In less than 13 hours, free agency will start. Last year, on June 30, 2008, this web site probably had 10-15 posts.
In fact, I remember one that I wrote about the 4 big free agents for the Rangers: Sean Avery, Jaromir Jagr, Brendan Shanahan, and Martin Straka. I presumed Straka would leave if Jagr stayed, that Shanahan would not be back, and Avery wouldn’t either. What I didn’t predict was that Avery would sign elsewhere, get banished from the NHL, and return half-priced in February. But, really, I doubt many people guessed that. I remember I also put a good word in for Mark Streit in hopes he would be a Ranger. And I said that Wade Redden was awful and no team, especially the Rangers, should overpay for him. Well.
Anyway, this year, not as many posts. The Rangers, up until about 6 hours ago, were up near the Cap, and the Islanders appear to be growing from the inside, or at least attempting to. Besides some fillers and 4th line players, the big news would be which players wouldn’t be returning.
Well, with Scott Gomez gone, $5M is freed up. The 3 players I would love to see don Rangers blue next season are, in order…
Mike Cammalleri, Mike Komisarek, Rob Scuderi
Cammalleri adds instant offense at a reasonable price. He scored 39 last year and had his 2nd 80+ point season (out of 4 career seasons). Plus, he’s only 27, so a 5-year deal for $24-25M wouldn’t be insane.
Remember how well Komisarek would shut down Jagr? He isn’t going to give you many points, but he will crush opponents, clear the crease, kill penalties, and he would go a lot way to shutting down Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin 6 times a year. Ah, but would he and Avery get along?
Scuderi will probably come cheap, maybe $1.5-2M. I think he grew up an Islanders fan, but even so, he can be enticed to playing in Manhattan. He did great in the Stanley Cup Finals, and gives his best every single shift. He would make a great 4th defenseman.
The only problem with signing D is there are so many of them. Redden, Girardi, Staal, Gilroy (according to reports, he is looking good), and Rozsival will all be on the team next season. That leaves just one or two spots and not much money to spend, since most of the Cap space should be used for scoring help (with some saved for emergencies and the trade deadline).
Should be an interesting day. Even though nothing happens until about 1:30, I’ll be tuning in at noon to see how awkward it gets when nothing happens. Can’t wait to see Bob McKenzie text messaging people on-air to see what’s going on.
(I was happy that Dany Heatley was being sent to Edmonton, not because I want him in the West, but because I don’t want the Rangers to trade a lot for him. The Rangers don’t need a different $7+M deal for 5 years, especially one who requests trades from everywhere he has played. If they wanted a headcase with talent that he sometimes uses, hey, Alex Kovalev is a free agent tomorrow, too.)
Not former Giants safety Greg Jackson, but famed MMA trainer Greg Jackson. No one has trained as many top-tier fighters or been key in the development of guys like Rashad Evans. Here, he’ll tell you how he plans to help Georges St.Pierre defeat Thiago Alves at UFC 100.
There are 2 big things in the Scott Gomez trade (to Montreal, for Smithtown’s Chris Higgins, as you all know by now).
1) As we know, cap space. Higgins is making $1.9M against the Cap, and I’m trying to find out how long he has left on his deal. However, they save $5M by doing this move. If they don’t get Dany Heatley, Mike Cammallari would be a good fit for that $5M. I would much rather have Cammallari and Higgins as opposed to just Gomez, wouldn’t you?
2) The other big thing is Ryan McDonagh. He was drafted 12th overall in 2007 (5 picks before Alexei Cherepanov, 8 before Angelo Esposito). According to a Montreal Canadiens fan I am friends with, this was one of the big pieces and he was very sorry to see him go. He was their highest-rated prospect at any position, and he is incredibly fast. He is also big, a very physical player, and very offensively talented.
So, a good trade for the Rangers. How Bob Gainey was roped into this, I’ll never know. Maybe Glen Sather let him take credit for catching a shark on a fishing trip one day. Beats me.
Anyway, look for McDonagh next year. He could be another young D-man on the blueline, probably not next season but the year after.
Bryan’s Take: I have no idea how this trade went through. The Rangers got the two best guys in the deal and shed some serious salary in the process. Of course, you know this means the Rangers will sign another underachiever to an absurd contract tomorrow, but still. Sather is absolved of one of his biggest blunders and actually looks good in the process. And I guess we can put the “Lecavalier to Montreal” rumors to bed once and for all. Just think, for just about the same money as they’ll pay Gomez, they could have a perennial All-Star. Aside from Montreal fans, probably the most upset person is Stan Fischler, who can’t be all homoerotic with Gomez during their intermission interviews anymore.
A welterweight contest between Mike Swick and Martin Kampmann is likely for UFC 103, MMAWeekly.com has learned from sources close to the fight.
While bout agreements have not been signed, both parties have agreed to the match-up.
UFC 103 is expected to take place on Sept. 19 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, the promotion’s second trip to the Lone Star State. The event has yet to be announced by the UFC.
A while ago, we quoted a rumor that stated that Swick would likely fight Matt Hughes in his next bout. Apparently, that was pretty close to the truth, but it just didn’t work out.
“I want the Hughes fight, and we’re trying to work it out, but it doesn’t seem like it’s happening, so it might be Kampmann,” said Swick.
Hughes is in the process of working out a brand new deal, so there likely is some hardball being played on the part of Dana White and the UFC. Swick is 9-1 in the UFC and likely will get a title shot or at the very least a #1 contenders match if he wins.
Kampmann is 6-1 in the UFC and coming off a controversial split decision win over the last WEC welterweight champion, Carlos Condit. He also turned down a chance to fight against T.J. Grant at The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale.
Add this to a card that will already feature Josh Koscheck v. Frank Trigg, Tyson Griffin v. Hermes Franca, and TUF 8 Winner Efrain Escudero v. Cole Miller.
Well, i would like to thank my milwaukee fans, for 3 great years, and Senator Kohl, but my journey in Milwaukee has come to a end, now its on Gods hands, where will I end up, only time will tell.
Well, there it is. This likely means that the Bucks will spend some cash to re-sign point guard Ramon Sessions. Charlie Villaneuva will enter a market that is a bit flooded with power fowards. David Lee, and Drew Gooden also play the position and will be looking for huge paydays.
Did you ever watch an athlete, no matter what the sport, and find yourself saying “My god, If he ever puts it all together, He could be one of the greatest of all time.” Well, in my short foray into Mixed Martial Arts so far, I’ve only said that once. It wasn’t about guys like Georges St. Piere, or B.J. Penn. Those guys are established and it’s no fun trying to tell everyone that an established guy is going to be great. He’s already great. It wasn’t about a guy who was on The Ultimate Fighter. Everyone has already seen those guys. It was about a guy who’s brother plays defensive tackle for Syracuse, who was a junior college wrestler and has not even come close to rounding out his game yet.
Here’s the thing about MMA. While the best in this sport are remarkable skilled, it is just now growing to the point where it is attracting elite level athletes. Think about how many guys in the UFC there are that you think could be successful in other sports. I can only think of one, and GSP is the best fighter in the world for just that reason. His sick athleticism makes him more dangerous than just about anyone. Well, Jon Jones is that guy. He is GSP when it comes to being a natural athlete. His brother, Arthur Jones, is an All-American defensive tackle for the Syracuse Orange, so you know that the bloodlines are good. He is 6′4 and weighs in at 205 pounds. That long frame presents problems for a lot of fighters due to his incredible reach. Not to mention that fact that once he starts learning jiu-jitsu, those limbs can present submission opportunities that shorter men would not have.
As I said, Jones is far from a finished product. While his wrestling is decent, it certainly isn’t top level. He has some Muay Thai, but it’s raw. He has virtually zero jiu-jitsu training. While most people would say that he is a flawed fighter because of all these things, I would point them to two numbers: 8 and 21. Jones has only had eight professional fights, (two in the UFC) and is only 21 years old. That is a world of time to make all of those changes, and since he is in the Light Heavyweight division, one of the UFC’s deepest, he shouldn’t get pushed along too quickly. He’ll fight middling and low-level guys while he gets his game together.
For his next fight at UFC 100 against Jake O’Brien, the game plan is simple. Stuff O’Brien’s shots, and make him pay with punches and knees. The fight won’t take long. However, the real challenge for Jones is going to be down the road. In two years, when we see Jones against guys like Forrest Griffin and Shogun Rua, don’t be shocked. I told you that it would happen.
So to answer my own question: That ceiling is high. Cathedral high.
June 30, 2009, at 11:12 pm
Tags: 
