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Entering the fourth quarter
February 28, 2008
The regular season is now 75% complete. 60 games down, 20 to go. And I have some real concerns of the Admirals chances to make the playoffs.
If the season ended today, they would make the playoffs by a single point in the standings. However, Peoria and Quad City have played fewer games and are within a few points of elbowing their way past Milwaukee.
For the Admirals to succeed at the tail end of the season, they will have to be better than they are at the tail end in a typical game. They tend to be outplayed in the final twenty minutes. If comparing an Admirals game to a horse race, the Admirals would be a thoroughbred that fades after the 3/4 pole.
In the first 60 games, the Admirals have only outscored their opponent in the third period 17 times (28.3%). And it's happened only 6 times in the last 29 games (20.7%). They are not battling back often enough when they are losing, and they are blowing leads too often.
The photo at the top of this entry is of a piece of paper posted in the Admirals locker room to teach the team how to play with a lead. One paragraph. To me, it comes across as a statement that you would hope a pro hockey player would already be aware of.
Then again, there are postings in my workplace that state the obvious. Stuff I don't bother reading more than once. Let's hope the coaching staff is passing along the message by doing more than just putting stuff on the wall.
Another concern I have is with the power play. Ranked 19th in the league, and all too often we see the team struggle to even gain the zone with a man advantage. At times I wish they could be allowed to decline a penalty and continue playing 5-on-5.
If the Admirals hold on and make the playoffs, I hope they finish 5th in the division and get to cross over to play against weaker North division teams in the first two rounds. Anything can happen in the playoffs, but I like their chances in the first round against Toronto a lot better than Chicago right now.
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Somebody posted a comment on my previous entry pointing out the story of the Bradley Center seeking a title sponsor for the building.
The Bradley Center was a $90 million gift to the city by the late Admirals owner Jane Bradley Pettit in 1988. Many feel that it would insult her generous legacy by giving her gift a corporate-sponsored name.
Wanna be angry at someone about it? Blame the Bucks.
To keep the NBA team from leaving to a more lucrative market, the BC grabs it's ankles and bites it's lips while the Bucks use and abuse it. Not only do the Bucks play rent-free, the BC payed them over $7 million dollars last year!! A number that increases each year.
In addition, the Bucks receive 27.5% of concession revenue from all events at the BC, as well as revenue from merchandise and suite sales. Because of this, I haven't spent one dime at the BC food stands in almost 2 years.
The Bucks are spending $62.6 million dollars on their 15 man roster. Eleven players make more than a million. Eight players make at least three million. Michael Ruffin makes over a million and averages 1.3 points per game.
I feel that if the BC secures a few million a year in corporate sponsorship, then the Bucks will want even more money to stay put. In fact, it's inevitable. They have long term contracts with five players that generally increase in price each year. Next season, ten players are already under contract for about the same amount as the fifteen from this season, meaning that five more player contracts will blow that total up even higher.
It's just a matter of time until that growing fiscal irresponsibility becomes too much for the blue collar Milwaukee market to endure. The sooner the Bucks leave, the better.
Regardless of whatever name shows up on my ticket stub in the future, I will always call it the Bradley Center.
Sunday marks the 10 year anniversary of my Milwaukee Admirals web site. That statement just blows my mind.
Back in the 1997-98 season, I connected to the internet for the first time. It was my fourth season as an Admiral fan, and when the idea of creating a web site entered my mind, my first thought was to make one on the Admirals.
In the early days, the site was very crude. I spent a little bit of time every day tweaking it and coming up with ideas... some that worked, and some that didn't. I experimented with graphics and layouts and learned from my mistakes.
Back then, the Admirals were still an independent team in the IHL. Eric Fenton, Mike Tomlak, Shannon Finn, Ken Sabourin, and Danny Lorenz were a few of the team's key players.
A lot has happened since then. The NHL affiliation with Nashville. Two major logo and jersey changes. The passing of one owner and the long search for a new one. The move from the IHL to the AHL. Nine playoff runs. Two division titles. Two Finals appearances. And the 2004 championship season.
Yep, it's been a wild and memorable ten years. And I'm glad to have been able to share it all with you.
The original title of the site was "The Admiral's Log", a name that I never really liked. I adopted the easy-to-remember rhyme milwaukeehockey as my domain name and site title in 1999. You can view what it was like back in May 1998 on the Wayback Machine at archive.org.
At times, the site held so much information, that it completely consumed my free time to maintain. Recently, I've had less free time to devote to it, so there is less content now than in the past, but I fully intend on keeping the site going for as long as I am a fan.
It's only appropriate that I take this time to thank all of the readers and contributors from the past decade. All of the kind words of encouragement I have received has been the fuel to keep me doing what I do.
Here's to the next ten years!
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Anyone notice the new paint job on the mask of Dov Grumet-Morris? I didn't realize it until seeing a few photos from the last game, but it appears that he has the old Admirals logo used from 1982-98 on the top of his mask. The Predators logo also appears on the chin of the mask. Very cool.
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Flipping through the channels the other night, I came across Wolves highlights on a Chicago newscast. In a game against Manitoba, the Wolves lost the game in overtime after Steve Martins sent the puck the length of the ice into his own goal. On a delayed penalty, Chicago pulled their goaltender for a sixth attacker. Martins intended on passing the puck back to a defenseman, but it missed his intended teammate and cost his team the win. Manitoba goaltender Drew MacIntyre got credit for the goal as he was the last Moose player to touch the puck.
For 7 of the last 11 years, the Admirals have scheduled a home game on the same day as the Daytona 500 (98-01, 05, 07-08). Possibly 8 of 12... I could not find a 96/97 Admirals schedule.
That's a shame. My two most passionate sports interests are hockey and auto racing, and for the most part, they coexist without too many conflicts. Local race tracks generally hold their seasons from April-September, which fits nicely with the hockey calendar. One event I always look forward to watching on TV is the Daytona 500. NASCAR's biggest event kicks off the season on a mid-February Sunday afternoon.
Honestly, if the scary winter storm the local news glamorized for the past 72 hours would have actually happened (10-16" - "Run for your lives!!"), I would have stayed home to watch the race. I've only missed one Admirals home game in the last seven years by choice... which was to go to a Predators game in Chicago.
If you look around the crowd at any given game, you'll see racing hats, shirts, and jackets in the crowd, and decals in the parking lot. The Admirals work hard not to compete with Packers games when making the schedule, even rescheduling the hockey games if Green Bay manages to make the playoffs. I wish the Admirals would recognize the number of NASCAR fans who fight with the decision of staying home on that particular Sunday afternoon and keep that date open. (psst... next year it's on February 15)
In 2001, I had to learn about the death of Dale Earnhardt on a muted TV screen in the concourse of the Bradley Center. I remember being in a daze for the rest of the game, wishing I was at home. Next year, I hope I will be.
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I know I usually use this space to complain. This season, there hasn't been a whole lot to be positive about, but I will applaud a few things this time...
- How about the turn-around by Cal O'Reilly lately? Shortly after Rich Peverley was promoted to the NHL, Cal stepped up his game and has been on a tear. Six goals and 21 assists in the last 14 games, which included a nine game scoring streak and an AHL Player of the Week Award. I mentioned in the mid-season report card that he was in a sophomore slump, but maybe he's kicked it to the curb.
- And Amen and Hallejuleh that the gloves have been dropped on a regular basis again! Another item I criticized earlier this season, but lately, the boys have not let themselves get bullied around. Alex, Kelsey, Nolan... well done! Hell, even Antti and Cal each got into a scrap! After only 11 fights in the first 28 games, the team has had 21 in the last 27, and they would have had more if Kelsey didn't break his nose last month.
- I gotta admit, I was mildly amused by the Valentine's Day visit by Roscoe's girlfriend. Who knew he was getting some action away from the BC? In case you missed it, they dusted off the spare Roscoe costume, and dressed it up with a skirt and a long blond wig. She could have used an Admirals jersey, but instead she wore a sweater.
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A couple more thoughts before I go...
Someone ought to advise the youth hockey groups that participate during intermission that they should not take it too seriously. Many groups waste a minute or two of their alloted time by making sure all the kids are in their proper position before letting them play. Even worse, some groups will sit a couple of players on the bench instead of playing 7-on-7. Let the kids have fun. No one is keeping score. Just drop the puck and let them enjoy their five minutes of ice time.
Those who use cheer sticks show a lack of respect for the people they sit near. In most cases, the blame lies on lazy parents who encourage their kids to use them, as it keeps them occupied, giving the parents an escape from, well... actually being parents! The cheer sticks ought to come with a ziplock bag of earplugs to be handed out to anyone within earshot.
Better yet, I encourage the use of your hands. The sound of natural applause is louder and more pleasant than the annoying ping. There is no need for plastic toys that will find their way to the area's landfills.
Ok... so I couldn't resist a complaint... but I still have the headache 12 hours later.
Not really a hockey post today, but something many of you might find interesting...
I am a frequent contributor at virtualglobetrotting.com, where people share cool and interesting scenes found on Virtual Earth and Google Maps. As someone who loves to travel, but doesn't get to do so as much as I'd like, this is the next best thing... Picking a random area and exploring it using the internet. Google and Virtual Earth keep expanding their sites, and earlier today, Google added Street View scenery of much of the Milwaukee area.
Sometime last summer, a car fitted with a 360 degree rooftop camera drove around the area, taking a panoramic photograph every few seconds. Those photos were then married with the Google Maps web site, allowing users to go on a virtual drive around the area.
Click and drag your mouse to experience the panoramic photograph. Click on the arrows along the street to advance to the next panoramic scene. For best results, when viewing Street Views using the Google Maps site, press your F11 key to get a larger image to appear. (Press F11 again to exit that mode).
Click here to see what parts of southeastern Wisconsin are available.
There are now 30 metro areas in the United States with Street View coverage available. Most of the cities, including Milwaukee, are in low definition, but some cities (Bay Area, Phoenix, Tuscon, San Diego, and downtown Chicago) can be seen in a higher resolution. The difference... when zooming in on something in low definition, it does not become easier to see... in high definition, when zooming in, things appear much more clearly. Google adds a few cities every month, and soon cities in Canada and Europe will be available.
Feel free to send me links of any cool scenes you may find in the area.
The regular season is now 75% complete. 60 games down, 20 to go. And I have some real concerns of the Admirals chances to make the playoffs.
Anyone notice the new paint job on the mask of Dov Grumet-Morris? I didn't realize it until seeing a few photos from the last game, but it appears that he has the old Admirals logo used from 1982-98 on the top of his mask. The Predators logo also appears on the chin of the mask. Very cool.
