Wolfpack vs The Whale....How about we just support hockey?

So in local news The Hartford Wolfpack officially changed their name this past weekend to The Hartford Whale. Reported attendance was close to 14,0000 which is amazing considering the Wolf Pack average attendance was closer to 3,000 a game. What I found quite funny was the die hard hockey heads taking sides in this minor league hockey naming battle.  Local die hard Whaler fans refused to support the Wolf Pack because they were the affiliate of the N.Y Rangers. Yet amazingly they showed up for this past weeks Whale game. Then you have the Wolf Pack fans claiming they are no longer going to attended games. Nothing has changed except the name and the color of the jersey. The team is still affiliates of the N.Y Rangers and it is still minor league hockey. I like hockey so I support any team that Hartford can get, but I am interested to see how the attendance does after the novelty of The Whale wears off.  Hartford as a city is dead, the place is a ghost town after 5:30 pretty much every night of the week. It was recently voted 19^th as the most dangerous city. It won’t be long before hockey leaves with most the businesses. Get past the stupid name change and support what we have Hartford.

UFC's first Mexican errr Mexican - American Champion

For much of the pre fight hoopla leading up to UFC 121 was made about Cain Velasquez becoming the UFC's first Mexican champion. There was a big out cry from all over about how people did or did not like it or how it could be racist. At the end of the day the UFC did what it needed to do and sell PPV buys. My personal opinion is that with Brock Lesnar on the card, the buys would be through the roof regardless. Some fans love Brock and others love to hate Brock. UFC has been trying to build its fan base across the board, from overseas fights to TUF competition with a team from the UK. My only problem with the strong marketing from UFC 121 was Cain was born in the United States, not Mexico. Cain is proud of his heritage, that is obvious by his “Brown Pride” tattoo on his chest, but he truly is Mexican-American Champion not the UFC's first Mexican Champion.   

Shame on you Mr.Garnett

It’s a sad day when Kevin Garnett needs to stoop so low as calling another player a “cancer patient”. Apparently on Tuesday night Garnett took his act to Charlie Villanueva of the Detroit Pistons. This is nothing new as Garnett is one of the biggest trash talkers in the league, but come on Kevin “Cancer Patient” really?  Why tarnish your legacy?  I always thought highly of Garnett. He suffered through years of crappy teams in Minnesota and crappy teammates (Marbury anyone?). Year after year Minnesota would struggle and for the most part Garnett went with it and continued to build his name. He did develop a rep for trash talking along the way. Basketball is all about trash talking, it starts at your local park all the way through the NBA. Typically nothing is off limits mother,sister,family everything is fair game. This however is overboard and I would like to see the league fine him for this. Cancer is a tragedy that affects everyone’s life. Everyone knows somebody whose life has been affected by this horrible disease. Mr.Garnett you have just labeled your career and you will not be remembered for being an MVP or being part of the championship Celtics. You will be labeled just another trash talking punk.

How does Brad Childress keep his job?

How does Brad Childress still have a job? He recently traded away a 3rd round pick for the troubled Randy Moss. Then one month later decided to waive him with out consulting the gm or owner. From the reports out of Minnesota of how Moss was acting, I do not blame him for wanting to waive Moss, but you need to work through the chain of command. You don't hold a press conference announcing you allowed Moss to say in New England to visit his family, then turn around and tell the team you released him. Another question is why did you sign him in the first place? Remeber Childress dealt with Terrell Owens while with the Eagles.Let's put the Moss issue aside. Childress is the same coach that cut wide out Marcus Robinson on Christmas Eve, this is the same coach who tried to fine Troy Williamson for missing time from the team for attending his grandmother funeral. Never mind how he has handled the Favre situation and throws his own players under a bus. Two weeks ago he went public against Favre for throw 3 picks in the Greeen Bay game. Last year he pointed blame on his full back Tahi for being the12th man in the huddle during the championship game. The year before he went public about possibly cutting punter Chris Kluwe for punting to Reggie Bush. Not to mention his in game coaching decisions, I have no idea how Brad Childress can still retain his job.

Time to move on..

For a couple teams, the time has come to fire their coaches.. Mid season or not a change is needed in Dallas and Minnesota.

Where is the D in Dallas? People will look at Kitna’s 4 int’s and blame the offense, but 3 of those hit receivers in the hands. The defense was supposed to be the team’s strong point and each week they are being embarrassed. The season is over for Dallas along with Wade Phillips coaching career there.  Might as well give Garrett a open audition for the position now instead of signing him to a huge contract after the season. Let him run the team for 9 games and see how the players respond. I am not sure Garrett is the answer though, the people of Dallas were very high on him two years ago and now he has cooled off quite a bit. I think Dallas needs a high profile coach... Bill Cowher anyone?

Speaking of poor coaching, does Brad Childress understand how the challenge system works? Is so how do you challenge Tate’s catch and who is relaying the info to challenge that? Not only should Childress be fired, who ever relayed that should update his resume. The circus has officially arrived in Minnesota. Like the Dallas situation the Vikings need a clean slate from the Childress era. While the team is not completely out of the race in the weak NFC they are close. Childress has lost the respect of his players in the locker room and has continually proven he is not head coach material. You can’t doubt his ability to create a good team, but his coaching decisions are beyond questionable.  Waiting in the wings is Leslie Frazier, who has interviewed for numerous head coaching positions over the last 3 years. If the Vikings don’t make him the head coach this year another team will next year, that is assuming there is football with the looming lockout.

Some items I liked from yesterday…

Nice to see Troy Smith have a good start for the Niners..Thought he got a raw deal in Baltimore.

The Detroit Lions will compete for a playoff spot next season. The Lions are a lot better than their record.

Are the Patriots the best team in the NFL? Yes and quietly doing so, kind of reminds me of their championship seasons.