What are the French doing over there?

The Phillips Perspective — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 14:17:58 -0000

This week I'm wearing a dirty beard and moustache. I had poutine yesterday and I've been craving smoke in my lungs. With all these undesirable traits of my small French heritage coming to the forefront I figured I'd better throw up a brief commentary on the brewing situation on the wrong side of the border.

I woke up early and in a daze on Saturday (being in a daze might be a French thing too) to find that TSN was running a short piece on the politicians interfering with the affairs of our national game. Do I follow Canadian politics, not really, who does? Have I heard of Jean Charest? Only in passing. So why should I care what he thinks?

I hear all kinds of nonsense flowing from the mouthes of idiots all days. Garbage comes out of the mouthes of cabbies like water from a tap. (One asked me if I was interested in helping him lobby for an elevator to the moon!) My point is, why do politicians think it is alright for them to step on their soap box and try to cram some trash in our ears. The league should be responsible for dealing with their own as they have done with what are probably fair suspensions. The politicians over there represent the people. In reality it is my opinion that they only represent those that voted for them or at the least those that are able to vote. A large portion of the kids playing junior hockey aren't even old enough to vote. So how can politicians speak for them.

Maybe I'm just venting because I loathe the idea of ridding our game of fighting at any level. I used to officiate minor hockey for a number of years when I was a bit younger. There was the odd fight, maybe one every 200 games or so, which is pretty high considering I refereed a lot of small local towns where the kids absolutely hated each other and each other's town. The fights were usually brief and deserved. Did I let the kids go at it? Sort of, for a short time. It's how I would want it if I was involved.

Our beloved national wind bag Donald S made a very good point on Saturday during the Leaf's thrashing of the allegedly top team in the East. He said that we need fighting in junior hockey to protect the smaller and younger players. I whole heartedly agree and as a bigger player in my day I was called upon many times to defend our smaller star players. It is part of the responsibility of being a big guy. Without the occasional fight to settle the tempers of two teams there would be more stick work and more cheap shots which lead to more injuries than fights. Sure fights almost always guarantee pain for someone, it is rare that anyone gets truly injured.

Was the incident with the Roy boys a good thing for the game. No way! That is why they got punished. If you think that they won't think twice about doing it again, you're wrong. Although Patrick has been almost non-stop pushing the envelope since he started coaching. He's a fiery competitive guy and if he didn't habitually step over the line he probably wouldn't be as effective. He just needs to adjust to coaching and realize that he can't be acting the fool as much since he is representing the players, organization and city. I think if settles down he could have a bright future in coaching.

Anyways, that is all I can muster right now. Didn't end up going the direction I had planned but I guess that's what happens when you rant. I better go smoke a cigarette and a croissant or something.

The Great Unknown

The Phillips Perspective — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 21:37:32 -0000

I don't know if I just relish the role of playing the devil's advocate or if I could be on to something here but I don't feel that the Leafs made the right move in firing JFJ and hiring Cliff Fletcher. I know I might be drawing the ire of all the regular readers and contributors of this site but I'm going to throw my two cents into the ring and let you guys tear it apart. In the very least, it will likely help me sleep better at night. Let's get it going then.

I know it is a big market and demands extra attention but I felt that the amount of media coverage over this whole debacle was a bit sensational and ridiculous. The media really pulled out all the stops on this one. I felt that parading guys like Bill Watters around and having them say the same things over and over was foolish. Why should I have to listen to what he thinks, to my recollection, didn't he get fired by the Leafs for poor performance. How is he allowed to critique anyone else? Does his getting fired make him an authority on losing your job at MLSE. Didn't the Leafs fire Cliff Fletcher once upon a time as well?

I found it interesting to hear the reaction of the players this morning. Most of all I enjoyed Wade Belak's comments the most. He is probably one of my favourite Leafs despite his lack of talent and contribution. He stated that he felt there were not many moves that Fletcher could make and that most of the team was under contract for the next few years. I know that there is more to be done than he would surmise but it does get one thinking about what moves can be made and can Cliff Fletcher really make that big of a splash in the next 35 days that he will be shaping the course of the team for the coming years. When I thought about it more I realized that Belak was probably right. Aside from trading all the assets for draft picks and prospects there is probably very little that can be done.

I can foresee the team trading Mats for a load of picks and prospects, maybe even a Darcy Tucker if all parties can be satisfied, or even the move we've all hoped for, dealing Raycroft (Don't get me wrong, I'm a big supporter but it's time). Outside of that is there really any moves that can or should be made. I hope they don't trade away the young assets. All this thought leads me to wonder if hiring Cliff Fletcher, a man who has been out of the game since the new CBA, was the right move. JFJ was around for the transition and although he didn't make the right moves and still operated with the throw money at the players mentality of the pre-lockout, he did still know the new system better and had operated in it for two years. I'm not saying that he was the best choice but I would still say that he's better than Cliff Fletcher. Personally, I think that I would have ridden out the year with JFJ, all the while searching for a replacement. I think that Cliff Fletcher while not necessarily the wrong choice is not the best choice and because of interim basis with no long lasting tenure, I feel that he is not going to be fully accountable for his decisions. If things start to go awry he can simply step back and leave the mess for the next guy to clean up. All in all, I'm worried about the team's future and would have stayed with the devil I know rather than one that I don't.

A final note goes out to Bobby Mac at TSN. He called this one right from the start and even narrowed down the window of the firing to 48 hours. He was very accurate for this whole affair and has moved up a notch in my book.

SB Nation User Blog: The Phillips Perspective

What are the French doing over there?

The Great Unknown