Pucks, Paulus, Papi & Preakness

Detroit Red Wings goalie, Chris Osgood, made 30 saves in a 5-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks Sunday. The Red Wings lead the Western Conference finals 1-0 and play again on Tuesday night in Detroit. Dan Cleary emerged as the leading scorer for the defending Stanley Cup champions. The forward matched a playoff career high with two goals. Cleary was originally drafted by the Blackhawks. Adam Burish put the Blackhawks on the scoreboard with the early lead at 5:25 into the game. Cleary throttled the puck into the net a minute later for the equalizer. Johan Franzen collected his first goal of the series in the second period to give the Red Wings the 2-1 advantage. Clearly scored the game winning goal in Detroit’s previous series with Anaheim. With three minutes left in Game 7, he popped the puck into the net to stave off elimination and send Detroit to the next round. After last night, the dangerous Clearly has five total goals this post-season.
During the regular season, the Blackhawks lost each of the first four meeting between the teams. The Red Wings capped off a memorable 6-4 victory at Wrigley Field on New Year’s Day. Chicago bounced back during the regular season’s final weekend with two wins of a home-and-home set. The Blackhawks have been a resilient team ever since. This season marks their first conference final since 1995. The Red Wings are playing in their third straight final so clearly have experience on their side. Chicago is the only team in the NHL to improve its record each of the past four years. The young Blackhawks are going to need stars Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Brent Seabrook and Dave Bolland. Kane and Toews were held without a point during Sunday night’s opening loss. Toews attempted three shots but Kane was shotless. Seabrook showed sloppiness when Cleary slyly stole the puck from him. A goal by Kris Versteeg on a power play made it a 2-2 contest. Chicago was competitive but Detroit broke the game open in the third period. The Blackhawks are 7-0 when leading after two periods so the murky outlook was not favoring Chicago. Despite 38 stopped shots by goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, the Blackhawks couldn’t prevent Cleary from twisting a wrister for his second goal midway through the third. Mikael Samuelsson fired the go-ahead score for the Red Wings and Henrik Zetterberg stifled an empty-net goal.
When playing away from the United Center, the team thrives on the road. It’s beneficial to underscore their 22-15-4 road record and give the 4th seeded Blackhawks a chance to win Game 2 in Motown. The team trailed in each of their four victories against Vancouver during the playoffs’ second round. The battle-tested Hawks then scored 14 goals in the third period or overtime to rally for wins. The team responds to adversity.
Right winger, Marian Hossa, missed part of the third period after a collisions with Andrew Ladd. He is expected to be fine for Tuesday night and I think is a significant player for Detroit. The addition of Hossa to the Red Wings make them a deeper team than last year’s champs. The 30 year old Czech native is a 12 year league veteran. Hossa played 9 seasons for the Ottawa Senators and his defense is an overrated aspect of his game. Offensively, Marian compiled 40 goals, 31 assists and 71 points for Detroit this year. The Red Wings downfall is their paltry penalty killing but they have too much experience to be knocked around by Chicago. They rely on playoff-tested Nicklas Lidstrom, Franzen, Zetterberg, Brian Rafalski, and Pavel Datsyuk. Osgood is a sharp goaltender with quick hands. The vets were tried during the Anaheim series and rugged Chicago is going to throw everything at them in order to tire them out. The Blackhawks might be catching the Red Wings at the right time. The skaters’ stamina surely was slowed during the stifling Ducks series. However, the Red Wings 11 Stanley Cups make them the big kids on the block and frontrunners for the trophy in 2009.

Former Duke point guard, Greg Paulus, announced he will attempt to play quarterback for Syracuse football this fall. The decision to try out for the Orange capped off a two-month process of workouts for the Green Bay Packers, Michigan and Nebraska. Paulus chose to return to upstate New York because he starred for the football program at Christian Brothers Academy. The All-American played 139 basketball games at Duke. He helped the Blue Devils to the ACC title during his freshman and senior seasons. Paulus lost his starting job last year and was relegated to a reserve role. He still ranks among Duke career leaders in 3-pointers with 210 and assists with 468. Syracuse has not had a winning football team since 2001. Paulus will compete for the quarterback job for the Orange after inquiring about the same position at Duke. Thaddeus Lewis is already the rising quarterback for the Blue Devils but head coach, David Cutcliffe, offered Paulus a wide receiver role. The point guard turned him down and elected to be an unsigned recruit for Doug Marrone. Paulus brings prep football experience but hasn’t technically taken a snap since 2005. As a high school signal-caller, he passed for 153 touchdowns and finished with a 42-3 record. Paulus was considered one of the best quarterback prospects in his class. He has to wait for the NCAA to grant him an academic waiver for eligibility for 2009 after graduating Duke this month. If he is granted the waiver, Marrone will have Paulus taking snaps alongside senior, Cameron Dantley and red shirt freshman, Ryan Nassib. Dantley started 11 games for the Orange in 2008. I think it’s cool how Paulus is choosing to go back to upstate New York. Marrone is an offensively-minded head coach and the addition just might work out to be a good fit for Syracuse.

Prostrate Papi’s perplexing perils are puzzling all of New England. Nobody can seem to explain the dropoff from David Ortiz’s digressing bat. The Red Sox’ slumping slugger was signaled to the sidelines by manager, Terry Francona for the weekend series in Seattle. Ortiz will not play again until the team returns to Fenway on Tuesday. Big Papi is in the worst slump of his career and is at a low point mentally. He went 0-7 for the first time Thursday against the Angels. Ortiz stranded an astonishing and franchise record-tying 12 runners on base during the 5-4 loss. The brusque power surge is missing from his stick. The struggling DH needs a break to clear his head, according to his manager. His bat looks mighty weak and Ortiz started the Spring at a staggeringly slow pace. The once overly-aggressive Ortiz is hitting only .208 and does not have a homerun after two months of baseball. His 15 RBIs are way off the mark for this type of player and this time of year. David used to be one of the most productive hitters with runners on base and two outs. It seems like Ortiz is pressing because of some off the field issues, but Big Papi denies any outside distractions. He may just not be seeing the ball well. Francona is debating how to reintroduce his prized player into the lineup against Toronto. At least Big Papi has the support of his teammates while he tries to reestablish himself. I can’t say what the deal is for sure, but to me, Ortiz misses Manny’s bat. His approach is not the same. David also have an undisclosed ailment nagging his burly body. There is also the steroids question. There is an unwritten assumption Ortiz is a juiced athlete. While I cannot rule it out, I doubt he is failing because he is no longer cycling ‘roids. Furthermore, he simply may be getting old. Players are bound to break down eventually, even perceived immortal Boston stars. The Sox’ sorrows are small because it is only May. Eventually, the team may have to consider finding Ortiz’ replacement. That will place Boston’s hierarchy in a peculiar predicatment.

Rangy Rachel Alexandra shot to the finish line and was never seriously challenged Saturday at Pimlico. The lads lost their luster this time. A philly won the Preakness Stakes over Kentucky Derby long-shot, Mine That Bird. Bird came in second and Musket Man ended in third, the same as he finished in he Derby. The conquering Rachel Alexandra was undefeated in four tries this year and was ridden by Calvin Borel. Borel was in the saddle for Mine That Bird’s victory the first week of May and now has two of the three triple crown race wins on his resume. The great Alexandra was victorious in the biggest philly race in America. Rachel made herself a spectacle when she won the Kentucky Oaks the day before the Kentucky Derby. Borel rode her then and now the philly is ranked the number one 3-year old by the NTRA. The horse was bigger than most of the males she raced against Saturday. She was ahead by four lengths going down the stretch and won the Preakness by a length. Rachel became the first horse to win at Pimlico from the number 13 post. She stumbled slightly out of the gate but struck ahead, shaking Big Drama loose. That passing opened up a four-length lead at the top of the stretch where the gelding, Mine That Bird challenged her. Rachel took the heat, Borel guided her to the finish line as if in a whimsy and a surprised crowd witnessed a rarity in Baltimore. Nellie Morse was the last philly to win the Preakness in 1924. The 9-5 favorite may not race in the grueling 1 mile Belmont Stakes. Trainer, Steve Asmussen, is hesitant to allow his horse to run three races in five weeks. If she does ride and win, the striking horse could make Borel a Triple Crown jockey. I would like to explore and delve into an enticing encounter between Mine That Bird and Rachel Alexander come June. Mine That Bird is looking for a jockey, but is slated to race the Belmont. And their off…let the bets begin!

Parting points: Today’s tune- “Face Down” by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus