While trying to write a paper earlier today I got to perusing some of the stuff I had written earlier this year and saved in My Documents. One of the more interesting things I came across - among the piles of cultural studies essays discussing the significance of the phallic shape of the Washington Monument and how Molson's "I Am Canadian" ad campaign plays on the repressed national pride Canadians have in their humble, ambivalent identity - were two season previews I wrote for the McGill Tribune at the beginning of the year: one for the NHL's Southeast division and one for the NBA's Central division. Here they are, reproduced in their original unedited (read as unshortened) form.
NHL Season Preview
Southeast Division
Ordered by projected ranking within the division:
Stars denote playoff teams
Washington Capitals *
The Capitals have a young, exciting team led by one of the most exciting young players in the NHL – Alexander Ovechkin. Now that AO and the rest of Washington’s youth movement have a few playoff games under their belts they should be even better than last year. In addition, to replace unrestricted free agent Cristobal Huet who left for Chicago, the Caps signed former Vezina winner José Theodore. Finally, George McPhee locked up young defenseman Mike Green to a 4-year deal. This team will be as electrifying this year as it was last year, and with a better start under coach Bruce Boudreau, the sky is the limit.
Tampa Bay Lightning *
Along with Chicago, Tampa Bay had the most productive offseason in the NHL this year. The team’s biggest addition came with the 1st overall selection in the draft, Steve Stamkos – an 18 year-old prodigy who lit up the OHL last season with the Sarnia Sting. Tampa also made some big splashes in the free-agency market and trades; of particular note were the additions of LW Ryan Malone, D Andrej Meszaros and G Mike Smith who all came off strong seasons with their respective clubs. Even former LA Kings coach Barry Melrose and his famous mullet have been tempted out of retirement to join the team. Nevertheless, the fortunes of this franchise rest squarely on the shoulders of captain Vincent Lecavalier, who is determined to reverse the club’s precipitous drop in the standings since their Cup win in 2004.
Carolina Hurricanes
The last time the Carolina Hurricanes were in a playoff game, they won… the Stanley Cup. Now, after failing to make the playoffs for two straight years, former Conn Smythe winner Cam Ward is feeling the pressure to prove that his play in that run wasn’t a fluke. Don’t think that all the blame for the club’s recent defensive struggles can be laid at the goalie’s feet, however. Over the previous two seasons, Carolina has parted ways with most of its established defensive corps. This year the addition of defenseman Joni Pitkanen should fill a big hole along the blue line – he had better, because in the trade that brought him to Carolina the Hurricanes lost LW Erik Cole, which will put a serious dent in the team’s offensive depth.
Florida Panthers
Defense, defense, defense. That one word will be Florida’s mantra this season. In addition to having one of the best netminders in the league in Tomas Vokoun, the Panthers have traded away star forward Olli Jokinen and acquired defensemen Keith Ballard, Bryan McCabe and Nick Boynton. With that defensive core in place the Panthers should be able to keep games close – the only question is if they have enough scoring punch to turn close games into wins. Florida will count on increased production from Stephen Weiss and Nathan Horton if they hope to find themselves in the postseason.
Atlanta Thrashers
The Thrashers have one of the most exciting talents in the league in Ilya Kovalchuk; however, their problems this year, like every year, will be on the defensive end. The team that gave up the most shots in the league last season has taken steps to improve on that statistic with the addition of All-Star Mathieu Schneider and 3rd overall pick Zach Bogosian. However, the defensive corps is still thin and while goalie Kari Lehtonen has shown flashes of brilliance he has also shown a tendency for uneven play and lingering injuries.
Southeast Division
Ordered by projected ranking within the division:
Stars denote playoff teams
Washington Capitals *
The Capitals have a young, exciting team led by one of the most exciting young players in the NHL – Alexander Ovechkin. Now that AO and the rest of Washington’s youth movement have a few playoff games under their belts they should be even better than last year. In addition, to replace unrestricted free agent Cristobal Huet who left for Chicago, the Caps signed former Vezina winner José Theodore. Finally, George McPhee locked up young defenseman Mike Green to a 4-year deal. This team will be as electrifying this year as it was last year, and with a better start under coach Bruce Boudreau, the sky is the limit.
Tampa Bay Lightning *
Along with Chicago, Tampa Bay had the most productive offseason in the NHL this year. The team’s biggest addition came with the 1st overall selection in the draft, Steve Stamkos – an 18 year-old prodigy who lit up the OHL last season with the Sarnia Sting. Tampa also made some big splashes in the free-agency market and trades; of particular note were the additions of LW Ryan Malone, D Andrej Meszaros and G Mike Smith who all came off strong seasons with their respective clubs. Even former LA Kings coach Barry Melrose and his famous mullet have been tempted out of retirement to join the team. Nevertheless, the fortunes of this franchise rest squarely on the shoulders of captain Vincent Lecavalier, who is determined to reverse the club’s precipitous drop in the standings since their Cup win in 2004.
Carolina Hurricanes
The last time the Carolina Hurricanes were in a playoff game, they won… the Stanley Cup. Now, after failing to make the playoffs for two straight years, former Conn Smythe winner Cam Ward is feeling the pressure to prove that his play in that run wasn’t a fluke. Don’t think that all the blame for the club’s recent defensive struggles can be laid at the goalie’s feet, however. Over the previous two seasons, Carolina has parted ways with most of its established defensive corps. This year the addition of defenseman Joni Pitkanen should fill a big hole along the blue line – he had better, because in the trade that brought him to Carolina the Hurricanes lost LW Erik Cole, which will put a serious dent in the team’s offensive depth.
Florida Panthers
Defense, defense, defense. That one word will be Florida’s mantra this season. In addition to having one of the best netminders in the league in Tomas Vokoun, the Panthers have traded away star forward Olli Jokinen and acquired defensemen Keith Ballard, Bryan McCabe and Nick Boynton. With that defensive core in place the Panthers should be able to keep games close – the only question is if they have enough scoring punch to turn close games into wins. Florida will count on increased production from Stephen Weiss and Nathan Horton if they hope to find themselves in the postseason.
Atlanta Thrashers
The Thrashers have one of the most exciting talents in the league in Ilya Kovalchuk; however, their problems this year, like every year, will be on the defensive end. The team that gave up the most shots in the league last season has taken steps to improve on that statistic with the addition of All-Star Mathieu Schneider and 3rd overall pick Zach Bogosian. However, the defensive corps is still thin and while goalie Kari Lehtonen has shown flashes of brilliance he has also shown a tendency for uneven play and lingering injuries.
Actual standings as of March 1, 2009 (projected standings in brackets):
1 Washington (1)
2 Florida (4)
3 Carolina (3)
4 Tampa Bay (2)
5 Atlanta (5)
Woooohoo 60%! Not too shabby, if I had just remembered that Tampa Bay is a completely dysfunctional organization, crippled by its salary cap situation and that rookies rarely have a big impact on their team's success then I might have been able to pull out a 100% on this one.
NBA Season Preview
Central Divison
Ordered by projected ranking within the division:
Stars denote playoff teams
Detroit Pistons*
The team that won it all back in ’04 has kept their starting line-up virtually unchanged since; however, after three consecutive losses in the Eastern Conference Finals, changes are afoot. With a new head coach in Michael Curry and continued development from young players, specifically Amir Johnson and Rodney Stuckey, this team has an exciting blend of youth and experience.
Cleveland Cavaliers*
Cleveland Cavaliers*
How can a team with King James be so consistently terrible offensively? Hopefully, Mike Brown not only knows the answer to that question but also has the right tools to rectify the deficiency. The tools that are meant to bring this transformation about are Mo Williams and J.J. Hickson. Mo Williams’ ability to bring the ball up will be crucial in allowing Lebron to spend less time with the ball in his hands, resulting in even more energy devoted to putting the ball in the basket.
Chicago Bulls*
Chicago Bulls*
Chicago is a team that is chock full of talent, especially in the backcourt, but is fundamentally unbalanced. Since Ben Gordon signed a one-year qualifying offer in the offseason, he should be dangled as trade bait at some point in the year. The Bulls will want to move him for a low-post scorer, which they have lacked for the better part of a decade. Key to the team’s success will be the 1st overall pick in the draft, PG Derrick Rose and 1st year coach Vinny Del Negro.
Indiana Pacers
Indiana Pacers
The Pacers completed a major trade with the Raptors in the offseason which worked to address the shortcomings of the ballclub – capspace and the PG spot. To that end the Pacers got speedy PG T.J. Ford and C Rasho Nesterovic who will both be able to jump into the starting line-up immediately – in addition, the Pacers bought themselves some cap flexibility by shedding Jermaine O’Neal’s massive contract.
Milwaukee Bucks
Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks offseason was full of turnover. The Bucks brought in head coach Scott Skiles, SF Richard Jefferson, PG Luke Ridnour and SF Joe Alexander. Out went former head coach Larry Krystkowiak, PG Mo Williams, SF Desmond Mason and SF Bobby Simmons. For this team to succeed the wing players (Redd and Jefferson) will have to light up the scoreboard and C Andrew Bogut will need to continue improving.
Actual standings as of March 1, 2009 (projected standings in brackets):
1 Cleveland (2)
2 Detroit (1)
3 Milwaukee (5)
4 Chicago (3)
5 Indiana (4)
So my accuracy is... 0%!?! I think I can give myself a bit of a pass on the Detroit situation since I made my prediction in the pre-AI days. Also Milwaukee was a surprise to everyone, not just me. Still, Chicago is only a game back of Milwaukee so if things go right I could finish this one with a 40% accuracy rate.
Moral of the story, the prophecy business is tough and Nostradamus doesn't get the credit he deserves.
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