Mike Modano Announces Retirement!

One of the greatest American born NHL scorers Mike Modano Announced his retirement. Here is the story as posted on NHL.com:


Mike Modano turned to social media to announce his retirement on Tuesday.

Modano, the all-time leading NHL scorer among U.S.-born players, posted the news on his Facebook and Twitter accounts and also announced he will be holding a press conference Friday.

"After a long summer of thinking about my future, I've come to the decision that it's time to retire as a player from the NHL," Modano wrote on his Facebook page, a link to which he also posted to his Twitter account. "There's way too many people to thank here at this time and too much to say, so I have a press conference scheduled for early Friday afternoon. Check back Friday late afternoon for more. What a great ride it's been!"

Modano played 1,499 regular-season NHL games, including 1,459 with the Minnesota/Dallas franchise, and finished his career with 561 goals and 813 assists for 1,374 points. The first pick of the 1988 Entry Draft, he made his NHL debut with the North Stars in 1989 and played 21 seasons. The native of Livonia, Mich., returned home last season to play with the Red Wings, but injuries limited him to only 40 games.

"The greatest American player ever," former teammate Brett Hull told The Hockey News. "I don't think there's one better. He's by far No. 1."

A number of current players took to social media to congratulate Modano on his career.

"Congrats to (Modano) on a great career," tweeted Maple Leafs forward Joffrey Lupul. "One of my favorites growing up. Always enjoyed playing against him, Sakic and Yzerman the most.

"Congrats to mike modano on a great career, did alot of great things for hockey in the US over his career," tweeted Philadelphia Flyers forward James van Riemsdyk.

"Congrats to Mike Modano on a great career!" added Anaheim Ducks forward Bobby Ryan on his Twitter account. "The reason I picked number 9! What an awesome player, thanks for showing young Americans the way!"

Modano won the Stanley Cup with the Stars in 1999. He holds NHL records for the most goals, points, playoff points (145) and games played by a U.S.-born player.

He also holds Minnesota/Dallas franchise records for games played in the regular season, games played in the playoffs (174), goals in the regular season (557), goals in the playoffs (58), assists in the regular season (802), assists in the playoffs (87) and points in both the regular season (1,359) and playoffs (145).

Modano was named to the NHL's All-Rookie team in 1990 and played in eight All-Star Games over his career.



It is safe to make this statement, Modano is the greatest scoring americans of all time, one of the best forwards in the history of USA hockey and without a doubt will be in hall of fame in Toronto!

Big Surprises in NFL Week 1

The 2011 NFL Season kicked off with a big BANG! IT started last thursday with the first game of the year and a battle of the last two Super Bowl Champions in the New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers. This was a highs scoring affair as the Packers pulled one out by a 42-35 score. Arron Rogers showed why he has the reigns and making sure quickly that Packers fans forget all about Brett Farve. Of the local football clubs the Giants fall short to the Redskins 28-14. Eli Manning went 18 of 32 for 288 yards. His favorite targert was Hackem Nicks who caught 7 passes for 122 yards. The Giants offense shown good life through the first half but then all of a sudden no showed in the second half and allowed the Skins to walk back into the contest. If this is a sign of things to come in the future weeks for the Giants then it could be a very long season for Big Blue.

As for Gang Green the Jets had a tough go around with Dallas. The Jets took the game 27-24 in a close contest. Mark Sanchez of the Jets went 26 of 44 for 335 yards 2 TDs and a Pick. Looking at this as a Jets fan I'm a bit worried. I was a bit alarmed to find he threw 44 passes and barley completed half of them. I don't know how long he can hold up and get the Jets to the Playoffs. The other question I had from this game was the Jets running game. The Jets only ran the ball 15 times 10 carries by Shawn Greene for 26 Yards and LT had 5 Carries for 16 yards. Again as a Jets fan I'm hoping the running game turns up again or this could be a long season for us Jets Fans. There were a few bright spots for Gang Green. The biggest one on offense was Plaxico Burress. He had a TD Catch and started to show some flashes of his former self before his prison sentence. On Defense the punt unit came up huge blocking a Cowboys punt leading to the Game Tying Touchdown. And of course there was Derrel Revis interception that set up the game winnning field goal. Tony Romo of Dallas came out flying but after he lost his two biggest targets at wide reciever he seemed to shut down. But if your looking at the Jets next week against The jaguars.

So looking around the rest of the NFL one of the biggest surprises was the Buffalo Bills who exploded for 41 points as they blasted the Chiefs 41-7. The Buffalo Bills had been what most would call a bad team, I just never knew the Bills had it in them. Another surprise was the Miami Dolphins as they put up a fight against the New England Patriots but the Pats proved to be too much taking the game 38-24.

The two biggest performers from Week 1 for me were both Quarterbacks. First was Cam Newton. The rookie QB for Carolina played a great first game in the NFL throwing for 422 yards breaking the old record held by Payton Manning. Have to admit it was a pretty good opening day for Newton and I have to admit he put up a good fight on the opener. But the big question for him is how he handles next week against the Packers. The other big story was Tom Brady of the Pats who threw for over 500 yards in the monday night win over the Dolphins. I knew the guy was good but come on!

NHL Takes Another HIt as Plan Crash Kills 43

More sad news has struck the National Hockey League today as a plane crash kills members of a KHL team from Russia which included former NHL Talent. Here is the article from nhl.com this afternoon:

Plane crash in Russia involves KHL teamWednesday, 09.07.2011 / 2:07 PM / News
NHL.com
CommentPrintA plane crash near the city of Yaroslavl in Central Russia has claimed the lives of at least 43 people, according to Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry. The majority of victims were members of the Kontinental Hockey League club, Lokomotiv.

Lokomotiv has confirmed that the entire main roster, plus four players from the youth team, was on the plane.

"We have no team anymore," Vladimir N. Malkov, the team spokesman, said in a telephone interview with The New York Times. "All our starting players, and all the service people, they all burned in the crash."


Former NHLers among crash victims
PAVOL DEMITRA teams: OTT, STL, LAK, MIN, VAN
RUSLAN SALEI teams: ANA, FLA, COL, DET
Karel Rachunek teams: Ott, NYR, NJD
Karlis Skrastins teams: NSH, COL, FLA, DAL
Josef Vasicek teams: Car, NYI
Alexander Vasyunov teams: NJD
Brad McCrimmon teams (as coach) NYI, CGY, ATL, DET teams (as PLAYER)
BOS, PHI, CGY, DET, HFD, PHX

Coach Brad McCrimmon, forward Pavol Demitra, defenseman Ruslan Salei, forward Josef Vasicek, defenseman Karel Rachunek, forward Jan Marek, forward Alexander Vasyunov, defenseman Karlis Skrastins and goalie Stefan Liv are among the confirmed fatalities.

The deaths of McCrimmon, Salei, Vasicek, Rachunek, Skrastins and Liv were confirmed by the Russian Emergency Ministry. Demitra's passing was confirmed by his agent, Matt Keator, while the New Jersey Devils confirmed Vasyunov's death.

The crash, one of the worst in the history of sports, occurred at 4 p.m. Moscow time and the weather was sunny and clear, according to reports.

Eight crew members are also among the dead, according to reports. According to Russian aviation officials, two passengers survived the crash, but are in critical condition. According to Sovetsky Sport, one of the survivors is Russian forward Alexander Galimov.

Several hundred mourning fans wearing jerseys and scarves gathered in the evening at the Lokomotiv stadium to pay their respects.

"I knew half the team. I didn't believe it at first … then I felt sick," New York Rangers forward Artem Anisimov said according to Newsday's Steve Zipay.

Anisimov is from Yaroslavl and is a product of the Lokomotiv hockey school. He played for the team in the old Russian Superleague for two seasons, 2005-07.

"This is just awful," said Matt Keator, who was Demitra's agent. "He was such a popular guy with everyone he has ever played with."

Keator was in Russia visiting Demitra just three weeks ago. He spent some time with the Yaroslavl team during his visit.

"I was over there three weeks ago and they were a fun bunch. They seemed to be a great group of guys. Very tight," Keator said.

The Czech embassy in Moscow confirmed the deaths of Vasicek, Rachunek and Marek.
Vasicek played for the Carolina Hurricanes during part of his NHL career and McCrimmon played for the Hartford Whalers, which eventually became the Carolina Hurricanes. Carolina GM Jim Rutherford issued a statement on the tragedy.

“We are deeply saddened to learn of today's tragedy in Russia. Josef was a key part of the Hurricanes for six years, helping us achieve some of our greatest successes. More importantly, he was a great teammate on and off the ice, and was respected as a person as well as a player.

"Brad McCrimmon was a member of our team while we were still in Hartford, and was well-liked by all who came in contact with him. His presence in the hockey community will be greatly missed.

"Our thoughts and prayers go to the Vasicek and McCrimmon families, and the loved ones of all of today's victims."

The Lokomotiv roster was full of players with NHL ties.

McCrimmon played in the NHL and most recently served as an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings before taking the Yaroslavl job in May. The Russian Times confirmed that McCrimmon also died in the crash.

Defensemen Rachunek, Salei and Skrastins, as well as forwards Demitra and Vasicek all spent a good deal of time in the NHL.

Forward Vasyunov played 18 games with the New Jersey Devils this past season. Devils GM Lou Lamoriello confirmed that Vasyunov died in the crash.

"I can't say enough about him," Lamoriello told reporters Wednesday. "(Vasyunov) wanted to go over (to Russia) and play a lot and come back here. He was so proud to be a Devil."

"Though it occurred thousands of miles away from our home arenas, this tragedy represents a catastrophic loss to the hockey world -- including the NHL family, which lost so many fathers, sons, teammates and friends who at one time excelled in our League. Our deepest condolences go to the families and loved ones of all who perished."

Former NHLers Igor Korolev and Alexander Karpovtsev were listed as assistant coaches for Lokomotiv.

McCrimmon played defense for six NHL teams -- Boston, Philadelphia, Calgary, Detroit, Hartford and Phoenix -- in a 17-year career, appearing in 1,222 regular-season games in the NHL, collecting 81 goals, 322 assists and 1,416 penalty minutes.

He was an assistant coach with the New York Islanders, Calgary Flames, Atlanta Thrashers and the Red Wings. He also served as head coach of the Western Hockey League's Saskatoon Blades.

According to the reports on the crash, the plane, a Yakovlev Yak-42 passenger jet, went down and caught fire shortly immediately after taking to the air, crashing less than 2 kilometers from the airport.

The short- and medium-range Yak-42 has been in service since 1980. This particular plane has been in operation since 1993, according to officials. It was en route to Minsk, Belarus for a Thursday night game against Dynamo Minsk, Yaroslavl's opener to the 2011-12 KHL season.

Former Montreal Canadiens defenseman Brent Sopel, who is now playing in Russia, tweeted shortly after the crash: "In shock. Prayers out to all of the KHL families."

The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said the plane crashed immediately after taking off from an airport near the city on the Volga River, which is approximately 150 miles northeast of Moscow.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has sent his transport minister to the site of the crash.

A game between KHL teams Salavat Yulaev and Atlant in the central Russian city of Ufa was called off midway Wednesday after news of the crash was announced by KHL president head Alexander Medvedev.

"We are working to find an appropriate way to honor this club and begin the healing process from the deep loss so many of us feel today," the league said in a statement Wednesday

Russian Ice Hockey Federation President Vladislav Tretiak also expressed his feelings on the crash.

"We will do our best to ensure that hockey in Yaroslavl does not die, and that it continues to live for the people that were on that plane," he said.

International Ice Hockey Federation president Rene Fasel called the crash "the darkest day in the history of our sport."

"Despite the substantial air travel of professional hockey teams, our sport has been spared from tragic traffic accidents," Fasel said. “But only until now. This is the darkest day in the history of our sport. This is not only a Russian tragedy, the Lokomotiv roster included players and coaches from 10 nations."

"Though it occurred thousands of miles away from our home arenas, this tragedy represents a catastrophic loss to the hockey world -- including the NHL family, which lost so many fathers, sons, teammates and friends who at one time excelled in our League," said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. "Our deepest condolences go to the families and loved ones of all who perished."

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, founded in 1949 as the team of the Railways Ministry, is one of Russia's leading hockey teams and came runner up in the Kontinental Hockey League in 2008 and 2009. In 1997 it took the Russian Superleague title and won back-to-back championships in 2002 and 2003.



This is becoming an alarming trend for the NHL as there have already been a few other players who have passed away since the stanley cup finals. Since the finals, besides the gentleman listed above, the League has lost Wade Belak, who died of unknown causes on August 31st, Rick Rypien, who had committed suacide on August 15th and Derek Boogaard, who on May 13th died of an accidental death due to mixing of drugs and alchol. The hockey world has taken a big hit the last few months and those gentelmen will be missed both on and off the ice.

NFL Preview 2011

Ao after a scary few months during the lockout, we have the game back ready to rock and roll with week one of the 2011 NFL season. So after the lockout ended there was a frenzy to try and get players signed and ready for the start of the season, but we are ready to go. So before we look at the schedule for Week One of the season here are my predictions for the divisions in the NFL. We Start with the AFC East.

So this year the AFC East went through some dramatic changes in both New England and New York. The pats looking to improve from last season add two huge weapons in Albert Haynsworth and Chad Johnson. As if the Patriots weren't a dangerous opponent as is, through those two guys into the mix and I think it might be a done deal. As much as it pains me to say this I give the Patriots the division going 14-2. Giving the pats the most trouble will be the Cowboys Eagles and Jets. Now then as for the Jets they too had some big changes. Shaun Ellis and Braylin Edwards are both gone, but they did replace Edwards with Plaxico Burress. This will be another strong showing for Gang Green this year I see a 13-3 maybe 12-4 season and Wild Card winners for the Jets. As for the rest of the East it was the same old story quiet as usual. Here are my predictions for the AFC East:

1. Patriots
2. Jets (Wild Card)
3. Dolphins
4. Bills

Now moving on to the AFC North there wasn't much noise coming from the division as neither of the 4 teams made any noise. The Ravens still have the one of the top 5 D's in the league and Pittsburgh is well Pittsburgh. here is how I see the standings in the AFC North:

1. Steelers
2. Ravens
3. Browns
4. Bengals

Now for the toughest division in the AFC to judge the AFC South. Under normal circumstances I would have had the Colts a lock to either win the South or get the Wild Card but this year it might not happen. With Payton Manning having neck surgery and more than likley going to miss week 1 the Colts are going with Kerry Collins as their starting QB. Unless Payton Manning can come back 100% healthy sorry but the best I see for Indy is somewhere in the 8-8 to 10-6 range. Here's my predictions for the AFC South:

1. Jaguars
2. Texans
3. Colts
4. Titans

Finally for the AFC West. This looks to be another down year for the AFC West once again proving that teams in the western divisions of both leagues are weak and pathetic. Oakland will have more and more bad years as long as Al Davis continues to own this team so once again the Raiders will be well below .500. The other 3 teams I can see as .500 or maybe better clubs. Kanas City will sit at 8-8 and Denver and San Diego will fight it out for the title. Here is the AFC West:

1. Chargers
2. Broncos
3. Chiefs
4. Raiders

NOw moving over to the NFC East. This much like in the AFC is tough to call. The only teams in this division to make any noise are the Eagles and Giants. Dallas was quiet which was a surprise, and Washington seems to be loosing its grip. The Eagles sign Mike Vick to a long contract worth over $100 Million. They have obvious faith in Vick but can Vick be a good return on the investment and not be just a flash in the pan. Here is how I see the NFC East ending up:

1. Eagles
2. Giants
3. Cowboys
4. Redskins.

NFC North is up next and home to the reining champs the Green Bay Packers. The only team really posing a threat to the Pack in this division is the Bears as they always do. Minnesota will make some noise but will faid out near the end and the Lions well they are just the Lions and are still trying to rebuilt I don't consider them worth much right now just like the Raiders. Here is what I see for the NFC North:

1. Packers
2. Bears
3. Vikings
4. Lions

NFC South is up next. This may be the most even division of all in the NFL. No teams making REAL noise. I give the division to the Saints based on the fact that they have been a solid team for the last little while and most of the core is still in tact from the suprebowl team so the Saints take it. Atlanta will pose the biggest threat. This is a ball club that is starting to make a solid upswing. easy 12 wins for them this year. Here is the NFC South:

1. Saints
2. Falcons
3. Bucs
4. Panthers

Finally the weak NFC West. Arizona and Seattle are going to be the dominant forces as they always are and San Fran and St Louis are average at best. This is the easiest division to predict. So here is the NFC West:

1. Cardnials
2. Seahawks
3. 49ers
4. Rams

So there are my divisional predictions. Check back next week for a Week 1 recap!