Five Drinks Into Sports: The Week That Was (I)

Join FDI as we recap the week in mainstream sports every Saturday. If we've missed something, feel free to leave a comment.

 

Sean's Take:

Rick Nash Trade Drama is Much Ado About Nothing: The biggest new story of the week is the ongoing trade talks between Columbus and the five teams Nash is willing to waive his no-trade clause for (New York Rangers, Philadelphia, Toronto, San Jose, Los Angeles), but this seems to me like a story which will do little but grab headlines. None of the teams on the list are both able to put together a package attractive enough to Columbus and are willing to pull the trigger on such a risky deal. Columbus (rightfully) is expecting star power back for Nash, but San Jose, probably the closest to being able to pull this deal off, will never trade Logan Couture or Joe Pavelski. Nash's $7.8 million contract is also a huge hurdle to any team willing to take him on. He may go in the summer, but don't get your hopes up for a February blockbuster.

Linsanity Hits Its First Hurdle: So the Knicks had their 7 game win streak snapped at the hands of the lowly New Orleans Hornets (who put in quite an impressive performance). Lin put up 26 points and helped the Knicks in a furious comeback attempt in the 4th quarter, but his 8 turnovers in the first half were horrific, and put the Knicks in a deep hole. Lin has struggled with the turnovers, but treat this performance as exception rather than rule. In the prior two games, Lin put up 13 assists against the Kings, and capped a huge comeback against Toronto with a game-winning, buzzer beating three pointer. Lin's story is being beaten into the ground by now, but at least his performance deserves much of the talk.

Eddie Johnson is Back in MLS: Eddie Johnson, he of the numerous flops since leaving America for Europe's greener pastures, re-signed with MLS, was picked up by expansion Montreal, then traded to Seattle for Mike Fucito and Lamar Neagle, two borderline starters and fan favorites. Sounders fans are rightfully aggrieved, Neagle and Fucito were promising young talents, and Neagle was a hometown guy who could potentially play his way into a National Team cap. Eddie Johnson looked clueless at Fulham, awkward at Cardiff (though beloved by some Cardiff fans for his positive attitude and effort) and mediocre at Aris FC in Greece. He then was rejected by Puebla in Mexico, and came back to MLS as a last resort. He might carve out a decent year or two for Seattle, but this is one of the first moves the Sounders have made which they'll surely regret.

The NHL's Central Division is Going Streaking!: Detroit has a 21 game home winning streak, St. Louis has earned a point in 21 straight home games, and Chicago just ended an eight game losing streak with a win at the Rangers. Detroit's streak will come to an end soon (ideally tomorrow morning against San Jose) and St. Louis' may as well, but these teams are my favorites to make the Western Conference Finals. The Wings are a known quantity, but the Blues are an interesting team built on a suffocating defense and a surprising goaltender in Brian Elliot. It's difficult to envision the Blues as a contender until you watch them play, but they are both complete and terrifying.

Arsenal Flop in the Champions League and FA Cup: A 4-0 loss at the San Siro against AC Milan has ended any sort of hopes Arsenal may have had about getting a trophy from Europe. Not that they had much of a chance anyway, but such a loss seemed like an enormous mental blow to the club. They followed up that wretched performance with a 2-0 loss in the FA Cup to Sunderland, and thus also mourn the loss of any chance at honors for his season. Now all that's left to play for is qualification for next year's Champions League, which Arsenal are in prime position for by holding 4th place in the Premier League. But they're equal with 5th place Chelsea on points, ahead of 6th place Newcastle by one point, and Liverpool in 7th are coming on very strong. I would not be surprised at all to see the Reds take that 4th spot, leaving Arsenal with no Champions League and no St. Totteringham's Day (Spurs are in a comfortable 3rd place).

This Week's Rating: 4/10. Some excitement, but there was a severe lack of quality matches. I expect that to change soon.

Recommended Viewing

Ultimate Tazer Ball: A new sport? Yes please, and this one has incredible violence too boot. Get this a TV contract and FDI will be covering it nonstop.

The Real Story Behind Hoosiers: Absolutely brilliant, recently released footage of the 1954 High School Basketball Championship in Indiana. A great story, a wonderful game, a packed crowd, the classic radio call of the game. So, so sweet.

The Inaugural MLS Cup In Its Entirety: Ok, you don't have to watch the entire thing. But there's so much to love here. The old, ugly jerseys. The clock counting down from 45 minutes rather than up. The torrential downpour that threatened the game and frightened the hell out of MLS officials. Still, it was a great game throughout all of it.