Leading off with two bits of hockey news...
It amazes me the durability of some NHL players. I think the sport can be the most brutal of all popular American sports, yet the NHL often boasts the oldest and most veteran players of sports - Mark Recchi just retired and he was 43, for example! Anyway, two pieces of news regarding a couple of these ageless wonders:
First, probably to the surprise of no one, Nicklas Lidstrom plans to return for his 20th season with the Red Wings, at the ripe old age of 41. This is actually more significant than last year; with the retirement of Brian Rafalski, had Lidstrom gone as well, the Wings would be facing a sudden crisis on the blue line. As it stands, the Wings can replace Rafalski through free agency (Rafalski's retirement freed up 6M) and worry about Lidstrom's roster spot next year... if not longer.
Second, Jaromir Jagr wants to return to the NHL. Jagr is 39 and has spent the last three years playing in the KHL, which is, for lack of a better explanation, the NHL of Russia. I wouldn't call it the same as Triple-A baseball, but somewhere between that and the NHL. Anyway, Jagr has been productive there and voiced his desire to come back, provided certain teams were interested. Among them, rumor has it, are the Red Wings, Canadiens and Penguins. I particularly like the idea of him returning to Pittsburgh or donning the Winged Wheel - both are great spots for the veteran; he could mix in nicely with Crosby or Malkin in Pittsburgh, or with Datsyuk or Zetterberg in Detroit. In both cases, neither team would be relying on him for maximum production and it'd be a relatively low-pressure situation. I have no doubt Jagr will be back in the NHL next year - the question will be where. I predict he'll land in Detroit, for a one-year deal similar to Mike Modano's last season.
Interesting news out of Cleveland...
Everyone is expecting the Indians to sort of fade out of the AL Central picture in baseball, but I'm of a mind that they're going to be around all season. Their recent decision to replace their hitting coach makes me think that this is a team that's willing to shake things up to stay competitive. Some people smell disaster there - you're atop your division, why make moves? But I see a team still improving itself to try and maintain control on a division that can really go anywhere between now and October. The Tigers are playing good baseball and even the Twins, who looked as hapless as any team could a month ago (more on them later this week), look like they could end up being a surprise threat as summer rolls on.
Speaking of hapless...
The Florida Marlins are 1-18 in the month of June. Their record is 32-40. Before this amazing skid, they were 31-22 and looking like a threat in the NL East. So much for that. But to add insult to injury, in the midst of what is now an 10-game losing streak, their manager, Edwin Rodriguez, decided to jump ship. I always wonder about the mentality of that - obviously, you're probably avoiding an inevitable firing (although the Marlins were .500 under Rodriguez, dating back to last season), but as we've seen numerous times this year, baseball fortunes can change rapidly and unpredictably from month to month. Perhaps the problems are deeper than he wanted to deal with. It's one thing to have a bad month of ball; it's another when your skipper bails on you.
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