Kyle Keefe

I Have a Question...

Yes, I wrote about a toy car I got for Christmas in 1978. I also shared a heartfelt story about a little girl with cancer. I took you golfing to San Diego and on a raft trip down the Royal Gorge. Certainly none of these stories pertain to the world of hockey, but as Bob Costas once said, “If you’re always telling people what they already know, you’re not really telling them anything at all.” Over the last five months or so I have dipped into subjects like the Tim Tebow-Jeremy Lin debate, winning streaks, acquisitions of players through trades, Mark Rycroft’s’ path from hockey to Scooter-Mania, and the race to raise Lord Stanley’s Cup.

My question is simple…what do you want to hear about?

I read a lot of different blogs on the internet, some I really enjoy, and others seem too mundane and rehearsed, like watching the 5 o’clock news and the expecting different results at 6pm. Isn’t that the definition of insanity? Sorry Jeremy, no pun intended, although you’re story has been so magnified, I pray you stay on top. So much of what we read on the internet is just regurgitated garbage especially in sports. For instance, if you watch a morning run of Sports Center, get caught up on last nights’ action and then hop in your car and turn on the radio, it’s the exact same entrée with a little vinegar and salt, but nothing new. So goes the internet, all twisted in some other fashion to make you see the big picture from a different vantage point and a different opinion. But are you learning anything? Do you want to learn anything? Or would you settle for simply being entertained? If I write a re-cap from the week in hockey, do you enjoy reading it?  After all the whole point of writing a blog is to connect with people through a message that makes them stop and think….and eventually agree or disagree. Either way, the reader has to stop and think. Is it so bad to take a break from every run down story, and take your mind in a different direction?  A story about normal life, things that happen to you and me as we drive into work. Memories of being a child. Friends that have sick children, or a long weekend with buddies. Maybe it is….

So I put the ball in your court. What do you want to know about? Any question for a player, a good story idea, a new twist on the hot topic of the week…you tell me what you want to know about and I will do my best to give you an answer.

With a twist of course.

Fire away, I’m listening.

Downie Adds More Than Just a Punch

He’s listed as 5’11, 191 pounds, but numbers lie. He plays like he’s 6’2, 210 pounds and if you have a problem with that, try confronting him. Steve Downie is a perfect fit for this young Avalanche squad. Drafted in the first round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers (29th Overall), Downie is just 24 years old. Downie had played in 55 games for the Tampa Bay Lightning this year and compiled 12 goals, 16 assists, and a whopping 121 penalty minutes (even scarier, he had 208 PIMS two years ago).
 
But it’s more than just a sick right hook or the nasty left jab that will sting the opponent. He brings an attitude and flare that will be sure to spark the offense. He reminds me a little, of Adam Deadmarsh in his prime. Not afraid to throw his body around, score a timely goal, and add depth and energy to an already youthful lineup.
 
Do me a favor, go to www.hockeyfights.com and check out what Steve Downie does, and not just the fight, but how he goes to the net, fights for space and at the end of the day…just has enough of Alexander Urborn of the New Jersey Devils on December 12th, 2011. He’s no Bob Boughner, but I will take a guy like this every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
 
I like Kyle Quincey. He was a good defenseman. But this move makes the Avalanche stronger and gives them more depth and more spunk up front. Steve Downie, welcome to Colorado.

“Hey Tim and Jeremy, It’s Not Your Fault!”

I watched an hour long episode of Sports Center this morning and saw 43 minutes dedicated to Jeremy Lin. Don’t get me wrong by saying this (I like the guy),but GIVE ME A BREAK!  ESPN has decided to saturate this story for everything it’s worth, and for people in Taiwan and New York City, I get it,  it’s fabulous. If you are an NBA fan, it’s a story worth following. If you are a generic household sports fan, it’s interesting. If you are a hockey fan, it’s devastating.
 
The media did the same thing with Tim Tebow. For months, they hammered him, knocking him on his throwing motion, his quarterback rating, his arm strength,never taking into account that he is a winner. THEN, the second he starts to win, it became 24-7…Tim Tebow. We saturated him with praise for 5 weeks when everything was going great and the Broncos were winning in overtime and last second drives, and then the first time he had a bad game, everyone said, “I told you so.”

Tim Tebow is amazing. Is he the best quarterback? No.  Does he have the best arm? No.  Are his mechanics that great? No. Will he be a hall of Famer? Probably not. But unlike everyone else, I like to enjoy him in the moment. I don’t like to break down every single one of his decisions on the playing field. I don’t like to criticize him every time he makes a bad play.  I like to watch the guy play football, and if there are mistakes, I chalk it up as a mistake, nothing more. If he make s a great play and wins the game, I chalk it up as a great athlete doing his thing. That is exactly why, guys like Meryl Hodge make me sick, but I won’t waste my breath on him.
 
Jeremy Lin is the same story.  Amazing background.  Where he came from, how he got where he is, everything he’s been able to do on the basketball court, it’s remarkable. However, I don’t need to see 23 replays of the same shot over an hour long show. I GET IT. He’s a phenomenon. Let it be, because you will be the same people questioning his work ethic and his abilities the first night he has a bad game.  Should the Knicks trade Lin?  Should he move back to his brother’s couch?  What’s wrong with Jeremy Lin?
 
We create this. You and me. It’s everywhere.  It’s all we can talk about, and it’s sad. Same goes for iPhones, and parachute pants. Everybody wants them NOW. But what about in 3 months, 3 years? No, there will be something new, something better to have and to worship, and all that energy you spent talking about your new phone or the 33 pockets on your new pants by the water cooler will just be a waste of time.
 
Give these guys a break. Find something else to talk about. I have an idea!  What about the Bruins and the Rangers hockey game last night!  On second thought, no. Nobody really cares about what happening elsewhere if it isn’t the “Hottest Topic in the Country”.  We just want to be entertained by the same story over and over again.  We want to listen about it on the radio, on the television, read about it on the internet, and go buy the jersey that they can’t seem to keep on the rack, all the while missing other opportunities to celebrate sports. So go get your #17 jersey to cover up your black parachute pants and call all your friends on your iPhone to tell them that you are on the bandwagon, and that you’re in the know, the cool cat on the block, the “in” guy.

I will be on the park bench as you pass by, laughing at you, not with you.

Who Wins the Cup?

It’s been called the hardest trophy of all four major sports to win. The Stanley Cup is won by the best team in the National Hockey League…right?  Or is it the hottest team?

If I learned one thing from the Super Bowl this weekend, it’s that the best team, sometimes doesn’t even make it to the big game. The Green Bay Packers were un-touchable for most of the season until they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs by 5 points in Week 15. That loss didn’t just stop the Packers from winning every Regular season game, it stunted their growth, put them in their place, and reminded them that they were vulnerable. They were the favorites and they didn’t even make it to the NFC Championship game.

The New York Giants are the first team in NFL history to win the Lombardi trophy with 7 losses during the regular season, but if you watched the game with the New England Patriots on Sunday, they were clearly the best team…or were they just the hottest?
 
In the NHL right now, in my opinion, there are 4 teams that have the upper hand on the others. In the Eastern Conference you have the New York Rangers and the Boston Bruins. In the Western Conference you have the Detroit Redwings and the Vancouver Canucks.  You’re probably saying, “Well he just picked the Top 2 teams in each conference, anybody can do that!” Yes, I did, but there is a reason they are there.

The Rangers and the Bruins don’t allow a thing. You try and score on Lundqvist or Thomas when the defense is swarming you like an angry pack of wolves. The Rangers, as of February 7th had only allowed 102 goals this season, that’s the best in the NHL.  The Bruins beat you with size and toughness and 4 lines that can score.

As far as the Red Wings are concerned, they just don’t lose at home…ever.  They are 20-2-1 at Joe Louis.  The Canucks have been to the big dance. They lost in a heartbreaker series against the Bruins in Vancouver, you remember the party after Game 7 right? So does the fire department.  They are angry and determined.
 
That being said, I am not picking any of those teams to win the Cup. I will wait to make my case until April 8th, when the seeding is complete and I can see what teams have done what over their last 10 games.  Can you imagine playing the Chicago Blackhawks as an 8 seed?  That just doesn’t seem fair to play in front of 21,000 fans at the United Center against a team that won the Cup just a few years back as a gift for being the number 1 seed.  That’s your reward?  I don’t think so.

Be cautious to choose your team too early, because it may be the hottest team that will bring home Lord Stanley, not the best.