Mike Komisarek was dubbed “The Next Captain” of the Montreal Canadiens. Drafted seventh overall in 2001, the hulking 6'4'' defenseman quickly became a fan favorite thanks to his numerous highlight-reel worthy, bone-crunching hits. Always quick to defend his teammates, soft-spoken in interviews, Mike was simply a classy guy. Then, Milan Lucic happened.
In a game against the Boston Bruins on November 13 2008, Komisarek decided to drop the gloves against Lucic in order to salvage some pride in what was looking to be a embarrassing defeat for the Habs (Bruins were leading 5-1 at the moment of the fight). Komisarek's action didn't have the intended effect as Lucic suprised him by putting up a great fight, leaving the Canadiens feeling more inadequate than before. The worst part was that Komisarek also injured his shoulder during the fight and missed one month of action.
From that point on, Komisarek had almost no bite to his game. After picking up another injury against the Senators early in 2009, the 2007-2008 Komisarek was completely gone. Without his characteristic physical play, he became a defensive liability in his own end who didn't react quick enough and made the wrong decision more often than not. It got to the point where Mathieu Schneider had to play with Markov in order to let the Canadiens' MVP play at peace.
Despite all those shortcomings, re-signing him was still deemed a priority. Although he has no offensive skills to speak of, his stay-at-home, hard-hitting defensive style fit well with Markov's smooth-skating, offensive-minded style. Unfortunately, interviews at the end of the season showed that Komisarek had already moved on and wasn't coming coming back. Where almost all of the Canadiens' free agents pronounced themselves open to a comeback, Komisarek spoke of his time with the Habs in the past tense – sign of a player ready to play elsewhere.
His decision was confirmed this past week as he received a contract offer from the Habs right after the draft and never bothered responding back, opting instead to test the free agent market. As if not coming back to the team which had drafted and developed him wasn't enough, Komisarek accepted a contract from the Habs' most-hated rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs. The contract will see him get $22.5 million over a period of five years, an amount not too far off from what Bob Gainey was offering. Looking at who is on the Leafs' roster, there's certain feeling that Komisarek not only defected, but also ran to the Leafs. In Toronto, he won't have to be the team's number-one tough guy and other teams' goons will leave him alone, which wasn't the case in Montreal. I wish him the best of luck but also hope that he stays the same mistake-prone defenseman he was last season. I leave you with a compilation of his best work with the Habs.
If there was one good thing to come out of the Montreal Canadiens' disastrous Centennial season, the huge cap space available at the end of the season with 10 unrestricted free agents was surely it. Indeed, with the salary cap estimated to go down in two years, having as much space to maneuver as the Canadiens do this summer is surely an advantage.
24 hours before the start of free agency, GM Bob Gainey made an unexpected trade, acquiring overpaid center Scott Gomez from the New York Rangers in exchange for perennial underachiever Christopher Higgins. Multiple players were involved in the deal as the Rangers' Tom Pyatt and Mike Busto also make their way to Montreal while Doug Janik, Ryan McDonagh, and Pavel Valentenko go the other way.
Looking at the two main players switching teams, the trade makes sense. Glen Sather was desperate to move Scott Gomez's massive contract with a cap hit of more than $7.35 million to give some maneuvering space to his team. As for Higgins, although he recorded three straight seasons of 20 goals, his reputation as a party animal along with his inability to hit the net on a consistent basis made him expendable in the eyes of Canadiens management. The fact that he's been involved in every trade rumor in the past two years shows that he was bound to move at some point. Going to the Rangers also brings him closer to home, a fact often overlooked when talking about players' movement.
Where the trade hurts though is the inclusion of top defensive prospect Ryan McDonagh, Montreal's first-round pick in 2007, who was touted to become a top-3 defenseman in the league. Since Sather needed to move Gomez, there was no point in including a prospect as promising as McDonagh unless something has gone very wrong in his development. Doug Janik was useless and Valentenko is currently playing in the KHL so those losses are sustainable, but you have to wonder about the sudden change of attitude concerning McDonagh. He went from untouchable to being included in a trade for a overpriced center who has had the worst season of his career in 2008-2009, registering 16 goals and 58 points in 77 games.
One thing is clear, with Gomez in the fold, Saku Koivu is surely gone. Although the Canadiens' longest-standing captain is also its bravest player with the heart of a lion, Koivu's injuries and cancer have taken their toll as he is now unable to play more than 15 minutes per game. There is no doubt that he'll find another team in the league – probably in the Western coast – that won't make him the go-to guy, leaving him with more manageable minutes than in Montreal.
Now we'll see what Gainey will make of his defense and first line which still lacks two wingers. Contract offers have been made to Mike Komisarek and Alex Kovalev with no response so far. July 1st is looking to be a long day for Canadiens fans everywhere.
After the United States' stunning display against Spain in the Confederations Cup's semifinals, the question was how would they react in a rematch against South American champions Brazil who had crushed them 3-0 in the group stage.
Playing fearlessly this time around, the US held their own against Brazil during the first half, even going as far as grabbing a 2-0 lead over the football giants. Clint Dempsey stunned commentators and viewers all around the world as his slight touch on a cross from Spector beat Julio Cesar in the tenth minute of the game. Although Brazil had most of the possession, the Americans were given them a hard time to get inside the box much as they did against Spain. Landon Donovan scored the US' second three minutes before the half-hour mark on a superb counterattack marked by terrific pace and ball exchanges between Charlie Davies and Donovan. Needless to say, the Brazilians were in shock but instead of letting it lead to frustration, they retreated to the locker room with a resolute look on their faces. This game wasn't over.
Less than one minute into the second half, Luis Fabiano scored his fourth goal of the tournament by taking a shot right at the edge of the box. The play was a sudden change from Fabiano's tendency to always try to enter the box and it caught Jay DeMerit by surprise as the ball found its way between his legs to the back of the net. The Brazilians were now down 2-1 with lots of time on their hands. As the Brazilians progressively took their game from one level to the next, the Americans could only try their best to contain the pressure. After Kaka was denied a goal in the 61st minute – a tight decision by the linesman – the Auriverde finally got their equalizer at the 74th minute when Luis Fabiano headed home a ball that was ping-ponging (yes, I made up the word) around Tim Howard's net.
In an effort to freshen some tired legs, Bob Bradley used two of his substitutions – Bornstein and Kljestan for Altidore and Feilhaber – but neither seemed ready to step into a game of such importance. As Kljestan flubbed ball after ball in midfield, the US were unable to keep possession long enough to dictate the tempo of the game. The defense finally collapsed in the 84th minute when Lucio headed the winner past Tim Howard. It wasn't the first time that the Brazilian captain was forgotten at the far post and he made this opportunity count.
In the end, the Americans had a great game. I was disappointed in Altidore who was never able to hold the ball up for his teammates. Davies and Donovan were the real sparks up front as Altidore became more invisible as the game wore on. The US' lack of depth was also evident when Dunga brought in Daniel Alves to replace Andre Santos. That alone can have a huge impact on a game as evidenced by Brazil's last-minute win against South Africa in the semis.
So the Auriverdes keep their title. Good for them. So far, no team who has won the Confederations cup went on to win the World Cup, so I don't know what to make of this. They seem to have a solid team. It would have been nice to see Pato play a game but Luis Fabiano was terrific in this tournament. Let's hope he keeps it up.
Dismissed as a weak, disorganized team, the United States seem to have finally found their identity in Wednesday's semifinal game. Against the silky smooth Spain, the US players became a collective unit, frustrating Spain with their never-say-die attitude to finally grab a surprising but fully deserved win.
As expected, Spain dominated the game in terms of possession, but the Americans' relentless pressure on the ball-carrier made Spain's quick-pass game virtually impossible as most of their passes got intercepted or were off-target. Xavi, in particular, seemed to be off his game and it resulted in a disconnect between La Roja's defense and its attack. Furthermore, they were once again without a right-winger and despite Sergio Ramos' best efforts, they were unable to effectively stretch USA's compact defense. Jay DeMerit and Oguchi Onyewu were excellent against Fernando Torres and David Villa but the Spanish also a bit of the blame after missing several scoring opportunities
They call it the beautiful game. And on Sunday, those who are following the “meaningless” Confederations Cup witnessed another example of football's beauty. Consider this: with no points to their name after two games, the United States were dismissed by every commentator and analysts out there including me, and after Egypt's win over Italy, the game opposing the world champions to perennial rivals Brazil carried far more importance than initially expected.
Although the two rivals weren't in the same situation, both had something to prove to anyone who was watching. Brazil needed to confirm that their narrow victory against Egypt was indeed due to fatigue and build on their dominance over the United States while Italy had to show that they weren't as lifeless as they had been so far in the tournament
Their qualification for the semifinals already secured, it was easy to see why Spain were a little lax in their final group game against South Africa. As a matter of fact. It was the Africans who started on the right, fighting toe to toe against Spain instead of retreating like the Spaniards' previous opponents. The red shirts' nonchalant playing was compounded by the fact that their formation lacked the width necessary to bother the South Africans' defense.
Indeed, with Xavi, Busquets, Fabregas and Riera manning the midfield, they were essentially playing with three central midfielders and one left-winger. The right wing was left for Puyol who, sadly, didn't have the legs nor the motivation to run up and down the pitch like Sergio Ramos. The resulting formation forced them to play in a narrow fashion which made South Africa's job a lot more easier
It's finally over. After months of speculation, George Gillett finally sold the Montreal Canadiens along with the Bell Centre to the Molson family. As many as six groups were in the race to buy the storied franchise but it's the brothers Geoffrey, Andrew and Justin Molson who won the lottery. The Molson Coors company already owned 20% of the Canadiens' shares. By buying George Gillett's 80% share, the team is completely under Molson ownership even though the two entities – Molson Coors and Molson family – will stay separate.
The United States soccer team has the nasty habit of shooting themselves in the foot during major tournaments. After being reduced to ten men in the first half hour against Italy, they fared no better against Brazil, conceding a goal in the 7th minute on a dead-ball situation and picking up another red card, this time in the second half.
The game was pretty much over after Felipe Melo's opener on a free-kick. Free to move around as they pleased, the Brazilians had no trouble dictating the pace of the game and the US often found themselves trapped inside their own half of the field. A rookie mistake by DaMarcus Beasley later on led to a quick counterattack by the yellow shirts that concluded with Robinho beating Tim Howard for Brazil's second in the 20th minute of the game
For their second game of the competition, Spain had a lot of trouble breaking down their opponents' defense. With six defenders lined up for Iraq along with ten men playing behind the ball, the Spaniards found themselves unable to move freely about as they did against New Zealand. The changes brought by Del Bosque didn't help either as Mata didn't have the same bite as Riera while Cazorla doesn't have the same vision as Fabregas. I wondered why Del Bosque hadn't started Silva over Cazorla but a nagging injury prevented the Valencia midfielder from playing a 90-minute game.
After a frustrating first half, the Euro champs broke the deadlock ten minutes into the second half when David Villa too advantage of a mental lapse by the Iraqi to head home a cross from Capdevila. That goals was it took to ensure the three points as Casillas had a pretty quiet night in the Spanish end. The win ensures Spain's qualification in the semis
This latest album supposedly represents an attempt by The Black Eyed Peas to break away from hip-hop, and appeal to a larger audience.
In other words, they sold out. I was very disappointed in that first single. So much so that I didn't bother reviewing the album. Glad that I'm not missing much.
I'm not a big fan of Manson but I can appreciate some of his work. I think his earliest albums were a lot more raw than this one which is why I felt disappointed. But hey, an artist has to grow sometime.
The only reality-show I could ever see myself doing is The Amazing Race because you actually learn to do interesting stuff and see new places. Other than that, reality-tv is not for me.
I never understood all the hoopla about Survivor and Big Brother. I used to watch The Real World back when MTV actually stood for Music Television but quickly found it boring. Now, I only follow TAR and Wipeout. But I have to wonder does Wipeout count as reality-tv or is it simply a game-show like Who Wants To Be Millionaire?
Excellent post. I just hope for you guys that next season won't be as miserable Montreal's was this season after finishing first in the East with a great group of young players who somehow completely disappeared this year.
Damy, I'm both a rock and hip-hop fan (though I listen much more to underground hip-hop than mainstream stuff). And yes, I do listen to hip-hop every day, you'd be impressed at how many albums I have from both genres.
I try my best not to be biased either way, but in that case there really wasn't any good tracks on this album. Decent? Yes. Good? Not really. This is pop rap (which isn't even close to the best kind of hip-hop there is) and not even good pop rap. So, yeah my final score still stands.
For the record, I listen to every album two or three times before posting its review just so I can be sure. Sometimes it makes me appreciate a record better (I wasn't too impressed with Coldplay's latest at first listen), sometimes it doesn't (as is the case here).
Who would've thought that Sergei Samsonov and Michael Ryder would be going farther than Montreal? Anyways, I'm in a dilemma for tonight. Do I watch my second team the Red Wings or do I watch the Bruins?
I'm thinking Red Wings but I'll probably be swayed by the HD factor. If I can get Wings in HD, then it's definitely them. If not, I'll go with Boston.
The problem this year was a lack of secondary scoring. Apaty from Kovy, no one looked threatening. I remember last year they had Kostopoulos, Smolinski, and Begin causing all kinds of problems. Only Kosto survived from that line and he was invisible (so were the Kost. brothers who were great last year).
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Comment by Ann 2
on Fergie and The Black Eyed Peas: The END.....we can only hope.
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In other words, they sold out. I was very disappointed in that first single. So much so that I didn't bother reviewing the album. Glad that I'm not missing much.