Okay. I was wrong about Mats

I admit. I was wrong. I said, "Mats Sundin will never be a Canuck" and here he is. I don't believe the hype that this is enough to get them to win a Stanley Cup but it's a serious piece. And the way cap space and player relationships were managed to get here shows that maybe I was wrong, too, about Mike Gillis being the wrong guy for GM. Somehow Alain Vigneualt has become more than a defensive co-ordinator but the on-ice product still has holes either from injury (boy, is Sami Salo susceptible to injuries!) or form lack of energy (up 3-0 against Edmonton two nights ago, the Cannots nearly snatched an overtime loss from the jaws of victory).

Will Mr. Sundin make such a big difference? After the much touted arrival of Mark Messier (which felt like the wrong move from day 1 -- but then I've never much liked Keenan as a coach either), much was expected, little delivered. But I have to admit that we didn't just get Sundin because nobody else wanted him. We got him because our GM knew what he wanted under the tree back in July and did whatever it took to get here. Now, with other injuries freeing up further cap space, perhaps a rugged defenceman to make the injuries mean less? The return, perhaps of Jovanovski? But maybe we can even do better than that.

I'll admit something else, too. I'm more optimistic about this team's chances to go deep into the playoffs than I have been for the last two seasons.

Sundin still not here

It seems reality is finally hitting the local sports media. Sundin will never be a Canuck. It won't happen. He's been in the Eastern Conference too long and he would vastly prefer to have an opportunity to stick it to the Leafs before the Stanley Cup Final, to play alongside other aging Swedes, perhaps, in New York, maybe even join one of the glamour shows in Washington, Ottawa or Pittsburgh? But to put up with Western Conference travel schedules in his declining years as a player? Naaah. I never quite believed it and I doubt it even more now.

Sundin will never be a Canuck. If it matters to you, get that into your thick skull. And count your blessings that we don't spend $23M per annum on one player like the Yankees did today.

Don Taylor made me laugh

One of the regular features at 5:00 PM PST/PDT on our local sports radio station the Team 1040, is "Pratt & Taylor's High Five at 5". One of the stories that made it onto the list today was an allegation by Terrell Owens of the Dallas Cowboys that his quarterback, Tony Romo, was conspiring with the slotback to belittle his contribution to the team. Taylor's comment: "Does he have an imaginary friend, too?" I laughed.

Oh, and by the way: Mats Sundin in Vancouver?

Yeah right.

I thought it would be a cool idea if it ever happened. But I've made
it part of my Skype thought bubble periodically, starting the day
after Sundin said that he wanted more time to think about it, the
first time.

Note to self in organizing a "group" golf game

If I ever have to design a golf outing (Texas Scramble) for a wide
variety of people whose golf game I don't know, here's an idea I'll
want to use in figuring out whom to pair up with whom.

What's your handicap?

a. Retract the question or I'll sue
b. What's a handicap?
c. I don't want to know.
d. Scratch mini-golfer
e. I've begun to wonder what it might be
f. Your number__________

and then hope that at least one quarter of the potential participants answer f.

Vancouver exit: Nonis whines, Vigneault makes excuses

It's enough to make anyone say, "And so it begins..."

The Vancouver Canucks are out of the play-offs. Nonis says it's the injuries, it's the schedule. Well excuse me! Vancouver has had schedule problems since joining the NHL. It's an obstacle to manage and overcome. Not an excuse for under-performance.

Vigneault focuses more on the injuries which have been particularly brutal this year, yes.

But I say that people who blame what they couldn't control for the state of affairs they find themselves in are not people who are going to solve the real problems, ever. If Nonis doesn't sack his defensive co-ordinator before June (and named a real coach as replacement!), I say the Aquilinis should sack them both. Vigneault will still be just a defensive co-ordinator and Nonis will have proven that he hasn't moved on from being a management trainee.

But yet another summer of whining and "wait until next year"? I want to hear about it even less than I want to hear about the NBA or interminable baseball scores.

Canucks season

Like a bad top 40 tune from the 70s: "It's over... It's over... It's over... yeah, yeah yeah..." And it was over no matter what Vancouver did as Nashville gained a regulation-time win over St. Louis. Too bad.

And as I wrote the last time, I've stopped caring very much. I haven't stopped wishing, nor will I stop cheering for excellence whenever it appears. It's just that right now, the slogan, "We are all Canucks" feels too much like "We are all losers".