MEMORIAL CUP AWARDED TO LONDON....AGAIN

It's not exactly breaking news.   London got awarded it's second Memorial Cup in the last four Ontario bids.  What could have been a competitive bidding process became something of an inevitability as the awarding of the event came closer and closer.   No secret that London, and its solid facilities and great support of junior hockey played a role, but it also is no secret that the almighty dollar guarantee played a significant role in this decision.   Followers of university basketball will empathize with the current plight of the Barrie Colts and Windsor Spitfires who were the two competitors for London in the recent round of Memorial Cup bids.  

 You see for upwards of a quarter century the fine city of Halifax had a stranglehold on men's university basketball's Final Eight Tournament.  No doubt that the city did a tremendous job in hosting the tournament, often packing the place when local teams played.  That said elite basketball never got exposed to the rest of the country.  Sure there might of been not as many venues available, but year after Halifax bid against it self, offering the university sports body a nice return on investment.  One year Hamilton leapt into the fray and a lot of people felt that the time had come to move the tournament to Southern Ontario and at least expose the tournament to other parts of the country.  At the time Hamilton had an elite basketball university in McMaster good facilities at Copps Coliseum which had already hosted a lot of great basketball, university basketball included.  Yet for murky reasons unknown the tournament went back to Halifax where for the first time the word "stale" got tossed around.  As time passed the murky reasoning basically became defined under a financial guarantee.  At least, I think that is how it was decided.  I'm not sure eloquent feedback was the order of the day.   

The point is that don't say that you invested in growing the game when you keep going back to the hand that feeds you time and again.  Even today in the university basketball the Final 8 bounces back and forth between Ottawa and Halifax.  Hopefully another significant bid will be on the horizon. However, the bid process is an exhausting one on both political and sporting levels.  People devote a plethora of time on top of their regular job lobbying for the tournament, finding corporate support putting on bid presentations, locating the appropriate amenities and on and on  For the Memorial Cup committee to award a tournament to the same city for the second time in four bid processes is not exactly sharing the wealth and likely makes cities a little hesitant to exhaust their resources in a process with a low guarantee of success. .  

London, no doubt, will welcome the CHL with open arms and run a first class tournament with sell out crowds cheering, while the cash registers ring with equal joy, but you know what?  Other cities could have done just as good a job, but we will not get to find that out until next time around, and if you are small or mid market team it likely will be an  exercise likely born into futility, especially if the likes of London, Kitchener or Ottawa jump into the bidding pool. 

THE BROADCAST BOOTH

Aah the joys of having your own blog. Because in the creative sense, a blog can be an extension of your own personal Freedom of Expression, you can use it to gratuitously plug your own self-absorbed, ego maniacal projects! 

With that in mind, happy to say that my initial foray into the world of hosting, producing and creating my own TV Sports Show has continue to define itself, and has returned this year for brand new episodes.  Last year we experimented with a half-hour format and felt a little constrained with content, and the time seemed rushed.  Plus, some shows were better than others.  As a guy used to play by play, it does take a while to define your own personality on-air when you are in the hosting realm, as opposed to commenting as to what is happening on the field/ice/court.   I sure had my good days and bad days.  What I did not realize is that every single minute detail from the set, to the camera placement, to the placement of your guests to what you wear become equally as important as the content you are providing.  My most egregious error was showing up too casually, actually wearing a golf shirt, khaki pants and sandals.  Unfortunately due to camera placement my sandled feet were on display far too much, and it was far from a pleasing visual.   Overall, the shows were effective and gave us a solid foundation with which to build upon. 

This year we expanded to one hour, kept the panel format, though I will be experimenting with a couple of one on ones, and tried to tackle a lot more issues oriented shows.  So far we have tried to define Hamilton as a sports town, and tried our hand at marketing Canadian university sport. In the works is a show featuring local basketball legendary coach Mark Walton, and what one of his ex-players is doing, a hopeful 1 hour sit-down with a prominent member of the sports media, who just happens to be from the Hamilton area.   In fact, what we have found is that there are a lot of great stories from Hamilton out there just waiting to be told.   There is a new summer basketball league playing out of Redeemer College, Dundas is hosting the Allan Cup next year, there are Hamiltonian's excelling in both the amateur and professional field.  For myself, gone are the sandals and golf shirts, and I feel more, and more comfortable each week in the hosts chair.  I have utmost respect for journalists like Michael Landsberg who do this each and every day.  In fact, I would say that the Off The Record template is the one I look to for guidance.   We choose our guests carefully because guest dynamic is likely as important a factor as the host, or any of the other aesthetics.  So far we have struck gold as the guests have been eager to discuss, debate and clarify. 

There are many great stories that have been told, and are yet to be told.  We are always scouring the newspapers for good stories!  Maybe someday, yours is the one that we will tell.  Stay tuned...

EPISODE GUIDE SEASON TWO: 

Episode 1:  Hamilton as a Sports Town- guests Scott Radley (Hamilton Spectator, CHML Sports Lounge), Doug Farraway (Former PD of The Fan 590)- Aired April 26th

Episode 2:  Marketing the CIS- guests Robert Hilson (Athletic Director Brock University), Parrish Offer (Marketing Officer McMaster Athletics and Recreation)- Airs May 3rd 4pm and 10pm

Episode 3:  Basketball:  Achieving the Next  Level- guests Mark Walton (longtime coach at high school/elite/NCAA) Mihai Raducanu (NCAA Athlete/Founder No Limit Sport- Airs May 10th 4pm and 10pm 

Episode 4: TBA, Airs May 17th 4pm and 10pm

CONFERENCE FINAL PREDICTIONS

Must admit that I have been following the OHL playoffs intermittently since the IceDogs were eliminated.  It's not like I have completely lost interest but as this is my second job, the break from broadcasting the OHL gives me time to focus back on family and the main career job.   Plus, I am producing and hosting a sports show that I created called *cue cheap plug* The Broadcast Booth, which you can catch starting Friday April 26th at 4:00pm and 10:00pm on Cable 14 if you are in the Hamilton area. *end cheap plug*

I went 4/4 in the second round in terms of my predictions, but was way off when it came to number of games.  I had Barrie and Oshawa going the limit, and was surprised to see the Generals get dusted in a sweep.  Lack of scoring was the Gens downfall.  I had Belleville over Sudbury in 5, so I was pretty bang on there.   Overall it was very surprising to see both series end in a sweep as all season long we had been talking about parity in the East on our OHL broadcasts.  In the West, I had London in 6 and they won in 5, and I picked Plymouth over Owen Sound in 6 correctly. 

On with the predictions: 

PLYMOUTH OVER LONDON IN 6

Might be going out on a limb a bit here, but I had touted Plymouth from the start of the playoffs and see no reason to deviate from that.  London is playing very, very well but Plymouth has been matching them so far.  Mike Vellucci had an interesting quote that you take many different ways.  Velluccci compared the Knights to the New York Yankees, a quote that is fairly accurate.  London gets their lions share of the great prospects in the OHL and like it or not, there is a buzz when the Knights come to town.  Plus the Hunters, while outstanding hockey men, don't exactly give everyone the warm and fuzzies.  This will be a great series, but I'm sticking with Plymouth. 

BARRIE OVER BELLEVILLE IN 6

To me, looking from the outside, Belleville is just starting to hit their stride in the playoffs and Malcolm Subban is playing lights out, having captured a number of individual honours during the post season.  Barrie is  playing even better.  They dismantled a very, very good Oshawa team in 4 in a series that turned in Game 1 when Barrie came back from 3-1 down and won 4-3 in OT.  They are unbeaten in the playoffs and at some point during the series Ryan O'Connor, the Nelson Mandela of the OHL will be liberated from OHL incarceration.    Belleville is built for the playoffs with big aggressive forwards and outstanding goaltending.  Barrie is built for a championship appearance and I give them the slight edge in talent and depth. 

'Till the Finals!

Steve Clark

ROUND TWO PREDICTIONS...OHL

Just some quick thoughts, including Round 2 predictions.  I went 6/8 in my actual predictions, missing out on Guelph/Kitchener (Had Guelph in 7) and Sudbury/Brampton (had Brampton in 6).  Others I missed on the number of games it took to vanquish the opposition, but I did nail Owen Sound in six over Sault Ste Marie and Barrie to sweep Kingston.  

As I am somewhat IceDog-centric, I will a post more comprehensive season in review at a later date, perhaps waiting until Saturday's draft to see how the IceDogs fill out their roster.  Marty Williamson has already made a smart move, grabbing a couple of 3rd round picks for the upcoming draft in return for some futures down the road.  Having four picks in the first 53 will add some depth that should come to fruition just in time for the new arena. 

2ND ROUND WESTERN CONFERENCE

LONDON IN KITCHENER IN 6

Make no mistake about it, Kitchener was very impressive in round one in dispatching a very good Guelph team in five games, as John Gibson played very, very well in net.  He could steal a game, or perhaps even a series. London looked equally good in their four game sweep over Saginaw.  They survived a real scare in Game 2 when they won in double overtime and took care of business in Games 3, and 4.   While the edge may go to the Rangers in net, I like London's depth and experience over all. 

PLYMOUTH OVER OWEN SOUND IN 6

Gotta stick with my pick to win it all in what should be a raucous affair.   Plymouth had little trouble with Sarnia, romping 11-2 in game one and essentially coasting from there while Owen Sound had a real battle on their hands with a talented Soo team.   Owen Sound has that mix of talent and aggression, while Plymouth has great team defense and a wealth of offensive talent.   This will be a great series and it would surprise to see it go 7.  I still like Plymouth though.

2ND ROUND EASTERN CONFERENCE

BARRIE OVER OSHAWA IN 7

Almost wrote Oshawa down as talent wise they do match up well with Barrie.  Oshawa had their hands full with a young IceDog team and it was no coincidence that the one game they lost was the one game they came unglued in terms of team discipline.   They got a dominant performance from Scott Laughton in round one, and Boone Jenner came alive in Game 5 versus the IceDogs.  The only real disappointment was Tyler Biggs who was held goalless versus the IceDogs.  Barrie easily took out Kingston in four straight and are at the top of their offensive game, though they will miss Ryan O'Connor, their captain who received a 10 game suspension in a decision that left many scratching their head.   Give it to Barrie over a long and grueling series. 

BELLEVILLE OVER SUDBURY IN 5

The Bulls got a legitimate scare from Mississauga in their series, prevailing in 6 games. After a dominant 8-1 thrashing in Game 1, the Bulls might have taken the foot off the pedal before righting the ship in Games 5 and 6.  Sudbury looked very good in beating Brampton and sending the moving vans off to North Bay, but they were aided by some divine PP help in Game 2 that led to Stan Butler getting tossed and suspended.  In a year in which the Wolves traded away more established talent than they got back, they are doing awfully well for themselves.  Belleville is a team built for this year and in the second round they will show it. 

Oshawa v Niagara Series Thoughts

Visually Game 3 of the IceDogs/Generals series made for spectacular TV with a number of game stories entering the game, and even more after the game.   Artistically, this was not exactly Rembrandt on ice.   Bottom line is that there is some real animosity between these two teams, and the IceDogs showed the necessary push back to get back into the series.  Here are a few random thoughts...

STEVEN SHIPLEY: 

Scores 2 goals, and gets 20 stitches and still only gets 2nd star. Go figure!.     That, to me, is a definitive statement on the leadership of the IceDogs as no one would have begrudged Shipley had he not returned.  Warrior is an understatement. 

THE JACK: 

Boosted by noise makers, the drum corps and a whole whack of loyal fans, the old building rocked on its foundations at time and was the loudest that I can remember it.  Even though Oshawa is a veteran team, you could see that some were rattled at the atmosphere and the IceDogs fed off of it.   Kudos to the IceDog fans. 

LUCAS LESSIO:

Already a game story as IceDog fans revel in making Lucas Lessio public enemy number one, Lessio took centre stage for his over the top taunting celebration of a goal, that wrongly as it turned out, was waved off for a phantom contacting of the puck with a high stick.  Lessio then took a slew of penalties and had his night end early as he picked up a questionable interference call and then a 10 minute misconduct.   Lessio was on the short end of a few calls, but no IceDog fan will extend any sympathy to him.  He was still visibly upset at the disallowed goal call after the game. 

SCOTT LAUGHTON:

A pro's pro.  Laughton has been the best player on either team in the playoffs.  Easy to see why he is a first round pick and a future NHL'er.  Even when he scored to make the game 4-2, there was no discernible reaction as he knew there was work to be done.

YOUTH IS SERVED

Maletta, DiFruscia, Perlini and Verhaeghe have been equally as effective as the big three of Strome, Shipley and Ritchie, and that is a good thing.  Add in Aaron Haydon's return to the lineup from a broken jaw and they are a large reason that this a series very much in doubt. 

GOALIES: 

In Game 3 Festarini outplayed Altshuller, and the IceDog net minder looked very composed, remarkable considering the wave of players that the Gens sent to the net.  Altshuller has played well in spurts, but has not looked completely comfortable in the net so far for Oshawa. 

FINALLY...

Interesting choice by Coach DJ Smith to send McGuire, Dundas and Hunter Smith out for the last face-off.  Gamesmanship has been an issue with both teams this series.   The spillover to Game 4 will be interesting to say the least. 

See you at the rink!

Steve Clark

FEARLESS PREDICTIONS: OHL Round 1

With visions of three NCAA brackets and the OHL playoffs dancing in my head, the prognostication cap is on.  Keep in mind my track record for predictions of any sort have been lamentable to say the least. 

I was the guy who stocked up on supplies least Y2J destroyed all that we held valuable and was the one who bought into the Mayan prediction of the end of the world.   Caveat aside, lets have a gander at the OHL playoffs..

WESTERN CONFERENCE ROUND 1: 

London vs Saginaw:  Saginaw played well down the stretch to overtake Windsor and claim the last spot, and they did it while trading Vincent Trocheck, their best player.  This is where they will miss him the most.  Too much depth for London for the Spirit to handle.  Max Domi, Bo Horvat, Seth Griffith, Olli Maata head a long list of players who anchored the Memorial Cup run last year.  

London in 5

Plymouth vs Sarnia:  Plymouth was just ridiculous down the stretch, winning something like 20 out of their last 24 and looking like a juggernaut doing it.  Adding the aforementioned Trocheck may have been the final piece of a strong lineup already boasting the likes of Tom Wilson, and a core defense, that while unspectacular, is experienced having played upwards of 200 games together.  Sarnia has a lot of flash and dash on offense led by Charlie Sarault and 60 goal sniper Reid Boucher.   JP Anderson provides good goaltending but the defense will find it difficult to handle Plymouth's forwards

Plymouth in 5

Owen Sound vs Sault Ste Marie: Owen Sound is like that big mean dog that you want to avoid when you walk home.  They are deep, skilled and aggressive and when I saw them play vs Sarnia on Friday I moved back several rows when Daniel Zweep came on the ice!  The key is whether or not they can stay out of the penalty box.  If they do, they should win relatively easily.  If they do not the Soo could stretch this series.  

Owen Sound in 6

Guelph v Kitchener: The first pick 'em of the playoffs.  Guelph had a fine year and has a very capable Garrett Sparks to duel John Gibson in net.   That said, I don't think we have seen the best of Kitchener this year as they were ravaged by injuries and also had a lot of players go to the World Jr's.  Both teams are very evenly matched and I can see this one going seven games.  In fact, that is what my prediction is. 

Someone in 7.....ok, ok, I will go with Guelph

EASTERN CONFERENCE ROUND 1: 

Belleville vs Mississauga:  Mississauga backed into the playoffs with so much force, you could literally hear the beep, beep of the big  truck (Thanks to The League for providing the original joke).   The Steelheads lost 9 of their last 10 and needed a win over Ottawa and help to get in.   They have some nice individual talent in Riley Brace and Dylan Smoskowitz, but the Bulls have Subban's a plenty as well as some nice depth at forward fortified by the likes of Tyler Graovac.  

Belleville in 4

Barrie vs Kingston:  Another team that needed a lot of help to get into the playoffs was Kingston.  They too needed to pick at the Ottawa 67's carcass to qualify for the playoffs.  Bigger things were expected of this team, but they floundered badly down the stretch.  Barrie has too much depth on offense with Scheifle, Camara, and Hall.  Plus the defense led by Ekblad, Ryan O'Connor and Alex Lepkowski should help dispatch of the Fronts early. 

Barrie in 4

Oshawa v Niagara:  This match up adds a level of intrigue as Niagara knocked out Oshawa the last two years in the playoffs. Last years first round was a rollicking affair in which the Gens completely completely capitulated the first two games before responding with two straight victories and a healthy scare for the supposedly dominant IceDogs.   Lots of players from that Oshawa were part of the last two losses, and I do not think they want to see a hat-trick of eliminations at the hands of the IceDogs.   Niagara had a great start and then got depleted by the World Jr's and NHL camps.  They still have Strome, Ritchie and Shipley, but they are banged up and going against the likes of Jenner, Lessio, Laughton, Petgrave, and Biggs.   How close the series will be determined by the discipline, or lack thereof, by Oshawa. 

Sorry IceDog Fans...Gens in 6.....but Lucas Lessio will get booed lustily 

Brampton v Sudbury: Aaah yes, the series that blew my bracket last year.  Who could have predicted that the Battalion would sweep the Wolves?  Not this guy!  The Wolves were sellers at the deadline, and then played better.  The Battallion were fairly consistent over the course of the year with one ugly stat as they lost 9 games in OT or the Shootout.  That's ok though because Sudbury lost 12 in that manner.   The systems coaching of Stan Butler and the goaltending of Matej Machovsky will ensure that the Brampton name will live on for another round at least. 

Brampton in 6

For the record, I am picking Plymouth to win the whole thing as they were the best team I saw all year, granted that the sample size was small. 

See you at the rink

Steve Clark

TIME TO FRESHEN UP THE ICE DOG LOGO?

I am not exactly the most creative marketing guru that fell off, well, whatever truck marketing guru's fall off of.  If you take a look at any of the ways that I brand myself, its pretty standard fare.   I usually rotate one of two photos of myself in the wonderful, dynamic and creative pose of trying to look thoughtful and intelligent with a microphone in front of me. 

Not exactly the most innovative picture.  Nobody is calling me a Steve Jobs visionary or a 2013 Renaissance Man.  However, I will opine that it is time for the IceDogs to tweak their current logo, and maybe change up the dynamic a little bit.  They may choose to do it next year, but certainly when the new arena opens in 2014 a fresh look and new uniform goes without saying. 

Now, as I say this, I say this with the caveat that I actually like the current IceDogs logo and colour scheme. The red and black is bold and the "IceDog" markets itself quite effectively to children, and does it without being cartoon-like.  It certainly was an improvement over the Mississauga IceDogs logo: 

In fact, I own many, many pieces of IceDogs  merchandise, be it t-shirts, golf-shirts, or hats.  My wife has IceDogs  merchandise, and so does my 21 month old toddler.  However, six years is a a substantial amount of time to have one logo in an era of third uniforms and creative changes to a sports brand on a yearly basis.    The IceDogs have had a couple of different styles to their uniform, in particular when they have done their Pink in the Rink game, and it has worked.    It does not have to a grand overhaul, just some changes.  As OHL teams come through the Gatorade Garden City Complex, I am stuck by some of the effective subtleties to uniforms, whether it is added piping, taking away piping, cream coloured uniforms, changes from the standard black to something more reflective of team colours.  There is a lot that can be done without doing something radical like the Mississauga Steelheads did when they changed from the Majors, and the Steelheads took a calculated risk which paid off as their uniforms look quite sharp.  

I would add a red third uniform into the mix, and change the front logo to something like a little more old school, maybe encircled or something like that.  The IceDogs have sold t-shirts with that sort of branding last year for the playoffs, and it was a tremendous success.   

Here it is:  

This is likely not breaking news to the IceDog staff.  No one is going to rush into an emergency staff meeting because the TV guy thinks he's Ralph Lauren.   I would guess that something might be in the works in the not so distant future, if not next year, then the year after.  

Sports branding almost demands a different look.  It's what makes the cash registers ring, or I guess the modern analogy is the debit machines swipe.  

Just don't do this...don't ever do anything remotely close to this eyesore. Not even Ryan Strome, Jesse Graham or Mitchell Theoret could look good in this disaster :-)

Steve Clark

Self-Proclaimed Fashion Guru

IceDogs TV Play by Play