The 2011 Frozen Four

-Derek Belohrad

March Madness has ended, the Final Four is over, everyone’s brackets have been destroyed and College basketball fans at-large have returned to being productive members of the work force (OK, most people aren’t that obsessive). There is however a handful of college sports fans that are still waiting for their final four. The NCAA D1 Men’s ice hockey championship, more commonly referred to as the Final Four, begins the final rounds tonight. Minnesota Duluth will face Notre Dame at 3:00 pm Mountain and Michigan will face North Dakota at 6:30 pm. The winners of those two games will play for the National Championship on Saturday night at 5:00 pm Mountain.

What I’m Looking Forward to This Month – January 2011

January is here. The holiday are done, children are returning to school, five day work weeks are once again the norm and we can all go back to dodging our extended families. All that being noted here is what I am looking forward to in sports this month:

The BCS National Championship Game
On January 10th the Auburn Tigers and the Oregon Ducks will play for the BCS National Championship. I will admit the 600ish bowl games that take place between the end of the college football season and now mostly suck and a lot of people have moved on to other interests. However, this game should offer some good football and at least be a fun game to watch. (Plus Buffalo Wild Wings has great wing deals for bowl games.)

NFL playoffs
The Denver Broncos will not be among the post season teams this year which is unfortunate. None the less, post season anything is exciting. When teams are playing in do or die situations you are always going to get some good games.

NHL All Star Events
Last year in place of the All Star Events we got the Olympics and we learned All Star Events can’t top games that place national pride on the line. But the Olympics only come around every four years and we need something the other three years. I think most people will agree the All Star game itself is a snooze fest. I do however enjoy the skill challenges. Also, the decision to strap mics on some of the players was great.

There you have it. What I’m looking forward to this month.

-Derek

Welcome To 2011

Happy new year sports fans!

As you may have noticed Thin Air Sports has been struggling along this past year. Well, its a new year and we are ready to start fresh with a renewed commitment. Partially Inspired by WordPress’ Daily Post experiment and a general desire to interact with other sports fans have brought us back.
Join us as we bring you our unique perspective on all things sports in the new year.

-Derek

Guest Post: Sometimes Inspiration Comes From Unexpected People

Editor Note: Today’s guest post come from Heidi Storz.  She is the mother of two active, athletic sons and enjoys bringing a different perspective to sports.  An avid hockey mom that has learned to enjoy watching most sports, but it is the character building aspects that catch her interest.
Enjoy!  -Derek Belohrad

Sometimes inspiration comes from unexpected people, and this year I waited with baited breath to see the outcome of the four man bobsled. It’s a crazy sport – four giant men sprint like mad, stuff themselves into a bullet shaped sled, and plummet down an icy slide at speeds that aren’t even legal on roadways. For the first time since the 40s the United States actually had a team that could content with the world class sled teams from Germany and Austria, and they were a motley bunch.

Bobsledders need to have agility, quick speed, and nerves of steel. They are built more like linebackers, the extra weight helping to keep the sled stable on the runs, and working with gravity to propel the sled faster down the slope.  Bobsledders looked like the all-star wrestling group of the Olympics, but their timing, coordination and brute strength were refreshing to watch. The US crew of four has some unique background. They are consummate athletes, accomplished academics, and seem to be overall nice guys – the perfect hero for American youth. What mom wouldn’t want their child emulating these guys instead of the spoiled professional athletes populating so many hours of coverage on ESPN?

Canada stole the Gold… Well, not quite.

-Derek Belohrad

On Monday James Merilatt from Mile High Sports used the daily email newsletter to whine about Team USA’s loss to Canada for the Gold medal in Men’s Hockey.  He asked if his opinion would earn him the label of “ugly American”.

James, you’re good there.

However, his nonsensical whiny opinion should earn him title of “silly American”.

By ignoring any logical thought Merilatt blames the US loss on the fact overtime play is 4 on 4.  He claims 5 on 5 the USA was the best team and because of the unfair overtime rule the gold medal was effectively stolen from the USA.  He even takes the time to do a head-to-head comparison of the two teams.  The problem is his argument falls apart before you can even get to the numbers.

The 2010 Olympic Ice Resurfacing Kerfuffle

-Derek Belohrad

At this point, the 2010 Winter Olympics are nearly halfway over.  Earlier today I watched curling over my lunch break and I caught some hockey tonight but that has been it.  If it were not for my Twitter feed, I would have no idea what has been happening.  So yes, I am an Olympic slug (I also just got Bioshock 2- it is a bit distracting).

I did manage to come across the story about the Canadian made Olympia ice resurfacers breaking down and having to be replaced by American made Zambonis.  I don’t have the direct details on why the Olympia machines sucked but I can share my past experiences with ice resurfacers.

Hockey in Colorado is Back

-Derek Belohrad

Last year it was tough to be a member of the Colorado Avalanche and it wasn’t any easier to be a fan.  As many of you know the Avs finished 15^th in the West and to make things worse they were ten points behind the closest team (That is like being 5 games back if you are still in Baseball mode).  The off season didn’t, in my opinion, offer much hope for this year. While they did acquire some talent in Matt Duchene, they lost a great leader who possessed a lot of talent with the retirement of Joe Sakic.  Their goaltending last year was generally horrible and the acquisition of a largely untested goalie was too much of an unknown to offer much relief for next season’s doubts.

Currently the Avs are 4-1-1 and have provided some great entertainment.  Perhaps my preseason doubts were unfounded?

How quickly things can change.

Jay Cutler: Still Annoying Denver Residents

Invesco Field at Mile High

-Derek Belohrad

 In today’s Mile High Sports Daily newsletter James Merilatt runs down some of the reasons why the Denver Bronco’s once dedicated fans are a dying breed.  It is generally a good article and he makes some good points.  What really stood out to me was Cuter’s statement.  I remember seeing the headlines about him making some disparaging statements about Denver fans, but I did not bother to read the article because I have no desire to know what a 14 year old whiny girl thinks about Bronco fans.  Alas, I could not avoid his statements.

 My thoughts are this:
 

Joe Sakic in Ten Numbers

-Derek Belohrad

Over the weekend The Avs Hockey Podcast posted a link (via their Facebook page) to an article from The Hockey News titled “THN.com Top 10: Joe Sakic numbers”.  THN.com did a good job on finding ten numbers that could summarize the characteristics that made Sakic such an important player in the NHL and for Colorado.  My personal favorite was number 10.  When I was still coaching youth hockey I used Sakic as the example for who my players should aspire to be.  This is just another reminder that while we all in Colorado will miss him the league, as a whole, will be losing a player of great influence.

Manny Ramirez: Maybe the Tour de France next?

-Derek Belohrad

As most of you know by now Manny Ramirez has been suspended for 50 games after failing a drug test.  As he will not get paid for those 50 games he will see around 7.7 million dollars evaporate while he sits on the bench.  He tested positive for the female fertility drug, human chorionic gonadotropin.  While this is not a steroid it is used in conjunction with steroids and is therefore a banned substance.

Ramirez claims his doctor provided him the prescription for a medical issue and they assumed it was not a restricted medication.  On its face, there are two things wrong about that excuse.  First, it was a prescription for a female fertility drug.  I am not a doctor, but unless there is something we don’t know about Ramirez I am not sure why he needs to take the aforementioned drug.  Second, you are in a profession where any prescription you are given could mean serious consequences.  That being said, I find it incredibility hard to believe that you do not take the due diligence and double check for yourself whether or not you are about jeopardize your career.  This has all occurred under suspicious circumstances such that we can not buy your story Manny, sorry.  It is clear by the 50 game suspension the league could not either. 

For me the really unfortunate thing that I am going to take away from this is that I almost didn’t even read an article about it.