Felix Hernandez Tosses 3rd Perfect Game of the Year

For the 3rd time this season a pitcher in the Major Leagues has tossed a perfect game. This time the man to do it was Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners.The game was the 23rd perfect game in Major League Baseball history and the first in Mariners' franchise history. Pitching against the Tampa Bay Rays at Safeco Field in Seattle, Washington, Hernández retired all 27 batters that he faced and tallied 12 strikeouts in a 1–0 victory.

This was the third perfect game of the 2012 Major League Baseball season, following perfect games thrown by Philip Humber and Matt Cain, marking the first time that three perfect games were thrown in one MLB season. Also, as the Mariners were the losing team in Humber's perfect game, this was the first time that a team was on the losing and winning end of a perfect game in the same season. As Philip Humber's perfect game took place when the White Sox were visiting Safeco Field, this marked the first time two perfect games were thrown in the same park in the same season. It also marked the third time the Tampa Bay Rays had been on the receiving end of a perfect game in four seasons, having previously failed to reach first base against Dallas Braden in 2010 and Mark Buehrle in 2009.

As it pertains to this season this is the 6th total no-hitter throw this year and the 2nd one by the Mariners. Back on June 8th, six Mariners pitchers, Kevin Millwood, Charlie Furbush, Stephen Pryor, Lucas Luetge, Brandon League, and Tom Wilhelmsen combined to no-hit the LA Dodgers at Safco Field in Seattle. This is also the fourth no-hitter in Mariners History. The two that have taken place this year follow the ones thrown by Randy Johnson on June 2nd 1990 against the Detroit Tigers and the other one thrown by Chris Bosio on April 22nd 1993 against the Boston Red Sox. As for the Tampa Bay Rays this is the fourth time they have been no-hit since the turn of the century. The first was a no-hitter by Derek Lowe of the Boston Red Sox on April 27th 2002. Second was a perfect game from Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox on July 23rd 2009. The last time the Rays were no-hit before last night was June 25th, 2010 when Edwin Jackson of the Arizona Diamondbacks threw a no-hitter against his former team. So the Rays have had some bad luck when it comes to no hitters.

Now here are a few surprising numbers related to no hitters and perfect games. Since the start of the 2010 season there have been a total of 15 no hitters thrown, including the one Roy Halladay threw for the Phillies in the 2010 playoffs. This is also the 2nd straight perfect game thrown this season, the last one being Matt Cain's back on June 13th. Of the 235 no hitters that have been thrown in the modern era 30 of them have come since the turn of the century in 2000. So now we are starting to see more of a trend towards pitchers dominating the game instead of hitters like we had in the live ball era of the late 90's.

For the Mariners this has to be the crowning achievement this year of what has been another underachieving season. The team sits in last right now in the American League West with a record of 67-95. Hernandez is by far the tams best pitcher without a doubt and he is looking to possibly win another AL Cy Young but with pitching being as good as it has been around the American League that is going to be tough. Part of me does sort of feel bad for King Felix because he really is a very good pitcher, one of the top ten in my opinion in the American League maybe even all of Baseball. The only down side is he pitches for a really bad team in the Mariners. In the club's 33 year history they have only made they playoffs five times and they have had only two winning seasons since 2003. So despite the fact that he pitches for a bad team congratulations are indeed in order for Felix Hernandez for pitching the 23ed Perfect Game in Major League History!

New York Mets First Half Recap

With the All Star Break upon us in Major League Baseball, I figured now was as good a time as any to take a look back at the excitement of the first half of the 2012 season for the New York Mets. As it sits right now the Mets are in the middle of the pack in the National League East. Currently they sit 3rd in the division with a record of 46-40 which leaves them 4.5 games out of first place. They trail only the Braves and Nationals in the East. As for their chances in the wild card, they sit in the 4th spot for the NL Wild Card, a half game out. Now with the rule change baseball made over the winter each league now gets two wild card spots. The top two wild card spots in the NL are currently being held by the Cincinnati Reds and the Atlanta Braves. The Mets are tied with the San Fransisco Giants at 46-40 a half game out of the wild card spots with plenty of baseball left to be played. So things are shaping up to be very interesting in the 2nd half of the season. but we will touch on that a little later. First things first lets look at some of the high points from a very exciting 1st half so far for the Mets.

 The biggest positive highlight from the first half of the year came on June 1st when Johan Santana pitched the first ever no-hitter in the history of the franchise, in an 8-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. It marked only the eighth no-hitter in MLB history against a defending World Series champion team, the first since former Met Nolan Ryan blanked the Oakland Athletics in their 1990 pennant season. Santana walked five batters, recorded eight strikeouts, and lowered his season ERA to 2.38. He also threw a career-high 134 pitches, and earned the new nickname "No-han". Notable moments in the game included a liner in the sixth inning by former Met Carlos Beltran, which hit the foul line behind third base but was ruled foul. In the seventh inning, Mike Baxter made a difficult catch in left field, preserving the no-hitter, and then violently crashed into the wall. He left the game with a bruised left shoulder and was subsequently placed on the DL. For throwing the no-hitter, Santana was named National League Player of the Week for the week ending June 3, 2012 It was his fifth such award and followed his teammate R.A. Dickey who won it the prior week. His pitching feat earned him the Key to the City, which was bestowed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Baxter made a great catch in that ball game, but sadly when making the catch, hurt his shoulder and hasn't played since, spending time on the DL with that injury. But the catch and Beltran's foul ball in the 6th were the highlights of the game aside from the accomplishment itself. Now that Santana has thrown the no-hitter it leaves only the San Diego Padres as the only franchise in baseball to have never thrown a no-hitter.

The Mets also made noise with another interesting statistical first during the first half of the season. On June 27th, the Mets became the first team in major league baseball to hit a home run cycle, against the Chicago Cubs. Daniel Murphy began by hitting a 2-run home run to knock in himself and runner Ike Davis in the 4th inning, which was his first home run in 352 at-bats. Then in the 5th inning Ike Davis hit a 3-run home run with David Wright and Lucas Duda on base. Later in the inning, Daniel Murphy hit a solo shot in his next plate appearance off of Casey Coleman, who replace starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija. The Mets led the Cubs 10-1 after the end of the 5th. During the 6th inning, Scott Hairston, who was typically a utility outfielder throughout the first half of the season, hit the cycle ending grand slam off of relief pitcher Casey Coleman, scoring himself, Ruben Tejada, David Wright, and Lucas Duda. The game ended in the Mets favor 17-1.

Not Only did the Mets hit for the Home Run Cycle against the Cubs but Scott Hairston hit for the Traditional Cycle on April 27th in Denver against the Colorado Rockies. He singled in the 2nd, homered in the 4th, hit the triple in the 5th and doubled in the 6th to complete the cycle. Sadly it wasn't enough of an offensive punch on this day as the Rockies went on to win the ball game 18-9. There have been plenty of other bright spots during this season for this Mets team, including a few heroic walk off wins. The Mets had four walk-off victories in the first half, none as exciting as their 6-5 win against the Philadelphia Phillies on July 5. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, David Wright delivered a bloop single off Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon to plate the winning run. Wright, who belted a two-run home run earlier in the game, finished 3-for-5 with four RBIs. That was actually the 2nd time this year that Papelbon has given up a huge hit to the Mets late in a ball game this season. Jordany Valdespin dialed up a pinch-hit, three-run home run off Papelbon in the top of the ninth inning, as the New York Mets stunned the Phillies, 5-2, on May 7. It was the first career hit for Valdespin, who had just been recalled from the minors to replace Ruben Tejada.

So as you can see the Mets have had some good days at the plate with late game heroics. David Wright has been leading the offensive charge this season, hitting .351. Wright also leads the team in RBI's with 59 and is second on the club in home runs with 11. There is a three way tie for the team lead in homers between Scott Hairston, Ike Davis, and Lucas Duda who all have 12. As a team, the Mets are tied for 23rd in the Majors with the mariners and Twins for total home runs hit at 73, but their 8th in the league in runs scored with 379. As a team the Mets are hitting .259 which is good for 14th in the Majors. The problem for the Mets hasn't been the offense, we all know they can score. What has been causing the Mets some trouble this year has been the spotty defense and below standard bullpen.

In the field, the Mets are ranked 26th in baseball in fielding percentage at .980. That's not bad but yet its near the bottom in baseball. The Mets have committed 63 errors which is the 6th most in baseball. So for the Mets to be able to hold onto contention in the NL East and Wild Card Race, the defense has to improve a little. So too does the bullpen. As a team, the Mets ERA is 3.96 which is good for 15th best in baseball, so right in the middle of the pack. If anybody has really paid attention in the first half, you would have realized that there a number of games the team could have won had the bullpen not been so questionable. I'm sorry but if the Mets want to have any chance at making the playoffs this season the first major thing that needs correction is the bullpen.

Starting pitching on the other hand has been one of the bright spots this season for the team, especially the pitching of RA Dickey, but we will touch on that in a moment. Mike Pelfrey had been one of the guys the Mets were relying on from the start of the season to get good starts from but he injured his pitching elbow after 3 starts and will be out the rest of the season. So the team has used a mixed bag of pitchers to fill the 5th spot in the rotation, and now it looks like that job belongs to Chris Young. Young has put up respectable numbers in his six starts this season going 2-2 with a 3.41 ERA. Dillon Gee is the only Mets starter to this point who is under 500 on the season, sitting at 6-7 with an ERA of 4.01. The other starters have winning records. Jonathan Niese is 7-4 with a 3.74 ERA, Johan Santana is 6-5 with a 3.24 ERA, and of course the stud of the staff R.A. Dickey who is 12-1 with a 2.40 ERA. Dickey has been the real surprise of the club this season, throwing together a string of back to back one hitters earlier this season. This is the most wins Dickey has had ever in the Majors. His previous best year was in 2010 with the Mets when he went 11-9. So R.A has been a very nice surprise for the ball club this season and is making a case early for possible NL Cy Young award, but that's jumping the gun just a bit.

As for what the Mets have to look forward to in the 2nd half of the season it is going to be interesting. Of all the teams in the National League the Mets have played this year they have a losing record against only 5 of them: Washington, San Fransisco, Houston, Cincinnati, and Chicago. They are 500 or better against the rest of the league. Coming out of the all star break the Mets start a six game road trip, with three in Atlanta followed by three in Washington. The first home series for the team are three games series with Los Angeles and Washington. For the team, the remainder of July after the break is going to be a real test as they only play six home games the rest of the month, against the Dodgers and Nationals. They have to travel on the road for three in Atlanta, three in Washington, four in Arizona and the start of a four game trip to San Fransisco. So we will see in the coming weeks if the Mets really are going to be playoff contenders come October!

Wild Snag Top Two Free Agents in Parise and Suter

The Minnesota Wild were able to snag two of the most prized free agents in this off season, forward Zach Parise and Defenseman Ryan Suter. The following story comes to us from nhl.com. 

Zach Parise and Ryan Suter spent nearly 72 hours weighing lucrative offers from several NHL teams after the free agent market opened Sunday. For the Minnesota Wild, the payoff was worth the wait. 

Minnesota landed the top two players in the free agent Class of 2012, agreeing to 13-year contracts with both Parise and Suter on Wednesday morning -- making it a Fourth of July celebration for the ages in the State of Hockey and a monumental day in the history of the young franchise. 

Both deals are for 13 years and $98 million, which locks up each player through the 2024-25 season. Each carries a salary-cap hit of $7.538 million per season. 

"This is a great day in the history of the Minnesota Wild," general manager Chuck Fletcher said. "This is a huge commitment on [owner Craig Leopold's] part, on our organization's part. It took a lot of courage and commitment for all of us to go after these players. Minnesota landed the top two players in the free agent Class of 2012, agreeing to 13-year contracts with both Parise and Suter on Wednesday.  

"As for Ryan and Zach, we are extremely excited to add their skill, their experience and their character to what we feel is already a pretty promising roster." 

There were reports this week that Parise and Suter had talked to each other about possibly playing together, and the Wild became the beneficiaries as one of the few franchises that could afford both of them. 

Suter said it was late Tuesday night into Wednesday morning when the idea of both players signing with Minnesota started to look like a reality.

"Ryan and I have talked throughout the year," Parise said. "You always say to each other 'Wouldn't it be great to play with each other and to play on the same team.' Was it realistic all the time? I don't know. With different teams, you have to have the availability." 

Parise said, "I know how great a player Ryan is. I played with him on different teams at several tournaments. To have the opportunity to play with a guy of that caliber is a great opportunity. We kept in touch throughout this process. You have to do what is best for you. We decided that for both of us the best fit would be Minnesota and we are excited that it worked out." 

Parise was the Devils' captain this past season and played in New Jersey for his entire seven-year career after the Devils selected him in the first round of the 2003 NHL Draft. He has 194 goals and 216 assists for 410 points in 502 games. 

He had 31 goals and 38 assists for 69 points in 82 games this past season and helped the Devils reach the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2003. Parise confirmed that had he not chosen the Wild, he would have stayed with the Devils. 

"There is no question we're disappointed," Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello said. "It's a very unfortunate thing when you have a player of his stature that has come right through the ranks and, at this given time, a decision is made to go elsewhere. Right now, there is nothing we can do about that and we'll just go forward. 

"Our offer was competitive and we did not at any time have a phone call that we needed to change it or it had to go up. So it was competitive." 

However, Parise couldn't resist the temptation to go home and play for the Wild. Not only is he from Minneapolis, his parents, including former NHL player J.P. Parise, still live there and Parise has a home in the Twin Cities area.

"It was a very big part of it," said Parise, who turns 28 later this month. "The opportunity to play at home meant a lot to me and it meant a lot to my family. My parents were so excited when they knew I was considering coming back home. They were very excited. When we made the decision, they were really excited. That played a big part in it. I grew up playing here and I love coming back in the summers. I just thought that we enjoy it here so much, it would be great to be here year round."

Parise played four seasons of high school hockey at Shattuck-St. Mary's in Faribault, Minn. His father worked in the program when he was there. He went on to play two seasons at the University of North Dakota. "This is a great day in the history of the Minnesota Wild. This is a huge commitment on [owner Craig Leopold's] part, on our organization's part. It took a lot of courage and commitment for all of us to go after these players." -- Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher. 

The Wild need Parise to boost their offense. They were last in the NHL last season with 2.02 goals-per game and 27th on the power play at 15.1 percent. Parise has scored at least 30 goals in five of his six full seasons (he missed 69 games of the 2010-11 season with a knee injury). Parise scored 45 goals and put up 94 points in 2008-09.

Parise joins a forward group that already includes Mikko Koivu, Dany Heatley, Devin Setoguchi and Matt Cullen. Mikael Granlund is considered one of Minnesota's top prospects and could make the team this coming season. 

Suter, meanwhile, becomes the bedrock of the Minnesota defense. 

He had seven goals and 46 points for the Nashville Predators this past season, forming arguably the League's top defensive pairing with Shea Weber and the backbone of a Stanley Cup contender along with goaltender Pekka Rinne. 

A Madison, Wis., native, Suter averaged 26:30 of ice time per game in 2011-12, a career-high and the third-most in the League. He will be 28 years old in January, and Suter has collected at least 37 points in each of the past four seasons. 

Suter joined the Predators at the start of the 2005-06 season and quickly developed into a franchise cornerstone. He has averaged at least 23:59 of ice time in each of the past four seasons. 

Suter said the call to Nashville GM David Poile on Wednesday was one of the toughest he's ever had to make. 

"Ryan has told me in every conversation that money was the not the most important criteria," Poile said in a conference call with reporters. "He told me today that our offer was substantial. He told me it was not about the money when it came to the final decision. As I said to him, and this was all the things that we had talked about, I said, 'I don't know why you are not signing with us,' and he told me it was for family reasons. I guess that is where the disappointment comes in. I know family is important in all this. I can't fight that or argue with that. The disappointing part is that is not what we talked about all year long. I think we met Ryan's desires and criteria on every front and so today is very, very disappointing."

Poile made three trades before the deadline in February, hoping to bolster the Predators for a Cup run and please Suter and Weber with the additions of Hal Gill, Andrei Kostitsyn and Paul Gaustad. He also welcomed back Alexander Radulov, who left the team despite being under contract to play at home in the Kontinental Hockey League before the 2008-09 season, near the end of the regular season. 

The Predators dispatched Detroit in the first round, but Radulov and Kostitsyn were suspended for a game in the second round for breaking curfew, and Nashville lost to Phoenix in five games.

"As far as the future, we have to move on," Poile said. "We would like to get a defenseman to replace Ryan and we could do that in many ways. It could come as a free agent and it could come as a trade. I want to get the right player and the right fit. Secondly, more importantly, our focus turns to our captain, Shea Weber. He's a player that we want to build our team around. He's at the top of his game and is a Norris Trophy finalist. He knows what we think of him and we want him to be in Nashville for years to come." 

Suter joins a Minnesota defense that has several young talents but lacked an anchor, a guy who can play more than 25 minutes and in all situations. Obviously, the Wild expect Suter to be that guy.

Minnesota welcomed the Wild into the NHL for the 2000-01 season, but in one day the 2012-13 edition has become the most talented roster in club history. 

The Wild have made the playoffs only three times and advanced past the first round once, but they could be among the top contenders in the Western Conference with the additions of Parise and Suter, as well as the arrival of a few elite prospects in the near future.

This is a huge signing for the Wild. Minnesota really needed the offensive punch that Parise will provide. The Wild last season scored only 166 goals, the lowest total in the NHL, and this is a surprise considering the fact that they have scoring talent in the likes of Mikko Koivu, Dany Heatley, Devin Setoguchi and Matt Cullen. But none of those guys were able to hit the 30 goal mark last year, and the one who came closest was Heatley who had 24. The only other 20 goal scorer for the Wild last year was Kyle Brodziak who scored 22. Meanwhile Parise scored 31 goals and 69 points last year with the Devils, so his offensive numbers will be a major boost. As for the signing of Suter, this will be a bit more helpful to the Wild as they were in the middle of the pack with goals against. He isn't much of a scoring threat from the back end, that has been well documented, but he will be a big help in his own zone and help the Wild lower their goals against total for a long time coming.

Now as to the length of the contracts this is going to spark some debate. Both guys just signed deals for 13 years in length at a price tag of $98 million each. With those signings, the Wild have the 2nd highest team payroll in the NHL right behind the Boston Bruins. This signing also comes on the heels of two other large contract extensions going out this week. First was a 12 year extension worth $104.4 million to Sidney Crosby of the Penguins and the other a 10 year extension worth $58 million to LA Kings goalie Jonathan Quick. The length of the contract also brings to mind the 15 year deal signed by Rick DiPietro of the Islanders, and we all know that his contract hasn't panned out very well. That's the thing that bother's me about the length of contracts, is that there are no guarantees that the player you sign to the contract is going to be able to stay healthy and produce over the length of the contract. In my opinion there are only three guys in the HISTORY of the NHL that have EVER been worth a contract of ten years or more in length and they are Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemiexu and Bobby Orr. The only other person besides those three who are even worth considering for a contract of that length is Gordie Howe. Now players can come and go and do as they please that is their business, but it could look really bad for the organization if the contract doesn't pan out as the players or the organization would have hoped.

(Authors Note: Story and photo provided by nhl.com and some stats on finances provided by capgeek.com)

2012 MLB All Star Game Rosters Announced!

With the 2012 edition of the Major League Baseball All Star Game just one week away, the rosters have been announced to the public. Here is what the rosters look like. First it's the American League:

Starters:
Catcher: Mike Napoli- Rangers
1st Base: Prince Fielder- Tigers
2nd Base: Robinson Cano- Yankees
3rd Base: Adrian Beltre- Rangers
Shortstop: Derek Jeter- Yankees
Outfielder: Jose Bautista- Blue Jays
Outfielder: Curtis Granderson- Yankees
Outfielder: Josh Hamilton- Rnagers
Designated Hitter: David Ortiz- Red Sox

Reserves:
Catcher: Joe Mauer- Twins
Catcher: Matt Wieters- Orioles
1st Base: Paul Konerko- White Sox
2nd Base: Ian Kinsler- Rangers
3rd Base: Miguel Cabrera- Tigers
Shortstop: Asdrubal Cabrera- Indians
Shortstop: Elvis Andrus- Rangers
Outfielder: Adam Jones- Orioles
Outfielder: Mike Trout- Angels
Outfielder: Mark Trumbo- Angels
Designated Hitter: Billy Butler- Royals
Designated Hitter: Adam Dunn- White Sox

Pitchers:
Ryan Cook- Athletics
Matt Harrison- Rangers
Felix Hernandez- Mariners
Jim Johnson- Orioles
Joe Nathan- Rangers
Chris Perez- Indians
David Price- Rays
Fernando Rodney- Rays
CC Sabathia- Yankees*
Chris Sale- White Sox
Justin Verlander- Tigers
Jared Weaver- Angels
C.J. Wilson- Angels

(Note CC Sabathia is out of the all star game due to injury and is replaced by CJ Wilson)

Now for the All Stars from the National League.

Starters:
Catcher: Buster Posey- Giants
1st Base: Joey Votto- Reds
2nd Base: Dan Uggla- Braves
3rd Base: Pablo Sandoval- Giants
Shortstop: Rafael Furcal- Cardnials
Outfielder: Melky Cabrera- Giants
Outfielder: Carlos Beltran- Cardnials
Outfielder: Matt Kemp- Dodgers

Reserves:
Catcher: Yadier Molina- Cardinals
Catcher: Carlos Ruiz- Phillies
1st Base: Bryan LaHair- Cubs
2nd Base: Jose Altuve- Astros
3rd Base: David Wright- Mets
Shortstop: Starlin Castro- Cubs
Shortstop: Ian Desmond- Nationals
Outfielder: Ryan Braun- Brewers
Outfielder: Jay Bruce- Reds
Outfielder: Carlos Gonzalez- Rockies
Outfielder: Andrew McCutchen- Pirates
Outfielder: Giancarlo Staton- Marlins

Pitchers:
Matt Cain- Giants
Aroldis Chapman- Reds
R.A. Dickey- Mets
Gio Gonzalez- Nationals
Cole Hamels- Phillies
Joel Hanrahan- Pirates
Clayton Kershaw- Dodgers
Craig Kimbrel- Braves
Lance Lynn- Cardnials
Wade Miley- Daimondbacks
Jonathan Papelbon- Phillies
Stephen Strasburg- Nationals
Huston Street- Padres

There you have it the rosters for the 2012 MLB All Star Game. All Star weekend takes place in Kansas City and starts next Monday July 9th with the State Farm Home Run Derby. The All Star Game itself is on Tuesday July 10th at 8PM and the game is broadcast on Fox!

Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2012 Sundin Sakic Oates Bure!

The votes are in and the 2012 Hockey Hall of Fame inductees have been announced. They are: Joe Sakic, Mats Sundin, Adam Oates, and Pavel Bure! I know there will be some debate as to who got in and who was left on the outside looking in but we will get to that a little later. First things first lets take a look at the four guys who are going into the hall this year and we start with Joe Sakic.

Super Joe played his entire 20 year career with the same franchise, the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche, winning two cups with the club in 1996 and 2001. During his brilliant career he registered 100 points in a season six times, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1996, 2001, and 2007. He scored at least 50 goals in a season twice, 1996 and 2001, ironically enough both years his Avalanche won the Stanley Cup. During his career, Sakic holds the Avalanche franchise records for goals with 625, assists with 1016 and points with 1641. Those 1641 points is good for 9th place all time in NHL history. Aside from being a prolific scorer during the regular season he also added 84 goals and 104 assists for 188 points in 172 career playoff games. He holds the record for career OT playoff goals with 8. By far his most prolific seasons scoring in the playoffs was 1996 when he had 18 goals and 34 points in the Avs cup run that spring. Joe has also picked up quite a bit of hardware during his career. Besides two cups he also has won the 1996 Conn Smyth Trophy as Playoff MVP, the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP, the Ted Lindsey Award and the Lady Bing Trophy in 2001. and First Team All Star in 2001, 2002 and 2004. What made Joe Sakic great was not only his offensive talents but his leadership ability as well. He was Captain of the Avalanche franchise from 1992 all the way up to his retirement in 2009. So Super Joe was a leader on and off the ice.

Mats Sundin had a nice long career of his own, becoming the first European Player EVER to be drafted #1 overall in the NHL entry draft when the Nordiques took him in 1989. he spent his first four seasons in the League playing in Quebec, adn set his career high with 14 points in 1993 playing for the Nordiques. When the NHL came back to business during the lockout shortened 1994-95 season, Sundin was now in Tronto playing for the Leafs where he would spend the next 11 years of his career. His career high in points with the Leafs was 94 points which he hit in 1997. His final NHL season was in Vancouver playing for the Canucks during the 2008-09 season, and called it a career after that season was over. When all was said and done, Sundin had set a few milestones during his great career. He was and still is the only Swedish player to score 500 goals in the NHL, he ended his career with 546. He has the most career points, goals and assists by a Swedish hockey player, was the first Swedish player to reach 1000 points, is one of two players (Marcel Dionne) to record at least 20 goals in his first 17 NHL seasons, and has the most games played by a European born-and-trained forward at 1346. He also ownes the Maple Leafs records for goals with 420, assists by a forward with 567 and points with 987. Although he wasn't able to get his name etched on the Stanley Cup Sundin has indeed left a great mark on this game.

Pavel Bure, the Russian Rocket, electrified croweds from coast to coast during his career. He began his career in 1992 with the Canucks and played 7 memorable years with the team, in which he had back to back 60 goala season in 1993 and 1994. Both those years he recorded 100 points. He would register one more 50 goal season with the Canucks and that was in 1998 when he had 51. Then the Rocket got traded to the Florida Panthers, and for four years he would re-write the panthers record books. He would hit the 50 goal mark in the middle two seasons with Florida, scoring 58 in 2000 and 59 in 2001. He spent his final two years in the league playing for the New York Rangers, but by that point injuries had gotten the best of the Russian Rocket and he called it a career after the 2003 season. During his career Bure picked up a few individual awards. He won the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year in 1992, played in the NHL All Star Game in 1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2000, and 2001. He was a first team all star in 1994 and was selected to the second team in 2000 and 2001. He also won the Rocket Richard trophy which is awarded to the NHL's top goal scorer in 2000 and 2001. Bure also holds a few Canucks and Panthers records as well. While playing in Vancouver he set team records for most points by a rookie - 60 in 1991–92 (tied with Ivan Hlinka, 1981–82) most goals - 60 in 1992–93 and 1993–94, the Canucks all-time playoff records for most goals - 34 (tied with Trevor Linden), most shorthanded goals - 24. He also holds Florida Panthers' single-season record, most goals - 59 in 2000–01 and most points - 94 in 1999–2000. Sadly the Russian Rocket never got his name on the cup, but during his time in the league he left a big impression on everyone who saw him play.

Finally Adam Oates. Oates was know for the most part as Brett Hull's set up man with the St. Louis Blues, but still carved out himself a pretty good career. His career began in 1986 with the Dertoit Red Wings where he spent four seasons and had put up pretty good numbers in Detroit. It was his trade to the St. Louis Blues that really took off Oates career, as he was paired up with Brett Hull for three seasons. His first two years in St Louis he cracked the 100 point plateau. Then after three years there, he was traded to the Boston Bruins where he spent the next six years. Twice while in Boston he hit 100 plus points in back to back seasons including a career high 97 assists in 1993. Half way through 1997 Oates was traded from Boston to Washington where he would spend the next five and a half years and helped the Capitals to th8e 1998 Stanley Cup Finals. During the 2002 season Oates was traded from Washington to Philly then amde two more stops in Anahiem and Edmonton before calling it a career. Although Oates never won a Stanley Cup, he was able to have a great career, which saw him register 1079 assists and 1420 points in 1337 career games. Thanks to the brilliant passing of Adam Oates, it allowed Brett Hull, Cam Neely and Peter Bondra to win scoring titles, and Hull won mutiple scoring titles thanks to the great passing of Adam Oates. Many consider Oates to be the 2nd greatest playmaking center in the 1990's right behind Wayne Gretzky.

There were a few notable snubs from the Hall voting this year. Brendan Shanahan, who was considered by many to be a favorite for induction in his first year of eligibility due to his 656 career goals, will instead have to wait at least another year or more. As will Jeremy Roenick, Curtis Joseph, Eric Lindros, Dave Andreychuk, Phil Housley and a number of other Hall hopefuls. Shanahan getting snubbed again came as a big surprise. He and Dave Anderychuk are the only two retired players to have over 600 career goals and not be inducted into the Hall of Fame. the two active players with over 600 goals are Jaromir Jagr and Teemau Selanne. Housely is the 2nd highest scoring American of all time, behind only Mike Modano and its a shame he isn't in the hall yet. Roenick is another in the top ten of american born scores, he's actuall 3rd on the list. Eric Lindros is an interesting case for me. He did have good numbers during his prime with the Flyers and had a lot of potential to be a great star in the league but there are two things I feel are currently keeping him out. One is the fact he had too many injuries and concussions, and that limited his playing time. I also feel the way he started his career wasn't exactly the greatest way to start off. He refused to play for the Nordiques, the team that drafted him, and forced them to trade him to the Flyers. I think that may have rubbed a lot of people the wrong way and that is playing a factor as to him not being in the hall of fame at this point.

The induction ceremony for this years class of Joe Sakic, Mats Sundin, Adam Oates, and Pavel Bure will be taking place on Monday November 12th at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto!

RA Dickey is King in Queens!

After a masterful outing last night at Citi Field, it seems as if RA Dickey might be THE MAN at the moment on the mounds of Queens. In last nights victory, a 5-0 win for the Mets, Dickey threw his 2nd straight one hitter, the other one being a 9-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. the one run he gave up against Tampa was an unearned run. He has thrown three straight complete game shutouts. RA's only loss this season was to the Atlanta Braves on April 18th, as he now sits at 11-1 on the season.

Dickey set a new Mets franchise record of 32 2⁄3 consecutive scoreless innings, besting Jerry Koosman's 31 2/3 in 1973. The win was Dickey's eighth consecutive victory, and improved his record to 10-1 over only 13 starts, with a 2.20 ERA. Dickey was the first pitcher in the major leagues to reach 10 wins during 2012. In his last five games, Dickey had struck out 50, given up three walks, and allowed only one earned run.

He became the first pitcher since 1988 to throw two consecutive one-hitters (Dave Stieb of the Toronto Blue Jays), and the first in the NL to do so since 1944 (Jim Tobin of the Boston Braves). He won for the sixth consecutive start and ninth straight decision overall, and set yet another new career high with 13 strikeouts. Terry Collins, remarked, "I've never seen anything like this. Never. I've seen some dominant pitching, but nothing like what he's going through right now." Hall of Fame Pitcher and fellow knuckleballer Phil Niekro commented on Dickey, "I had a few streaks, but nothing like he’s going through. I don’t know if any other knuckleballer has ever been on a hot streak like he has been. He is just dynamite right now."

RA is 11-1 on the season in 14 starts with 103 strikeouts on the year and an ERA of 2.00. He has thrown three complete games and two shutouts, while opponents are currently hitting .194 against him, which is showing total dominance by Dickey to this point in the season. What seems to be making Dickey so good this year is that batters are REALLY having a hard time trying to hit that knuckle ball, which is his go to pitch. A clip was shown on the MLB network that took a closer look at his knuckle ball and showed something surprising in the fact that the ball when thrown by Dickey only spins ONCE. Yes it only spins and rotates ONCE when the knuckle ball is thrown. That to me is showing how incredible his control has been during this run of his.

Now there are two big questions that Dickey has presented over the past few days, one is whether or not he should possibly be the starter for the NL during the all star game, and two can he possibly win the NL Cy Young award for best pitcher. In regards to the All Star game I would say Yes RA should be the starter. Right now Dickey is tied with Brandon Beachy of the Braves for the best ERA in baseball, and he leads beaseball in wins withw 11 just one ahead of Lance Lynn of the Cardnials. Dickey is tied with Justin Verlander of the Tigers for the league lead in strikelouts with 103, just one ahead of CC Sabathia of the Yankees who has 102. Granted there is still a month to go before the All Star game , which this year is in Kansas City. So anything can happen between now and then.

As for the NL Cy Young it is WAY too early to tell if Dickey can win the Cy this year. Only two other Mets have won the Cy Young, Tom Sever (who won three in 1969, 1973, and 1975) and Doc Gooden who won the award in 1985. To date no knuckleball pitcher has won a Cy Young award, although Phil Nikero may have been teh best candidate. The last two winners of the NL Cy Young, Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers and Roy Halladay of the Phillies each won 21 games. Since the turn of the century, 5 guys who have won the NL Cy Young have won 20 or more games, so at the pace it seems Dickey is going, if he hits the 20 win mark, he has a great shot at winning the Cy Young. Now with all due respect to the pitchers in the Bronx, mostly CC Sabathia, RA Dickey is the King of Queens!

NHL Awards Show Preview!

With the NHL Awards Show exactly one week away from Las Vegas, now I figured would be a good time to do a little preview and predictions write up for the awards to see who will be walking away this year with some of the NHL's most valuable hardware. Before I get to my predictions on the trophies that will be handed out next week in Vegas, lets take a quick look at the trophies that have already been handed out.

First up is the Art Ross Trophy which went out to the NHL Regular Season Scoring champion. This years winner was Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Malkin won the scoring crown with 109 points during the regular season. This is the 2nd time Malkin has won the title, winning the award in 2008-09 with 113 points. Next up is the Rocket Richard Trophy, which is awarded to the NHL regular season goal scoring leader. this years winner was Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning, as he lead the league this year with 60 goals. This is the 2nd time Stamkos has won the award as he split the trophy with Sidney Crosby of the Penguins in 2009-10 when both guys scored 51 goals. Another award already handed out was the Conn Smyth trophy which was for Playoff MVP and that went to Jonathan Quick of the LA Kings. Also given out was the NHL Plus/Minus award, which goes to the player with the best plus/minus during the regular season, and this years winner was Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins who finished the season with a +36. This is the 3rd time in the last 4 seasons that a Bruin has won the award. Finally we cap this off with the Jennings trophy which is awarded to "the goalkeeper(s) having played a minimum of 25 games for the team with the fewest goals scored against it. This year the trophy went to Jaraslav Halak and Brian Elliot of the St. Louis Blues. Both goalies allowed a combined 165 goals during the regular season, the lowest total among winners since Martin Brodeur claimed the trophy in 2004 while allowing 164 goals. So now that we have covered the awards that are already handed out, lets start the debate as to the ones that will be given out in Las Vegas next week.

First up for debate is the NHL General Manager of the Year award, the trophy which is given to the top general manager in the league. The nominees this year are: Doug Armstrong, of the St. Louis Blues, David Poile, of the Nashville Predators and Dale Tallon, of the Florida Panthers. Taking into consideration how each man was able to build their teams during the season my prediction for the winner this year is gonna be Dale Tallon of the Panthers. My reasoning is relatively simple. With Poile he did a good job of getting the Predators on the ice needed to keep Nashville in the playoff hunt and get them a higher seed, most of the team was in tact from last year. With Doug Armstrong of St. Louis, he already had assembled a team that just missed the playoffs last year before coming on to win a division title this year, but the year didn't start off all that great. I feel Tallon is gonna take it because he basically re-built the Panthers through free agency last summer and built a team that made the playoffs for the first time in about a decade and a division winner for the first time ever. So Tallon gets the nod as GM of the year.

Next up we will look at the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, which is awarded annually to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. The nominees for this year are: Daniel Alfredsson of the Ottawa Senators, who returned from offseason back surgery to play his 16th NHL season, Joffrey Lupul of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who had a career year last season despite almost calling it a career in 2010 after two back surgeries and a blood infection, and finally Max Pacioretty of the Montreal Canadiens, who had a career year this season after missing all of last season due to a concussion and fractured vertebrae in his neck from a Zedno Chara hit in Montreal. This award is kind of hard to figure as to where the writers will go, but based on past winners i give the trophy to Max Pacioretty of the Canadiens.

Up next is the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, which is presented each year to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability. The nominees for the trophy this year are Brian Campbell of the Florida Panthers, Jordan Eberle of the Edmonton Oilers, and Matt Moulson of the New York Islanders. Generally the winner of this award has low penalty minute totals. Throwing that and a few other things into consideration, I'm taking Matt Moulson to win the award. My reason being that Moulson and Campbell had the lowest total in penalty minutes among the three players but because Moulson is a forward and put up better scoring numbers than Campbell and did so an a more offensively challenged team in the Islanders, Moulson gets the award.

Now we move on to the Ted Lindsay Award, which is awarded annually to the National Hockey League's most outstanding player in the regular season as judged by the members of the NHL Players Association. The nominees for the award this year are: Henrik Lundqvist, of the New York Rangers, Evgeni Malkin, of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Steven Stamkos, of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Now this is similar to the Hart as League MVP but this award is voted on by the players, as the Hart is voted on by hockey writers. So as to who wins the Lindsy this year, its hard to tell where the players will vote as to who they think is MVP, but if it were my guess I would say it goes to Steve Stamkos of Tampa Bay.

Next up is the Frank J. Selke Trophy, which is awarded to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game. The nominees this year are: David Backes, of the St. Louis Blues, Patrice Bergeron, of the Boston Bruins, and Pavel Datsyuk, of the Detroit Red Wings. Datsyuk has already won this trophy three times, in fact he won it three years in a row from 2008-2010, so he is no stranger to this trophy. And from where I sit it looks as if the trophy will reside in Boston as Patrice Bergeron of the Bruins will walk away with the trophy. Now I know the Blues allowed the fewest goals in the NHL during the season, but as far as I'm concerned, Backes was spending too much time in the penalty box to really be viewed as a strong defensive forward. As for taking Bergeron over Datsyuk, well the Bruins allowed one less goal than Detroit did during the season. I know its a bit of a strange viewpoint but that's the way I see it

Up next is the Jack Adams award, which is awarded annually to the coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success. Nominated for the award this year is: Ken Hitchcock, of the St. Louis Blues, Paul MacLean, Ottawa Senators, and John Tortorella, of the New York Rangers. Tortorella has already won this award once before and that was in 2004 when he lead his club to the Stanley Cup Championship as head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning. In history only twice has the winner of this award led his team to a Stanley Cup Title in the spring, and only twice has a coach won the award after being named replacement in the middle of the season. This year we can add a third coach to take over a team mid season and win the award as I have Ken Hitchcock of the Blues winning the trophy. Here is my reasoning. Yes all three coaches are very very good but with Torts he already had a good team to work with in the Rangers and he already had success with them. As for MacLean he did a great job behind the bench in his first NHL season and was able to get Ottawa to fall into the 8th spot in the east. But the reason I give the nod to Hitchcock to win the award this year is simple. He took over the team on November 6th when they fired Davis Paine who was coach at the time. When Hitchcock took the helm, the blues were out of the playoffs, but by years end they were the 2nd best team in the NHL. For one man to cause that big of a turn around in his hockey club, Hitch gets the trophy this year.

Now we take a look at the Calder Memorial Trophy, which is given to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League. This is the only award that a player can win only once in his career. This years nominees are: Adam Henrique, of the New Jersey Devils, Gabriel Landeskog, of the Colorado Avalanche, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, of the Edmonton Oilers. Now then as for who gets this years award, its a bit of a challenge to decide. Nugent-Hopkins and Landeskog were tied with 52 points each, and Henrique was one point behind them at 51. Usually I have seen guys win this award because they put up unreal numbers either on offense or defense, but that isn't really the case here. i'm picking my winner for this years trophy based on two things, one how good of an offensive year did they have, and two did their team make the playoffs. With both those things factored in, Adam Henrique will walk away with the Calder this year.

Next up is the James Norris Memorial Trophy, which is awarded annually to the National Hockey League's top defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position. The three nominees for this year are: Zdeno Chara, of the Boston Bruins, Erik Karlsson, of the Ottawa Senators, and Shea Weber, Nashville Predators. Chara has claimed this trophy once already in his career, winning the award in 2009. Karlsson had the best offensive numbers out of anybody listed here, with 79 points, but the Senators didn't make much noise and backed into the playoffs. As for the actual winner of the award, its gonna go once again to Big Z Zedeno Chara. The reason being is that Chara not only put up solid offensive numbers but because of his play at the blueline the Bruins once again won their division and finished 2nd in the east.

Now we look at the Veznia Trophy which is awarded to the NHL's Top Goalie. The nominees for the award this year are: Henrik Lundqvist, of the New York Rangers, Jonathan Quick, of the Los Angeles Kings , and Pekka Rinne, of the Nashville Predators. Now with this trophy I base my winner on two things, one where the team finished in the regular season, and two the statistical numbers the goalie put up. Lundqvist and Quick played the lowest number of games compaired to Renne, and the Kings had the 8th seed in the west. Lundqvist played on the best team in the east and split a little more time with Marty Biron his backup As for what order I have for the winners, well here it is. I have Quick finishing 3rd in my book because he was the only one to have lost 20 games during the regular season, although he paced the league with 10 shutouts. He just got red hot at the right time as did the rest of the Kings. Lundqvist had a solid season but is going to come up short. The reason being is that his Rangers were the best team in the east all year and that had a large part to do with a total team effort. The winner is going to be Rinne because he was relied on more by Nashville and he won 40 games this season which was good enough to help Nashville to a 4th place finish in the tough western conference. So with all the variables thrown in Pekka Rinne walks away with the Veznia this year.

The final award up for discussion is the Hart Trophy which is awarded to the league's most valuable player. Nominees for the trophy this year are: Henrik Lundqvist, of the New York Rangers, Evgeni Malkin, of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Steven Stamkos, of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Now with this trophy there some things of note. The last two goalies to win the award were Jose Theodore and Dominik Hasek. The reason I feel both guys won the awards is because they carried their respective clubs to good winning season and playoff births. Lundqvist didn't do that this season, as I feel it was a total team effort as to why the Rangers were the best in the east. As this award pertains to Steven Stamkos I have him finishing 2nd in voting for the trophy. Yes he was the only man in the league this season to hit 60 goals and one of two to score over 50, Malkin being the other one. Stamkos did all of this for a Lightning club that missed the playoffs and finished 10th in the east. So with that being said Evgeni Malkin of the Penguins will be this years league MVP. The reason being is that because of his offensive explosion this year for the Penguins, and doing it all without Sidney Crosby for a good chunk of the year, he was able to get the Penguins to a 4th place finish in the East. Guarantee that if Malkin isn't in the Penguins lineup they don't make the playoffs this season.

There are my predictions for the 2012 NHL Awards!