CARCILLO DROPS A BOMB ON LIFE AFTER NHL

For those of you that don't know Chicago Blackhawks forward, Dan Carcillo....you're about to.  Not because of any hockey exploits he has performed during his 13- year hockey career, but for something far different.  Throughout his hockey life, he's been known as a scrapper and a fighter.  It appears he's on the cusp of opening some eyes around the National Hockey League.  As is often the case, it's not always life that teaches us lessons, but death.  But most succinctly. just how important life is.   Here's Carcillo's life lesson..

"It was early Sunday afternoon, and I was taking off my shoes in our players’ lounge when I kept hearing my phone buzz.  Someone was calling repeatedly.  I immediately got an uneasy, sick feeling when I looked at the screen and saw who was calling.  It was my close friend Missy.  She was hysterical.

“Steve’s gone,” she said.

My best friend in hockey, Steve Montador, was found dead in his home at age 35. Steve was a 12-year NHL vet who battled addiction at certain points in his career before getting sober.  Since he walked away from the game due to concussions in 2013, he was struggling to figure out what to do next.  But I was still in complete shock and disbelief.  For some reason, I started getting dressed for the pre-game skate.  As a hockey player, you’re just taught to push through the pain, no matter what. I started putting on my skates when I glanced across the room and saw the stall Monty used to sit in when we played together.  I heard his deep, hearty laugh.

Once known as a scrapper, Carcillo's got different thoughts today

I broke down.

I went to the trainers’ room to try and finish tying my skates without anyone noticing the tears.  I didn’t want to be a distraction for the guys.  It was a big game.  I told JT, one of our trainers, what had happened.  I tried to put on my best face and finish getting ready back at my locker.  That’s when Johnny Toews noticed something wasn’t right.  I don’t think I was doing a good job of hiding it.  He pulled me back into the lounge and I told him what happened.  Johnny hugged me and tried to calm me down.  But I was inconsolable.  I blew my nose, slammed some cold water and went out for warm up, telling everyone who asked that I’d be fine for the game.

About five minutes into it, I was stretching by the bench and caught the eye of Pauly, one of our trainers.  He must have just found out the news, too.  His eyes looked sad.  He could see I was hurting.  I tried to take one more lap but failed to do so without breaking into tears.  I walked down the tunnel and straight to the coach’s room and walked into Q’s office.  They had just gotten the news about Monty as well.  When I could finally speak, I told him I couldn’t play.  I didn’t want to be a distraction.  I got undressed and left the rink.

I had so many thoughts and questions that needed answers.  What had happened?  Who was with him?  Where was he?  Is this real?  This can’t be real.  Why didn’t he reach out if something was wrong?  My mind was racing.  Over the days to come, I experienced emotions that I’d never felt before.  I never realized my heart and soul could ache as it did from that kind of loss.

When I rejoined the team after taking a few days off for Monty’s funeral, I couldn’t put what happened out of my mind.  One night on the road, I started writing down my thoughts on Hilton hotel notepads.  Why do NHL players struggle so much with moving on from the game?  Why are so many former players I know battling depression?  Why does the hockey community ignore them when they’re gone?  And why can’t we create a more concrete program to help them transition into real life?

I must have filled up 20 notepad pages.  Then, I thought of a memory of Steve lathering himself up with Flexall gel after a pre-game workout and running into the locker room in his underwear. Anything to get a laugh.  Anything to make other people happy.  That was Steve.  I started to laugh.  I started to break down".

Since Carcillo's thoughts became public there has been significant interest among players, the NHL and the players union to address some of the questions posed.  A man known for his fighting abilities, who once logged 324 penalty minutes in a season...Carcillo has struck a chord.  It's time that a sport that arguably might be one of the toughest, come to grips.  Player safety and futures needed to be addressed.  And given the notion that Carcillo might be on the verge of calling it quits in the NHL, he might have found his calling. 

A man known for the nickname, "Carbomb" , might be about ready to explode with some revolutionary ideas for the league.  And with it, the memory of his best friend, Steve Montador. 

Thanks for reading,

John   

 

THE FINAL FOUR IS A SERIES OF RE.....WHAT'S?

The four teams that make up this year's NCAA Basketball Final Four are very familiar with each other.  In some respect that knowledge should help those teams and us form an opinion as to who the winners will be to advance to Monday Night's Championship game.  It should.  But it most likely won't.

The first contest on Saturday's docket has Michigan State squaring off with Duke, two teams that met each other early in the 2014-15 season when the Blue Devils pulled off a 81-71 win.

Let's re-look at the November 18th game and some of the numbers:

Duke shot 7-14 from 3 Pt. range (50%)  Spartans were at a shaky 5-20 for 25%
Michigan State out-rebounded the Blue Devils 37-28
Duke turned the ball over 8 times to the Spartans 13
Branden Dawson paced Michigan State with 18 points and Travis Trice 15...Duke was led by Quinn Cook with 19 and the 3 five star recruits, Tyus Jones and Jahlil Okafor with 17 and Justice Winslow with 15.

Based on much of the information just mentioned, it might be wise to conclude a Duke victory.  But I'm not necessarily sold.  Why?  Because it's Michigan State who has a history of playing rock solid in games of significance in March and April.  And Tom Izzo.  I know Duke has the heralded Mike Krzyzewski at the helm but there's something about the little guy from MSU that defies explanation.  Other than the fact that he simply knows how to win at the right time of year.   Coach K has his admirers but there are far more who look at Duke with envy.....and maybe disgust.

The other glaring piece for me is the bench strength of the Spartans.  I think they go deeper with quality.  And just for one other Final Four digestion, it appears Izzo has everyone firmly entrenched in their roles.  He has tremendous depth on the front line and the back court is just dangerous enough in their rotation to keep you off guard.  My prognostication is Michigan State as the first of the two finalists.       

There might be a whole lot of finger pointing in Kentucky-Wisconsin clash

The other match-up is a redo of sorts.  Last year Kentucky outlasted Wisconsin 74-73 in the semi's but don't let that be any indication.....

In fact, ESPN's Jeff Goodman offers this.
 
"The four outstretched arms belonging to Willie Cauley-Stein and Karl-Anthony Towns were nowhere to be found a year ago when the Kentucky Wildcats defeated the Wisconsin Badgers in the semifinals. Cauley-Stein was injured, on the sideline, and Towns was a high school senior preparing to play in the McDonald's All-American game that week.

Freshmen Tyler Ulis, Trey Lyles and Devin Booker were also months away from arriving on the Lexington, Kentucky, campus.  This no rematch". 

Now, while Goodman offers that suggestion, I'll take the other side of the coin with Wisconsin.  The Badgers are a year older, wiser and tougher.  They can match-up with Kentucky in height, are definitely much more stubborn defensively and they have a bevy of people that hoist it from three point range.  Had Notre Dame used the 3-point shot to a bigger extent in their game plan last week...considering they had been a solid all year long, they could have eliminated the Wildcats.  Kentucky was ripe for the taking and the Fighting Irish let them slip away.  Wisconsin won't. 

Last year in the Kentucky contest, Wisconsin center Frank Kaminsky had 8 points and 5 rebounds and Nigel Hayes had just two points and was shut out off on boards.  That will not be the case this season. 

In addition, Badger head coach Bo Ryan has steadily led his team up the ladder and I believe this is the year he takes his program all the way to the title game. I need to also mention Wisconsin guard Traeyon Jackson.  Jackson is just returning from a fractured right leg he suffered early in the Big Ten season.  While not 100%, Jackson's creativity and clutch play could play an integral part in the final outcome.  He can help match-up against the Wildcat guard court....

And then there is the Kentucky head man, John Calipari.  While many marvel at the recruiting wars he wins year after year, his coaching resume doesn't reflect the same success.  This is his seventh trip to the Final Four.  He has won the championship just once, in the 2011-12 season.  One would have to think the bigger the contest the tougher time he finds a way to win.  I'll take the Badgers. 

I'll leave you with some words of wisdom from a former college coach who shared his thoughts on crunch time.  He said, "you miss 100% of the shots you don't take..."

Saturday, we'll find out who's willing to take them and.....make them.

Thanks for reading,

John