By Burl Rolett

Come playoff time, the NHL's biggest beauties are forced to turn ugly.

It’s the third period in any NHL hockey game. Play is moving through the neutral zone. A forward crosses the red line and dumps the puck in. All of the sudden, the whistle blows and the crowd erupts.

Behind the play, there's a yard sale of sticks, gloves, elbow pads and helmets. Two big men have a hold of each other by the shirt collar. Their right arms are free, cocked and ready to throw.

They’ll swing at each other until they fall down or wear out. Then, the officials will break in and escort them to the sin bin for a well-deserved five-minute break. The two combatants will nod to each other across the glass and say, “Good scrap, maybe we’ll go again sometime.”

After all, it’s nothing personal — that’s just their job. They’re the enforcers. They’re the guys that coaches send out when there’s a score to settle. They fight to get even, and more importantly, they fight so their teammates don’t have to.

It usually only takes one good fight to quell rising tensions and prevent an all-out brawl. After the scrap, the game calms down and the players get back to playing hockey. It's a system that relies on hockey players to police themselves, and they do a good job of it. When games get chippy, both checking lines hit the ice. Two guys go at it, and that’s the end. That’s how it’s supposed to happen, at least.

But this season’s NHL playoffs have been different. Games have been full of cheap shots and sucker punches that have started Hanson-brother style melees. Rather than the added violence serving as an indictment of fighting, however, it’s actually a perfect example of what happens when the enforcers aren’t allowed to do their jobs.

Enforcers play an important role in the NHL. They protect the goaltenders and goal scorers and they do the dirty work on behalf of their superstars. But come the playoffs, enforcers see their ice time diminish. Teams often can’t afford to waste a roster spot on an enforcer, and coaches don’t want to throw away even one shift in the name of getting even. As a result, some of hockey’s best players are forced to take the enforcer’s work into their own hands and put themselves in harm’s way.

Claude Giroux and Sidney Crosby, two of the world’s most skilled hockey players, fought in the first period of a Flyers-Penguins game last week, a scrum that quickly devolved and ended up with each team losing its top defenseman to a game misconduct. 

“I loved it,” Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said in a post-game press conference. “That’s playoff hockey, isn’t it? Two of the world’s best players dropping the gloves.”

If the same interviewer had gotten to Laviolette at the moment his top playmaker tangled with Crosby, he probably would have had a different opinion. After all, that’s a job for Flyers forward Zac Rinaldo, the scrappy forward who logged 232 penalty minutes, including 15 fighting majors, in the regular season.

But Rinaldo also has a history of taking bad penalties. He was suspended in February for a charging penalty and fined $5,000 for two unnecessary penalties in one game in the same month. Just two games before the start of the playoffs, Rinaldo was whistled for a five-minute major and earned a game misconduct for a check from behind. Since then, Laviolette has limited his goon’s ice time, particularly as his team struggles on the penalty kill.

At least the Flyers have someone to turn to when things get rough, though. Other playoff teams simply don’t have room on their bench for an enforcer.

That was the case for Crosby’s Penguins. Steve MacIntyre, a 6’5”, 250-pound winger, is one of hockey’s most feared brawlers. But since Jan. 11, he's done his damage in the minors, with AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Pittsburgh recalled MacIntyre just once, for a little insurance ahead of an April matchup with the Flyers. For the rest of the season, there was no room for Macintyre on the 23-man roster.

The Detroit Red Wings are in the same boat, leaving them unable to appropriately respond to Nashville defenseman Shea Weber's dirty play early in the playoffs.

“We don’t have the personnel to get back at Weber, so we might as well get on with that,” Head Coach Mike Babcock said.

That wasn't entirely true. Babcock had a 6’3”, 229-pound monster on his bench in Todd Bertuzzi, a veteran of more than his share of fights. But Bertuzzi was also Detroit's sixth-leading scorer. With the Wings going up against one of the league’s top goaltenders, Babcock understood that he couldn’t afford to lose any offensive firepower, even if just for a five-minute stretch. (He would eventually let Bertuzzi loose, and after fighting Weber, the game continued with no major conflicts.)

In St. Louis, the Blues have run into a similar problem. Forward Ryan Reaves is the epitome of an NHL enforcer, amassing a team-leading 124 penalty minutes in just 60 games. But beyond his fists, Reaves doesn’t have much to offer, and so he's played only eight minutes so far this postseason.

In Reaves’s absence, the second game between the Blues and San Jose Sharks was filled with questionable play. In the third period, the Sharks' T.J. Galiardi left his feet to hit Blues forward Andy McDonald in the head. McDonald had already missed more than 50 games this year with a concussion. The situation escalated a few shifts later, when McDonald took matters into his own hands. He slew-footed San Jose All-Star Logan Couture in an inexcusably dirty play that put both players at risk for injury: Couture from the hit and McDonald from any Sharks player seeking retribution.

Then the game spiraled out of control. Every other whistle started a scrum, and the third period ended in a 10-man fight that produced 48 penalty minutes and left Sharks center Dominic Moore with a broken nose. Throughout it all, Reaves was glued to the bench, unable to settle the dispute once and for all.

Contrast that with the battle out West between the Coyotes and Blackhawks, a series marked by Raffi Torres' game three hit on Chicago star Marian Hossa that knocked Hossa out of the game and likely ended his season. After the game, Coach Joel Quenneville called the hit brutal and the officiating a disgrace. Blackhawks Captain Jonathan Toews questioned Torres’s character, saying “there’s no remorse” in a player like Torres.

The series had reached its boiling point, and frustrations could have easily spilled from the newspapers onto the ice. But both teams had their peacekeeping pugilists on hand, and five minutes into game four, the Coyotes' Paul Bissonnette and Blackhawks' Brandon Bolling dropped the gloves. They swung at each other until they fell down and then they skated away without words. Anyone who had seen the previous game, or another similar game this postseason, might have thought, “Here we go again.”

But everyone on the bench saw it differently. It was over. The two enforcers had their say and it was time to get back to hockey. There were no more fights and only eight total penalty minutes for the rest of the game.

Bissonnette did receive a game misconduct, because his jersey was not fastened down in accordance with NHL rules. But the Coyotes didn’t miss him. He’d done his job, and his scrap had saved a skill player the trouble — and inherent danger — of a score left unsettled.

Burl Rolett is Began in '96's Midwestern guest contributor. He writes regularly about the Chicago Bears at his blog, Grabowskis in Exile.

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Image via The Washington Post

By Joe Schackman

The Devils sold Newark, N.J., an arena filled with false promises of economic prosperity, and the city is now paying the price.

New Jersey Devils owner Jeff Vanderbeek promised Newark that at least 41 times a year, the city's bars, restaurants and stores would be packed with Devils fans on the way to games at his brand new arena.

That would be on top of the countless concerts, circuses and various other events that the Prudential Center would host. The $200 million arena would be the "the economic engine" that local politicians had been searching for, powering Newark into a new, lucrative era.

Now, nearly five years since the building opened its doors, Newark has yet to reap the rewards it was promised. But that hasn’t stopped Vanderbeek from continuing to hold the city hostage.

Then-Mayor Sharpe James signed the arena deal in 2004, bringing two professional sports teams to Newark for the first time in its long history. The Brick City, notorious for its violence and economic struggles, was for once brimming with hope and confidence.

However, the deal was not as sweet as it sounded. James, whose legacy is defined by backroom arm-twisting and shady arrangements, had signed an agreement with Vanderbeek that put Newark in a financial hole.

The city put up $210 million in bonds to pay for the stadium's construction. In contrast, the Devils — the main tenant — paid about $100 million. According to the original deal, the arena would be owned and operated by the city, with the Devils and other organizations paying rent. Newark would also own the parking lots surrounding the arena, which were expected to provide the revenue the city needed to recoup their original investment.

But this is where things get messy. A letter signed by James’ business administrator allowed the Devils to take $2.7 million annually of parking revenue. It's an arrangement made outside of the original agreement, but is nevertheless signed by the team and former city officials.

Since Mayor Cory Booker took office in 2006, he has fought that rigged deal. He brought the Devils back to the bargaining table a number of times, but for unknown reasons, the talks always fell through.

Predictably, Booker blamed the Devils and the Devils blamed the city, a disagreement that led Booker to withhold the parking funds from the team. In turn, the Devils withheld their $3 million rent check. Things got ugly after that, and the case eventually went to arbitration, where Booker and the city lost. Newark must now pay the Devils the $15.3 million in parking revenue and capital gains, while the Devils are responsible for paying back rent. Newark comes out the net loser in the decision by about $600,000.

Newark's arena issues are just the latest example why building stadiums are not as beneficial to their communities as they are normally billed. Arenas are insanely expensive, difficult to maintain and rarely provide the economic benefits that owners and local politicians claim. Studies on the economic impact of stadiums make it clear that there is little stimulus generated by erecting a sports arena.

The contrast between expectations and reality is even starker in a poor economy. Most states and cities already can't afford to throw hundreds of millions of dollars toward something that doesn’t grow the surrounding community. When the tradeoff is taking money away from funding for education, road and bridge maintenance, airports and so on, the decision should be easy.

But regardless of the mounting evidence, the same thing happens almost every time. A professional team puts together a proposal to a city asking for vast amounts of money to build a state-of-the-art stadium. Their report includes all types of fudged numbers and weak economic studies that claim X amount of dollars and jobs will be created by the public’s investment. Local politicians bat the idea around, while outspoken newspaper columnists and loudmouth fans make it clear that they want their team around at any cost. Fans represent a small but influential minority, and public officials don’t want to be the ones responsible for letting a team walk. So they strike a deal with the owners, citing the exact mythical economic benefits the team is claiming.

It's happened all across the country, in cities like Cincinnati, Miami and, of course, Newark. Minneapolis and Los Angeles could be next.

The Newark arena controversy came to a head when Booker attacked Vanderbeek and the Devils during a press conference, calling the former Lehman Brothers executive a “high-class huckster and hustler.” Strong words are Booker's only weapon at this point, and he can only hope that public pressure forces the team back to the negotiating table. Otherwise, cash-strapped Newark will have to find a way to live with $2.7 million less per year.

It's likely too late for places like Newark and Cincinnati and Miami. They can now only hope that their mistakes serve as a warning to other cities considering ill-fated deals of their own.

Joe Schackman is an editor and co-founder of Began in '96.

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By Adam Cancryn, Joe Schackman and Neill Thupari

The year 2012 is a big one in the sports universe. There's the Olympics and the Euro Cup, not to mention two dream teams, multiple new storylines and a bunch of athletes waiting to make their mark on the world. The Began in '96 staff took time to gaze into their crystal ball and answer 10 questions about what this year will hold.

1. Let's start off easy: Name the 2012 winners of the upcoming Super Bowl, the NBA and NHL championships and the World Series.

Joe: The NFC is just kicking the shit out of each other. The Giants downed the Packers and the Niners beat the Saints. Who knows what is coming out of that championship game? So I’m going with the Ravens. They are a dangerous pick because they have the ability to lay an egg out of nowhere. But their defense is menacing. Ray Rice is one of the most complete backs in the league and should absolutely gash New England's defense. If Joe Flacco can get hot (lukewarm for most QBs) then they can battle with the best of them.

NBA- Oklahoma City Thunder, baby. Youth is the X-factor in this year’s condensed season. Kevin Durant is maybe the best pure scorer in the league right now, and Russell Westbrook is that perfect complementary piece you need to survive in the current superstar format of the league. The only question is whether Westbrook is mature enough to accept that role.

World Series- It's so easy to pick the Angels, but goddamn are they good. So yeah, those guys.

Neill: I’m so angry Joe took the Ravens. THE REVERSE JINX COMETH! I would love to pick my hometown Purple and Black, but I can’t do it. I’m mentally preparing myself for the evil empire from the Northeast to rain all over our parade in Foxboro. That being said, while my heart will be rooting hard for the Ravens, I’m going to go with the NEW YORK FOOTBALL GIANTS to win it all.

Why? Why the hell not? Just like Baltimore, they can come into a game and look like a team that is completely and utterly lost. They can be dysfunctional, unpredictable, and a heart attack in waiting for their fan base. Still, when they come into a game focused and playing up to their potential, I don’t think anyone’s better. Much the way Green Bay got hot last year, I see all the pieces coming together for a healthy Giants team. In the Super Bowl, they’ll beat the Pats, just like they did in 2008.

I’m not going to pretend like I know what is actually going to happen in the NBA this year, because I doubt anyone could reasonably predict anything with any sort of particularity. We have a 66-game schedule where older teams will struggle (see Lakers, Spurs, Celtics and Mavs) and younger teams will flourish (Thunder, Bulls, Knicks, Clippers and, believe it or not, the Indiana Pacers). That being said, most, if not all of the teams I’ve mentioned above will make the playoffs, and regardless of whatever crazy things happen this regular season, I think order will be restored come playoff time.

While I will enjoy rooting against them each playoff game, I’ll take the Miami Heat over the OKC Thunder in a fiercely contested NBA Finals, Russell Westbrook will cost the Thunder a championship because he can’t handle playing second fiddle.

While normally my NHL predictions consist of picking which team the Caps will have another playoff collapse against, I think I've got a pretty good chance at predicting who will hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup this spring. Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to the next dynasty in the NHL: The Boston Bruins. Move over, 90’s Redwings and Avalanche, there’s a new dynasty in town.

People are taking the Angels in the MLB, right? Well, if there’s anything that the Eagles and Heat superteams have taught me, it takes more than a year to put it all together. Then again, baseball is such an individualistic sport that it can be broken down into the Moneyball-esque sabermetrics so that things like team chemistry and clubhouse personnel become practically obsolete. Let’s just keep this jinx thing going and take the Red Sox.

Adam: In the NFL, I like the San Francisco 49ers to win the Super Bowl. They would have never been my pick even a few weeks ago, much less at the beginning of the season, but the playoffs so far have shown us that good defense still beats good offense. Of the teams remaining, the Niners have the best defense by far. The offense is no slouch either, thanks to a relentless running game and the Alex Smith we've been waiting to see for six years.

I see the Chicago Bulls pulling it off in the NBA Finals this year. Like Joe said, youth is key in a condensed season, but you need experience to go along with that youth. The Bulls have all the pieces in place, led by Derrick Rose, one of the best guards in the league. With all the attention paid to the Heat, Clippers and Lakers, Chicago hs had the luxury of flying under the radar a bit. They'll cruise to a high playoff seed, then turn it on and beat the Thunder in six.

Though I won't go as far as calling them a dynasty, the Boston Bruins sure do have the look of a repeat champion. Tim Thomas is as consistent as you'll get in goal, and the offense has incredible depth. That doesn't mean it'll be easy, though. Two teams to watch are the New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings. Both weren't supposed to be anywhere near as good as they are, but the Rangers have a top notch defense and Detroit has a its next franchise goaltender in Jimmy Howard.

Lastly, the World Series. The Yankees are officially scary again now that they've added Michael Pineda and Hiroki Kuroda to the rotation. They've slowly remolded themselves to resemble the championship teams of the late '90s, and have the firepower to beat the Angels as long as they stay healthy.

2. Which team in each of those four leagues will be the biggest surprise, and which will be the biggest disappointment in their upcoming seasons?

Joe: I have no idea who will surprise, which is the beauty of the NFL. But as far as disappointments, I think the Jets continue down their path of doom. Right now, they're like that surreal scene after a car crash, where everything is scattered on the ground and people are standing around in disbelief waiting for someone else to call 911. The Jets have a serious lack of leadership right now, and Rex Ryan will have to take a HUGE step forward as a head coach and leader to save next season.

Unless they get Peyton Manning. Then wow, will they be good.

I think this year’s surprise NBA team will end up being the Warriors. They beat the Heat in overtime last week, and Steph Curry's  shot is just so so pretty. Disappointment? The Knicks. I hate James Dolan.

In the MLB, the Nationals are going to be filthy. It'is kind of cheating to pick them because the team is stacked, but no one is talking about them thanks to the Marlins and Angels making the big moves and the Phillies’ and Braves’ firm grip on the division.

The Marlins will disappoint everyone. Mark Buehrle can’t be a workhorse forever, Jose Reyes’ legs are made of glass and Hanley Ramierez' pouting will be a giant fun sponge.

Neill: I think the Eagles will be back next year. It’s contingent on a man named Vick staying healthy, but for some reason, I’m inclined to give the Eagles a pass on their season this year. When you create a “dream team," as Vince Young so eloquently put it, you’re going to have some growing pains. They had those at first, and then in the last month they went 4-0, outscoring opponents 125-46.

I can only hope the disappointment will involve the Patriots, Cowboys or Steelers or Rex Ryan’s wife’s feet. But I think our biggest disappointment next year, unfortunately, will be a serious, life-altering injury in an NFL game. There are just too many hits these days where players are violently launching themselves at one another. It’s not healthy, it’s almost always unnecessary, and it’s downright dangerous. I used to get pumped and jacked up as much as the next guy when a big hit was laid out, but now I find myself cringing at the sight of these receivers and defenders cracking skulls. I have never wanted to be more wrong about a prediction in my life, but I just have a sick feeling in my stomach about this one.

Adam: In the NFL, the wheels will finally fall off for the Pittsburgh Steelers. They've held on admirably over the past few seasons despite injuries and an aging defense, but the division is getting tougher while Pittsburgh spins its wheels. 

The Dolphins showed serious improvement over the back half of this past season, and that should continue as the rebuilding effort gains momentum. Matt Moore, Reggie Bush and Brandon Marshall are a solid core. 

I think the Boston Red Sox will take a big step back this year as well. I'm not convinced last year's collapse won't stretch into this season, and personnel-wise they haven't kept up with the Yankees. Just by virtue of the fact that a big chunk of their schedule comes against New York and the Tampa Bay Rays, the Sox could have major struggles. 

On the other end of the spectrum, the Cincinnati Reds might finally put it all together. They've been the trendy pick for a few years now, and for good reason. If the Reds get their rotation in sync, they could threaten deep into the postseason. 

If the Heat don't win an NBA championship, they're the league's biggest disappointment once again, hands down. And it's hard to call this a surprise given how much attention they've gotten, but the Los Angeles Clippers can go deep into the playoffs. From what we've seen so far this year, they've already meshed and are firing on all cylinders.

On the ice, the Pittsburgh Penguins have had trouble keeping up with the rest of their talented division. Even with Sydney Crosby still working his way back to full strength, the Pens should have enough talent compete for a Stanley Cup. Instead, they've had to battle it out with the rest of the pack.

This has been a season of surprises so far, from the Rangers and Red Wings to the St. Louis Blues. Even the Winnipeg Jets are not nearly as terrible as was predicted. 

3. Within those four sports, what will be 2012's single biggest storyline?

Neill: I believe that the first well known, active athlete in one of the four major sports will announce that he’s gay. Amid all the homosexual, pedophiliac sex scandals that have come to light this year, I truly believe that an athlete will reveal his homosexuality and then proceed to speak out about gays in sports. He'll become an advocate in sports, so to speak, educating many on the struggles and realities of homosexual existence in professional sports. The most interesting part of this will be to see how teammates, opponents, fans and the always mindful media will react to an active athlete coming out.

Adam: Peyton or Pujols, take your pick. How the Indianapolis Colts handle Peyton Manning will grab headlines throughout the NFL offseason because of the league-wide implications. If he stays, the Colts will have to delicately balance the Manning-Andrew Luck relationship (or maybe they won't even take Luck in the draft?) and if he leaves he makes his new team an instant contender.

Pujols, meanwhile, will be the most scrutinized athlete since LeBron. His mega contract comes with expectations the Angels will win a championship immediately.

4. What about the biggest storyline outside the traditional big four?

Joe: Tiger Woods getting back into the winner's circle. This is the year he returns to form. He will never be early 2000s Tiger, but he is going to start winning again. A lot.

Neill: This summer, all of Europe will be captivated for three weeks by UEFA European Cup. Spain comes in as the returning champion, after having dominated the international football scene for the past  six years and become just the second team in history to simultaneously hold the World Cup title and the European Cup. The scary thing? Spain might be even better than they were four years ago. They could start nine out of 11 players from FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, with Spain’s attack led by Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas in the midfield. Other contenders include a young German squad and a French team that’s full of talent but still reeling from its internal meltdown two years ago in South Africa.

Adam: The Federer/Nadal/Djokovic battle for supremacy will rule tennis once again. Each have something to prove this year, and they'll have to do it during a golden era for the sport. And there's always the potential that Jo Wilfried Tsonga crashes the party. 

5. Scandals dominated the sports landscape in 2011. Where will we see the controversy come from this year?

Joe: I think in 2012 we see the first serious threat to the credibility of the NCAA. The Atlantic fired a warning shot in 2011 with their fantastic piece on the corruption in the organization. The NCAA in response allowed a $2,000 stipend to be added to the scholarship, basically admitting the current deal is inadequate. With O’Bannon v. the NCAA (now In re: NCAA Student Athlete Name & Likeness Licensing Litigation) coming down the pipeline in 2013, the NCAA is in a precarious position. One day a championship team will refuse to take the field/floor and the NCAA will crumble. 2012 could be the year. 

Neill: In 2011, fans were clued in to the darker realities of booster payments, illegal benefits, NCAA violations, child pornography, child sex abuse and, worst of all, the multiple cover-ups that took place at institutions of higher learning. These shadowy acts were hidden for years to preserve the millions of dollars poured into college athletics. Meanwhile, the players remain unpaid, forced to kill themselves for sports where less than 5% of athletes turn professional. But rest assured people, as long as schools' programs keep winning, all shall be forgiven.

In 2012, in addition to the horrifying, gory and troubling details continuing to emerge from the Sandusky and Bernie Fine prosecutions, the sports world will have to endure more of these controversies across college (and possibly high school and youth) athletics as more victims come forward to call out their abuser. I truly do not believe that Americans realize how prevalent of a problem sexual abuse is in youth sports. 

Adam: It seems like it's been a while since someone took aim at AAU athletics, and it's not like those teams have cleaned up their act one bit. I wouldn't be surprised to see an investigation into pay-for-play arrangements or high schools that are essentially diploma mills.

6. There's always a subject or story that get completely overblown. What will we never want to hear about again after 2012?

Joe: Tim Tebow. He is getting overblown right now and it will only continue through the summer and next season. I am so tired of hearing about Tim Tebo. Sportscenter is on right now and Herm Edwards Live is breaking down Tebow. The next three topics? America is Tebowing, then Tebow Bio, followed by Urban on Tebow. Not to mention the fact that they are running fan tweets about Tebow on the bottom of the screen.

Neill: There are a lot of obvious things jumping out at me right now: Timothy Richard Tebow, Gerry Sandusky, the Miami Heat, Kobe Bryant’s wrist, Tim Tebow, Pacquiao-Mayweather, hey, did I mention Jesus H. Tebow? But I think I have a good one. In August, London is scheduled to host the Olympics which means MICHAEL PHELPS! MICHAEL PHELPS MICHAEL PHELPS MICHAEL PHELPS. Not sure if anyone knows this, but Mr. Phelps is a swimmer. He likes to swim, rip bong hits, drive drunk and then somehow become the symbol of all that is heroically American. I’m already sick of seeing his name in print. And the thought of Bob Costas saying his name 6,980 times an hour? I’m done. I will never want to hear about Michael Phelps after 2012. May he breaststroke his way off into the sunset, never to return.

Adam: Peyton Manning and his neck. It already screams "Ed Werder reporting live from Manning's front lawn," and the coverage should ramp up as soon as the NFL season is over. We'll get minute-by-minute updates on what exercises he's doing and BREAKING NEWS ALERTS every time he turns his head a half-inch farther to the right and left.

7. Any story you think will be undercovered this year?

Neill: I already spoke a bit about soccer, but there is a renaissance of sorts taking place in European club soccer. Just last year we were treated to an incredible stretch of soccer where FC Barcelona played its fiercest, most hated rival Real Madrid four times in three weeks, with three different trophies on the line. To give you an idea of what Real Madrid/Barcelona is like, imagine the Red Sox and Yankees on 10 years of steroids. Even UNC/Duke is like 1986 Barry Bonds, and Barca/Real is 2006 Bonds. The hatred. The disgust. The gamesmanship. I’m literally salivating right now. Just give soccer a chance, people. Watch Barcelona play Real Madrid at the Camp Nou on April 22, 2012 at 12:00 p.m. EST. I promise you won’t regret it.

Adam: Drowned out by the attention given to Michael Phelps will be the rest of the talented US Olympic swim team. Missy Franklin is the new name to know, but the entire men' and women's squads have the chance to take home multiple golds. And gear up for the team relays, which are the most intense five minutes in sport.

8. There are rule changes ever year, some subtle and some—like all the NFL's recent changes—not so subtle. What rule change would you like to see in 2012?

Joe: It is time the MLB embraces video review. How many important calls can umpires get wrong before baseball stops living in the past? Umpires are absurdly good at their job, but they are still human. When you have the option to get these calls right, you need to embrace it.

Neill: Joe’s answer regarding MLB video review is right on target. My rule change? I want CBS to stop putting the crappiest play-by-play commentators on air each NFL Sunday. I want Gus Johnson to call each and every single NCAA Tournament game, even if that means the games will be tape delayed and he’ll do them afterwards. That’s the rule I want.

Adam: I agree wholeheartedly with Joe, but I'd settle with fixing the replay system we do have. The NFL challenge system is unnecessary; the officials should just review all controversial plays. Teams shouldn't be penalized for wanting to get the referees to do their jobs right. 

9. A sports media question: Yahoo! Sports arguably won the 2011, breaking a string of huge stories. What media outlet will rule the coming year?

Neill: I’m going with a big underdog. I’m betting that none other than ESPN makes a huge comeback! Believe in the underdogs, people!

Joe: Is it cheating to say Yahoo! again? I am a conspiracy theorist, and I just don’t see the CBS’ and Fox’s of the worlds taking down major sports organizations and figures while they televise the games and make so much money off the product. For example, no way ESPN goes after USC like Yahoo! did when it stands to gain so much from a potential USC title run.

The good news is the door is now open to sites like Yahoo! and Outkick the Coverage to go after these big stories that the giant outlets don’t want to break. I’m also excited to see Deadspin’s new look under Tommy Craggs.

Adam: I'm also going to cheat a little bit and say Twitter will rule 2012. Already we're seeing more athletes find out they've been traded on the social media platform before anyone tells them in person, and Twitter's accessibility and speed means everyone is a reporter and anyone can break news. While professional outlets are the ones that do the in-depth reporting and confirming, more of those stories will be started by rumors that originated on Twitter.

10. Finally, let's get three predictions about anything within the sports universe. The first one should have a good chance of happening, the second one should be plausible and the third should be downright outlandish.

Joe: 1) The New York Mets will be the worst team in baseball. 

2) Peyton Manning restructures his contract so Colts can draft Andrew Luck, who doesn’t play anything outside of garbage time in 2012 season.

3) Mr. Irrelevant, the final pick in the 2012 NFL draft, wins Rookie of the Year.

Neill: 1) Tiger Woods wins two Majors in 2012.

2) Tiger Woods wins four Majors in 2012.

3) Tiger Woods strolls into the PGA Championship this year at The Ocean Course on Kiawah Island, S.C., having won the first three majors. He shows up Thursday morning with 12 gorgeous supermodels from all over the world, one wearing the 2012 Green jacket as she chain smokes, and the others fighting over carrying the Claret jug and the U.S. Open trophy. Tiger roars to a wire-to-wire win, reducing Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy to tears in the process. After accepting the Wannamaker trophy, Tiger thanks no one but himself, blasts Stevie Williams and pours out champagne for his father. A guy can dream.

Adam: 1) An SEC team will play for the NCAA football championship for the seventh straight year.

2) Yu Darvish will secure a $100+ million contract, and then be a major, Hideki Irabu-level disappointment.

3) The Heat get knocked out of the playoffs again, prompting LeBron James to say "screw it" and go out for the NFL. He's signed by the Redskins.

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By Adam Cancryn

As Martin Brodeur enters his 20th, and possibly last, season in the NHL, a look back at how the goalie's unparalleled dominance changed the game of hockey forever.

When Martin Brodeur took to the ice Oct. 8, it marked what will likely be an 82-game farewell tour for one of hockey’s legends.

The word “legend” (and its adjective offshoot, “legendary”) is thrown around a lot nowadays, especially in sports. It’s used as a sort of single word hype machine to elevate someone or something above the hordes of “great” players making “great plays.”

Albert Pujols isn’t just a great power hitter, for example, he’s a legend among power hitters (lest someone conflate his abilities with the mere power hitting greatness of a Gary Sheffield or Josh Hamilton). There are a bunch of speedy running backs in the NFL, but Chris Johnson? His speed is legendary, if only by an extra 0.1 second.

Blake Griffin’s dunks? Legendary. Sidney Crosby’s stick-handling? Legendary. Some random center fielder’s diving catch during that random July game? Legendary.

Even the ads for this year’s MLB playoffs breathlessly report that “Legends are born in October.” Since the World Series is routinely clinched in early November, I can only imagine what brilliant slogan they have ready for next month. “Legends go through their angsty teenage stage in November?”

The bottom line is that, like “unbelievable,” “awesome,” “impossible” and a host of similar terms, the word rarely fits the action. A complete game two-hitter in the playoffs doesn’t make you a legend any more than spray painting a cow blue and carrying around an axe for Halloween makes you Paul Bunyan. It takes something more, something that vaults a player above the rest of his team, above the rest of his generation and above the rest of his era and plants him firmly within the annals of his chosen sport.

Martin Brodeur has that something more. That’s the easy part.

Much more difficult is figuring out why he has that something more, why he will be placed among the Howes, Gretzkys, Roys, etc. as a member of that sliver of the NHL population that occupies a higher plane, looking down on decades worth of hockey’s proletariat.

The statistics are certainly there: first in career wins, shutouts, saves and games played. Nine-time all star, three-time Cup winner. Four Vezinas and five Jennings trophies. Two Olympic gold medals and another World Cup gold. By any category you can measure a goaltender, Brodeur is up there with the greatest ever. And he’s done so while routinely starting 70+ games a year, a feat that in today’s mix-and-match league takes a combination of durability, high-level consistency and determination.

But stats, as we climb the ladder toward hockey’s legends, provide diminishing returns. Stats won’t tell us why Martin Brodeur is on another plane compared with, say, Curtis Joseph, who for many seasons matched Brodeur’s statistical accomplishments. No, there has to be something more.

That something more in Brodeur’s case, I think, is this: Beyond the gaudy numbers and numerous accomplishments, he changed the way the very game is played.

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When Brodeur first took over as the Devils’ goaltender as a 21-year-old, he was already something of a dying breed. He was the rare non-butterfly goalie among the millions of hockey youth that had risen through the ranks during the reign of Patrick Roy.

Roy was patient zero for the butterfly style revolution, the practice of protecting the net from the bottom up by splaying your legs and covering the five hole with your stick. Roy mastered this approach, becoming the poster boy for goaltending along the way. As a result, he touched off a widespread shift in developmental philosophy for goalies.

Brodeur came up in the midst of this era. But he took little from Roy’s on-ice style. Instead, he chose to take some small lessons and meld them into a style of his own.

"One thing I was scared of growing up was being predictable.” Brodeur told the New York Post in 2009. “I didn't want to be a guy who played the same way over and over, wanted to make sure it was a challenge to shoot on me. And physically, I thought I would get tired, having to go down on every single shot."

Brodeur eschewed acrobatics, opting instead for proper angles. He became an expert in geometry rather than interpretive dance. His peers relied on the organized chaos of flopping and flailing that is the staple of the butterfly. Brodeur opted for a calmer hybrid of stand-up and butterfly, an approach that cut down on difficult saves through perfect positioning.

"It's nothing about style really, but about fundamentals, how I get myself in position to make the save that's important to me," Brodeur said in that same 2009 Post article. "We give up 8-10 fewer shots a game here than other places because of the way I control rebounds."

It wasn’t as exciting, but it was effective. The hybrid style caught on. A generation after Roy made the butterfly the only philosophy worth teaching, Brodeur had forced coaches to think again. Watch any hockey game now, from pee wee to the pros, and you’ll almost certainly be watching a descendant of the Martin Brodeur School of Goaltending.

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There are a number of explanations for why the Devils’ defense was so dominant throughout the ‘90s and early 2000s.

They had great defenders, led by Hall of Famer Scott Stevens and speedy linemate Scott Niedermayer. Brian Rafalski put in some of his best years as a New Jersey blueliner, and Ken Daneyko provided enough muscle to settle the score when the gloves came off. In time, that old guard seamlessly handed off to a new crop of highly skilled defenders, led by Paul Martin and Colin White.

New Jersey also pioneered the neutral zone trap, which clogged up offensive passing lanes and made skating down the middle of the ice a treacherous venture indeed (just ask Paul Kariya or Eric Lindros). In effect, it became the equivalent of a soccer team continually holding the ball in the far corner. The strategy frustrated opponents, limited offensive rushes and killed time. It was dull, uninspiring and brutally effective.

Together, these two components made for a very good defensive hockey team. But what propelled the Devils from just very good to perpetual Stanley Cup contenders was Brodeur.

Brodeur was the constant, the crux of the team around him. He oversaw the transition from old guard to new, and coordinated the in-game swirl of skaters around him.

In addition to acting as goalie and quarterback, he was a third defender, handling all of the pucks that the trap forced opponents to dump into the zone. Just as he had done in goal, Brodeur outside the crease mastered all of the angles of the ice. He could clear the zone with a simple flick off the boards, or hit a streaking forward 40 feet up the ice with ease.

That ability meant defenders could aggressively pressure opponents without fear of getting caught too far forward. It meant Stevens and Daneyko and White could patrol the middle, searching for skaters with their heads down. It meant the Devils could take chances, and turn its suffocating defense into a fast-break offense at a moments’ notice. Brodeur’s exceptional vision and passing ability were the keys to the Devils’ effectiveness. He was (and still is) quite simply, the greatest stick-handling goalie ever.

But don’t take it from me. Take it from the 29 other teams in the league. After years of watching their offenses neutered by Brodeur’s defensive play outside of the crease, the NHL in 2005 instituted a rule preventing goalies from handling the puck behind the goal line, except for a small trapezoid-shaped area behind the net. The change, a result of a campaign led not coincidentally by the former general manager of the rival Philadelphia Flyers, soon became known as the Brodeur rule:

Previously, a goaltender could play the puck anywhere in his own end of the ice. A goaltender like Brodeur, with his ability to pass the puck up-ice, in effect became a third defenseman.

''If they had 30 Martin Brodeurs out there, that rule wouldn't be there; nobody would have voted for it,'' Brodeur said. ''Or Rick DiPietro. There are just too many teams that didn't have these goalies that were ready to make sure the guys that were affecting the games weren't able to do it anymore.''

Martin Brodeur, just by playing goalie to the best of his abilities, had forced a fundamental change in the rules and strategy of hockey.

The NHL’s free-range goalie, now confined to a 28-foot trapezoidal pen designed especially for him,  matched a career high with 43 wins that year.

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The route that players take to their designation as legendary is not defined. Some attain that status just by showing up (Cal Ripken, Jr.). Some come up big when it counts (Joe Montana). Some forcing the game to adapt to them (Wilt Chamberlain, Brodeur), or meet any number of other qualifiers. It would, quite literally, be impossible to put satisfactory parameters on what makes a player legendary.

But let me submit one broad criterion that can at least serve as a starting point: An athletic legend is a person that leaves an indelible mark on his or her respective game, a mark that alters the way the game is perceived and forever weaves that person into the fabric of the game’s history.

Martin Brodeur was not the first hybrid goalie. He was not the only one to routinely handle the puck. But he was the best at both, so good that the game was compelled to catch up to him. And once it finally did adapt? He just went out and played even better.

Banner image via thehockeynews.com
Second image via daylife.com, third image via the New York Daily News

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