at the Stanley Cup, a shot that fell short by one goal.

This year he’s taking those deals (and getting a lot of credit from the Canadian media, by the way).  What won’t be clear until the start of next season is, what his grand plan is in acquiring all of these high draft picks.  Will he bundle them together to move up?  Will he bundle them to acquire a young goaltender or a blueliner?  Or will he actually use them to draft players? Who knows, maybe he trades them all away to draft the NHL’s equivalent to Ricky Williams. I would pay $56 to see Mr. Yzerman pose with Nail Yakupov in a wedding dress on the cover of The Hockey News.

As of now he’s keeping his options open.  I doubt he’s openly shopping any of his players at this point, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t listening to offers.  It’s possible that if Rick Nash ends up in Los Angeles, Brian Burke puts a call in to Channelside and inquires as to what it will take to bring Ryan Malone to Toronto.

A lot of us on the sidelines think it’s easy to be a GM.  We often forget that it takes two to tango, and sometimes three if the third person has themselves a fancy No Trade Clause in their contract.  We don’t have to answer directly to an owner or calculate long-term salary cap implications on deals. It’s easy to trade somebody when we don’t have a budget (which for some teams is way lower than the cap) to answer to.

I’ve fired a couple of #trustinyzerman hash tags out over the Twitter machine in the last two weeks. One, because I love to make lame hash tag jokes on the internet; and secondly, he hasn’t given us any reason not to.  The vast majority of moves he’s made have made this team better.  Heck, given another year Ryan Shannon may actually contribute.

Ryan Shannon doing what he does best - not scoring. Mike Carlson, Reuters

Two weeks ago I wrote that the Lightning were entering the most important stretch of their season.  They responded by going 4-2-1 and creeping a few points closer to the eighth and final play-off spot. They also lost their captain for at least three weeks with a broken finger, their best player’s best friend and line-mate, a top four defenseman and a solid defensive forward.  Oh and their mascot got fired.

This team isn’t better than it was two weeks ago, but it is on the path to being better next season.  We all just have to Trust In Yzerman.

It just isn't right, man. Michael Martin NHLI/Getty