Thursday, January 21, 2016

Compartmentalizing

I may not be internet popular (nor do I wish I could be) but I am a decent writer with a lot of thoughts on Patrick Kane and the reactions to his actions.  I also have a blog that I occassionally use to post my thoughts, so here I am on a mini soap box ready to get this all out.

I do not believe that Patrick Kane is a good person. Period. Make your own decisions on him based on whatever you wish.  He is one hell of a hockey player and that's why we are even talking about him.  If he wasn't a good hockey player, maybe the NHL would have taken a different action back in August.  Actually, what is more likely is that the the press wouldn't have gotten the amount of information they did.  The media dug into confidential information and between them and the inadequate representation on both sides, the public was given a lot. Information in the hands of the public is very dangerous; assumptions are made and conclusions are drawn.  The investigation was compromised from the start and likely an innocent victim was harmed in the process.

A suggestion that Patrick Kane be nominated for the Masterton Trophy has brought a new incident to light.  A woman was brave enough to tell her story, likely knowing how it would turn out.  Immediately many people shared the story to show that Kane is scum and an awful person. Similarly, many people began victim blaming and accusing her of telling a story.  We don't know what the truth is, but discrediting this woman does no one any favors. It only tells victims not to come forward because they will be villainized and mocked.

Back to the Masterton Trophy. This trophy goes to the person who overcame the most in life.  Recent winners include Josh Harding who excelled for the Minnesota Wild while dealing with an awful disease that plagues his everyday life and Dom Moore, a man who lost the love of his life to cancer.  How on Earth does an accusation of violating a human being even compare to that? Kane couldn't work out in public for a few weeks? He was still in camp in day one, he was on the opening night roster, he lived his superstar life in his mansion while others talked about him nonstop.  This isn't adversity. This is dealing with consequences.  I do honestly believe that the Chicago media would not nominate him anyway, so hopefully this is a moot point.

As to the reactions everywhere. The Chicago Blackhawks and the NHL did set a bad example. They put winning hockey games over a victim. They likely knew that there would be no charges and used this to support their money maker. Morally, this was an awful decision.

I also saw the belief that the lack of prosecution against Kane (and add Drew Doughty to this list) tells other players that it's okay to rape.  This is a point that I cannot agree with at all.  While I strongly believe that teaching needs to go more towards "don't rape" than "don't get raped," I do not believe that all NHL players think that they can just have any woman they want.  Maybe I am naive, but the majority of these men likely have a conscience and will find a woman who says yes.  There are plenty of women who will say yes.  Don't slut shame them either.  One step towards women's equality is also realizing that women are sexual beings with wants and desires.  Some will still say no and those wishes should ALWAYS be respected, but some will go up to that hotel room willingly and do not deserve to be judged for it.

I am still a fan of hockey and even of the Blackhawks even though I did lose a bit of respect for the way the situation was handled. I support the wins. I don't support the human on the team. Maybe my compartmentalization is a problem, but that's who I am.

Off my soapbox now.

Monday, June 8, 2015

The Schism of Fandom

Okay, schism is way too strong of a word.  Hockey fans aren't exactly Catholics and Protestants, but the divisions that exist seem to be so pronounced on social media.  Should it be as easy as it is to divide fans of the same team into so many categories?  Should't we all have some type of bond over the highs and lows of being a sports fan over the course of the season?

I used to use this blog to share post game reactions.  It was never meant to be like most of the hockey blogs out there.  Now, I'm just using it to express my thoughts in more than 140 characters.

Most of the discussion lately has been about "new" fans versus old fans.  Of course this has been largely exacerbated by the Tampa Bay Times printing the list of rules in the newspaper.  The immediate reaction that I saw on twitter was to mock the people of Florida....Florida, a place that is warm most of the year and perhaps doesn't have as many residents who are passionate about a sport on ice as a city like New York or Chicago.  Their team made it to the Stanley Cup Final.  As of the time I am writing this, they are three wins away from the second Stanley Cup in their franchise history.  What's wrong with wanting to bring more people into the fun?

I know that I have been guilty of making jokes about bandwagon fans.  Even though it is enemy territory, I have been to a lot of Islanders games at Nassau Coliseum over the last few years.  When the Islanders were hanging out in the basement of the standings, that building was pretty empty.  The people who were present were all passionate fans.  They were used to the losing and excited about the future they knew was coming.  Things changed this year.  The building was packed every night with people who didn't know the rules or even the players on their teams.  I heard conversations about how Kevin Okposo shouldn't be on the top line or how Michael Grabner being scratched was a reason for a loss.  The sideline refs wanted penalties every time someone tripped over the blue line but chanted against the refs on textbook calls.  I would spend time with some season ticket holders wishing that these people weren't getting in the way of the experience at the arena.  This actually makes me commend Tampa, at least they recognize that new fans come when you are winning and these people need to learn many of the rules.

People all become fans at different times.  Maybe they choose a team based on who is winning at the time or maybe they choose the closes team geographically.  They're still fans.  If they want to learn, help them learn.  If they don't want to learn, I guess we need to accept this and not tell them that they aren't real fans.

Anyone who supports a team is a real fan.

Even passionate fans who know the rules are told on twitter that they aren't good enough fans.  I know that I bring a lot of things back to the fancy stats community, but here I go anyway.

I am constantly seeing tweets about fancy stats that don't even just imply, but explicitly say that if you don't care about fancy stats then you don't care about the sport.  Of course, you can't just know the rules and get enjoyment out of watching in order to be a fan.  You have to analyze what goes on the ice using numbers.

Real fans have to analyze players by the numbers and then make general manager decisions based on that.  Liking a player because of his heart is not acceptable.  Finding a player fun to watch and exciting doesn't matter at all.  All that matters is that more shots are generated by their team than against their team when they're on the ice (of course adjusted based on the score, time in the game, and what zone the shift started in).  If this isn't the main statistic you use to want a player on your team, then you're not a real fan.  Doesn't this make so much sense?

Seriously - it doesn't matter what made you a fan, why you're a fan, or how long you've been a fan.  If you want to learn more, then ask questions and do some research.  If someone else wants to learn the sport, then help them out.

Anyone can be a fan.  There are no rules to fandom and no one is a better fan than anyone else.

/endrant

Monday, June 1, 2015

Final Thoughts of the 2014-15 season

It has taken me three days to figure out how to put my thoughts on this past season and the way it ended into words…but here it goes.

Starting with the reaction of the hundreds of fans packing Hudson Station the moment Alex Killorn scored the opening goal and ending when I got on the E train outside of Madison Square Garden just before midnight, I witnessed all five stages of grief.

Denial

Was it really over? Did the Rangers really decide that putting in any type of effort was really too much for them in a game seven that would allow them to return to the Stanley Cup Final?  It was incredibly hard to believe in that moment.  This team had overcome so much since the start of the season. 

It started when Derek Stepan, one of the most consistent performers over the last few years, broke his leg in training camp.  Then it seemed like the defense couldn’t catch a break, or maybe caught too many breaks in their bones, muscles, and egos.  Finally, come December, the ship seemed to take a right turn and everything was working out.  We all know what happened next, Captain Murder took his first victim.  McDonagh’s accidental lifting of the plastic guard allowing Brad Malone’s shot to hit Henrik Lunqdvist and it seemed right there that the season was over.  The magic started very soon into Cam Talbot’s reign as starting goaltender.  On the way to the President’s Trophy, the team seemed destined for victory.

The series against the Penguins wasn’t as easy as a five game victory would seem, but once again luck was on the Rangers’ side.  Then Captain Murder struck a second time and shot a puck right at Zuccarello’s head.  Many people wrote the team off again because they did not believe the Rangers could beat the Capitals without Zuccarello.  The doubters seemed to be right as the Capitals were manhandling the Rangers into a 3-1 deficit.  No problem.  The luck of the Rangers and dominance of Lundqvist led to a series victory.

With all this luck, how could anything have gone wrong?  Game one against the Lightning made it look like the series would end quickly and it would be time to get another shot at the Stanley Cup.  As the series progressed, the Rangers showed their faults.  I don’t want to pretend that I know more than I do because I watch games and know the rules, but I didn’t see a team that wanted to win.  It hurt to watch games five and seven.  My heart and soul were poured into this team, but none of theirs were on the ice.

That’s why when it ended, no one seemed to want to believe it.

Aggression

There was yelling.  There were people walking down 35th Street that looked like they were reading to start punching walls and kicking street signs.  People were yelling at each other.  Why shouldn’t everyone be angry?  The team didn’t perform for the fans…or for themselves.

On top of that, there’s the anger caused by just glancing at social media.  There are Rangers fans who are taking the loss so badly that they are saying whatever comes to mind.  Then there are fans of the other teams who seem to pathetically get joy out of the loss.  I honestly wish that I could get so much joy out of hating something.  The reactions out of people who are fans of teams who didn’t even come close border on hilarious to me.  These people take to social media so that they will get attention for their cheering of the loss.  There are two ways that this call for attention works: first, acceptance from others who also get more joy out of hate than anything else and second, they want to get responses from fans of that team just in an attempt to knock them down.  This is seen on all forms of social media whether Facebook statuses or going and finding the Rangers’ instagram account just to leave comments.  Regardless, I think it all borders on pathetic.

Bargaining

This is the fun one.  Throughout the season, I love mocking people for thinking they know more than general managers.  Or maybe I mock them for believing that their whining and opinions will actually have some type of influence on the future of any NHL team.

Of course I believe 100% that keeping Stralman and not signing Boyle would have been hugely different (not even taking into consideration that he saved at least two goals off the goal line during the Conference Final).

Others are looking ahead to the off season.  Fans are deciding what moves should be made to make the team better and find a way to get to the Cup next year.  Sure, it can be fun, but there’s definitely a line.  When you cross over from “I hope this gets done” to “this will happen because it’s the best and only option,” you truly overvalue yourself.

Acceptance

Most of us haven’t reached this point yet.  Some people did right away though.  Maybe because there was a sixty minute game that seemed to imply it would end the way it did.  I’m not sure I have hit acceptance yet.  It’s kind of funny, I still have a horse in the race.  My other favorite team is very much alive with a chance to win their third Cup in five years.  However, I wasn’t elated when the ‘Hawks were eating the Ducks alive early in their game seven.  Instead, I wished that the Rangers put forth that kind of effort.


Eventually though, everyone should reach this point.  Accept that the season ended and try to be excited for the future.  This is a Glen Sather/Jeff Gorton world.  You never know what the team will look like.  Say whatever you want about the lack of first round picks and the lack of depth in the system…they are never afraid to make a trade and often, it’s one you won’t expect.  Don’t try to predict anything.  Sit back and watch the show and just hope that next spring, the season doesn’t end so soon.

Friday, February 20, 2015

Fancy Stats: An Average Fan's Perspective

I wanted to tweet how I feel about fancy stats, but it's just too much for 140 characters.

A great divide has come between those who use fancy stats and those who don't.  There has been discussion lately on my timeline between the two sides and it seems that the attitude and "smugness" is what's turning more fans away from learning more.

I understand fancy stats and their usage.  I believe that they are a wonderful tool for coaches and GMs to use, combined with watching players closely for whatever other intangibles that specific player can bring to the game.

I am not a coach. I am not a general manager. I have no desire to be either.  I also have no desire to be hired by an NHL team to work in their analytics department.  Perhaps this separates me from the people who are obsessed with using these statistics to create a story.

For the past few days, I have been trying to figure out why I am so bothered by much of the fancy stat discussion that I see on twitter.  Then I saw one tweet that made me just stare at my timeline for a minute.  I had to process this because it felt almost like a personal attack.  Of course, it was a tweet from someone that I do not communicate with and someone who likely does not even know that I exist.  Regardless, it gave me insight into how the other side feels.  To paraphrase, it said that people who don't want to use fancy stats are comfortable in watching the game without completely understanding it.

I understand the game.  I watch the game and see what happens.  I understand what fancy stats mean and why they are useful.  While I do not necessarily agree that shot attempts for and against are a perfect measurement of possession, I do see the correlation.  I also completely understand that there is a correlation between having the puck and winning the game.

Tweets like that however, are why people feel that there is an aura of superiority within the fancy stat community.  The tweets and blog posts filled with charts and explanations of why that chart is more important than what you saw when you watched the game.  They imply that if you don't care about the stats then you are comfortable being an ignorant fan.

Here is my response.  I am a fan of hockey.  I am a fan of both the New York Rangers and the Chicago Blackhawks.  I watch the game for the intensity of hockey as a sport.  I watch the game to be frustrated when there's a lane open and no one shoots the puck.  I watch the game to laugh at the people who yell "shoot" when every lane is sure to produce a shot block.  I watch games that don't even involve my two favorite teams because I love the sport.  The fancy stats community is telling me that I enjoy the sport wrong because I don't have any interest in analyzing who was on the ice for the most shots for or shots against.

It's no secret that Derek Stepan has been one of my favorite Rangers since he put on his first blueshirt.  This year, fancy stats tell me that he has been one of the worst players on the ice.  Fine, let the stats say that.  Let those who tweet about how important these stats are telling me that he has been awful this year and isn't worth the contract that he is sure to get in the off season.  I will watch him on the ice and enjoy the way his incredible vision and intelligence are on display.  I will look at the stupid, boring statistics like how many points he has and how drastically different the team's record is with and without him in the lineup.

I don't think Tanner Glass is a very good hockey player and I don't need numbers to tell me that.  However, Alain Vingeault has won 500 hockey games as a head coach in the greatest league in the world.  While he has not won a Stanley Cup, he has brought two different teams to the Final.  He has won President's Trophies.  I have to believe he knows what he's doing.  But what do I know? I don't want his job.

Here's one last thing that I learned in law school that seems relevant: there is always going to be a statistic available to support the story that you want to tell.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Dear Brad.

I haven't used this blog in a while, but I feel like starting again. I will begin by sharing a collection of letters that my friend, Siobhan, and I have written to Brad Richards.

Dear Brad, please pay attention, love Derrick

Dear Brad, wake the fuck up and remember how you got your Conn Smythe <3 EVERYONE

Dear Brad, Remember what scoring goals and passing to players on your own team? Can you um, remember more quickly and get to it? K, thanks, <3 NYR fans

Dear Bradley Glen, It would be Delite-ful if you showed up to a game. <3 Your mother

Dear Brad, Remember, 60 minutes, the game is 60 full minutes, sometimes more. love, Jim Dolan's checkbook

Dear Brad, Getting bench sores? I have some creams for that <3 Stu

Dear Brad, I understand...<3 Chris Drury

Dear Brad, Number one centers are supposed to lead the team in points, right? <3 Derek

Dear Brad, $7 million a year is supposed to help the team, no? <3 Hank

Dear Brad, The season in New York lasts longer than in Dallas. <3 Torts

Dear Brad, Showing up in the playoffs is kind of a big deal. <3 Brass

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

The Difference Between Winning a Stanley Cup and Being the Worst Thing in the World

Henrik Lundqvist.


No, I'm just kidding.  While he is a big part of the reason the Rangers haven't sucked enough for a top draft pick in the past few years, he is not the total difference nor the middle ground.

I was at MSG last night...it was the 3rd loss for the Rangers in the last 15 games.  However, the people were beyond pissed.  If they were saying things like "wow, this game sucked," it would have been one thing, but they were complaining about the team sucking and saying "same old shit."  Fewest regulation losses in the league (though much of it through luck, not necessarily outplaying the opposition), but this team is awful.

Why are Ranger fans never satisfied?

Rangers sign the biggest free agent in the league last summer, the guy who many teams wanted.  His contract is  too long, he's already a disappointment.

Rangers let Matt Gilroy go.  People complain.  Tell me, other than score in the first game of the playoffs, where was his great contribution?

However, when the Rangers plays like shit for 2 periods, then light up a shaky Roberto Luongo, they're the greatest team ever.

When there's a missed call against the Rangers, no one seems to notice or many deny there should have been a call.  Rangers get a soft call, there's a riot.  Other team gets a soft call, a crime was committed.  Refs miss a call, they're playing for the other team.  Pittsburgh and Sidney Crosby aren't the only ones who get refs in their favorite.  Sure, sometimes it's obvious and annoying, but it goes both ways.
Maybe part of this comes from being a Blackhawks fan as well...I've watched games where I notice the Hawks getting a lot of calls in their favor and calls being missed on them.  It annoys me when that happens too even though last year their power play was lethal.
I'm just tired of blaming the refs.  The refs are not responsible for a team being unable to capitalize on golden chances.  The refs are not responsible for a defenseman being completely out of position allowing someone to get a shot off that Hank doesn't have a chance of stopping. 

This team can be incredibly frustrating....but that happens when a team has an identity of hard work and not the most skill and finesse.  Enjoy the winning when it happens, but don't get cocky.  When the team loses, brush it off and support them.  Without fan support, what reason to the players have to come out at MSG and give it their all?  If they're under a long term contract, they get paid whether they play or not.

The Season Thus Far

I have greatly neglected this blog in the past year just because time gets away from me.  I graduated law school, took the Bar Exam, then went on the never ending search for legal employment.  I still have a lot of opinions, so it's time to express a few of them.  I'll do mostly a player by player analysis, but not about everyone.  I'm not even sure anyone will read this, but I can never get a full opinion out on twitter...damn 140 character limit.
I want to mention Bobby Ryan too...I would have loved to have him, but not if it would cost any of the top 4 defensemen...or Chris Kreider.

Since it's relevant at the moment, I'll start with the contributions of Michael Sauer.  It really bothers me how few Rangers fans actually recognize his efforts.  He is solid night in, night out, he's incredibly consistent, and he (almost) always makes the right decisions.  While he is far from an offensive player, right now I am in fear of the length of time that we will be without him.

Next...I will move on to Brandon Dubinsky.  Most people who know me know that I'm not his biggest fan, but I don't hate him as much as some think I do.  I know he's better than how he's playing.  I thought after they returned from Europe, he was playing pretty well.  He was hitting, he was creating, he just wasn't scoring and I'm of the belief that scoring isn't everything.  I was at MSG for his first goal, sitting literally 2 feet from where he celebrated it.  Since that puck hit the back of the net, he has played worse than he did before that.  He's not hitting, he's not putting pressure on the defense...he's not doing the things that make him an effective player.  I know he can do better than this and I want to see that; if he doesn't, this team might not go anywhere.

Captain Cally.  Ryan Callahan has been and always will by my favorite Ranger.  He had a slow start, a lot of the same woes as Dubi.  Since then however, he's picking up his game.  Then again, he makes some of the same moves every game, but they're working.  He's the only one on the power play that gets in the goalie's face and in the league today, when it's a forechecking team, that's how you have to play.  Sure, he's gotten too close to the goalie a few times...or tried to glove the puck in.  I'm not going to pretend he doesn't make mistakes or have off nights and will never be one of those "Cally does no wrong" people...but I do believe he is providing the type of leadership that was expected of him.  When Cally plays hard, the team plays hard.  He just REALLY needs to work on shot accuracy.

Now, my second favorite player on the team and the player who in my mind will be the future of the NYR blueline.  Ryan McDonagh.  Last night, I could not have been more disappointed in how he played.  He was being owned all over the ice.  Usually, he can out-skate the opposition and he's the king of the poke check.  He brings everything to the game and since the day he was called up in January, there has been no looking back.

On the topic of not looking back, welcome to New York, Carl Hagelin, I hope you're searching for an apartment because you are not going back to Connecticut.  I know last year with Zuc, everyone thought he was going to be staying and that he was the real deal.  I see something in Hags that I never saw in Zuc; he has a passion, he has speed, he has raw talent.  Forget the 4 points in his first 4 games and look at the little things.  This kid is here to stay.  I know I'll be forced to eat my words if he slumps and goes back down, but for right now, I'm contemplating a Hagelin jersey next year.

I was gonna talk about Boyle and Prust, but then I realized that they've been pretty invisible.  Though if Prust fights in the first 2 minutes, the Rangers win.  He's had more positives this year than Boyle, but he's not as noticeable in every game as he was last year.

Dan Girardi is a beast.  Need I say more?  Vote him into the All Star Game.

I miss Staalsy.

Gaby is back to his fantastic ways and actually scoring goals consistently and he's doing pretty well defensively.  Sure, people are still going to bash him if he goes a game without a point, but hey, that's what NYR fans do.

I love the addition of Brad Richards.  He's scoring clutch goals, making big plays, and setting up goals when needed.  He's doing what we needed him to do.  I see complaints about his contract everywhere, but NYR fans are never satisfied.  Wait 5 more years before you complain about him...right now, he's doing exactly what he was signed to do.

Henrik is king.  I don't care about his soft goals, he keeps the team in games and he helped both win streaks happen.

Marty Biron is the best veteran back up goalie in the league. Case closed.

This has been my opinion...maybe there will be more coming soon.

ETA: I forgot about Michael Del Zotto...ooohhhh Michael (and his parties).  He has improved since last year.  He hits the net about 20% of the time and his offense is returning to how it was before.  However, his defense needs work.  For every good defensive play he makes, he dives across the ice only to be undressed by the nearest offensive star for the other team...or the nearest fourth liner who hasn't scored all season.  I still don't think he's a "dud" as many do, but he is showing that the skill is there.  Now he needs the effort...remember skill + effort = success.