Mark Howe and his Hockey Hall of Fame Induction

Together with the briber, Ed Belfour, Joe Nieuwendyk and Doug Gilmour, former Hartford Whalers and Philadelphia Flyer Defenseman Mark Howe was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame's Class of 2011 earlier this week. 

Howe started his career playing with his Father, Gordie Howe, in the WHA with the Houston Aeros as well as the New England Whalers (and later the Hartford Whalers) as Left Winger - even scoring 42 goals and 107 points in the 1978-79 WHA season.  He shunned the Boston Bruins (who drafted him in the 1974 Amateur Draft) to continue to play with his Dad and his older brother Marty Howe, who was also a defenseman on the team. Eventually, Howe switched to Defense and was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in 1982 for Greg Adams, Ken Linseman and a couple of draft picks that ended up netting the Hartford Whalers hardly anything of value.  Interestingly enough, his Father, who worked in the Whalers' front office after his retirement in 1980, was unaware that the team was trying to work out a trade with the Flyers.  

After the trade, Howe blossomed into a fierce leader of the Flyers, leading his team to two Stanley Cup victories while finishing second in the Norris Trophy voting three times despite teh fact that he originally started his career at Left wing.  And Howe later appeared in the Stanley Cup Finals for the Detroit Red Wings shortly before retiring in 1995.

The question for me remains - what took so long to induct Howe?  He was known as one of the best two way defensemen ever to play the game.  He finished his career with 742 points in the NHL while also notching more than a point per game in his career in the WHA.  Beside Bobby Orr, Dennis Potvin and perhaps Paul Coffey, Howe is one of the most famous Defenseman to play in the NHL in the 1970's.  In any event, it is a well-deserved honor.

Pete Rose and his Montreal Expos Excursion

Did you even remember that Pete Rose was on the Montreal Expos?

Everyone remembers his long stint with the Big Red Machine in the 1960's and 70's.  And who could forget Pete Rose leading the Philadelphia Phillies to the World Series in 1980 and 1983 with his signature move at first base of throwing the baseball as hard as he could on the ground of Veteran Park's astroturf?  Rose's second stint with the Reds included a stint as Player-Manager and his notorious betting scandel.  But in 1984, Rose was granted an unconditional release and became a free agent after the Phillies deemed that Rose was getting too old for the team and wanted him to take a more limited role with the team.  The Phillies at the time were high on Len Matusek and wanted him to receive more playing time at Rose's expense.  Of all teams, the Expos were the ones who came knocking with the most money and promise of playing time.  North of the Border he went as he signed as a Free Agent on January 20, 1984.

The team looked strong, led by future hall of famers, Gary Carter and Andre Dawson, as well as up and comer Tim Raines.  Rose was signed to play left field, since First Base was already occupied by standout (and current Boston Red Sox Manager) Terry Francona.  The Expos were poised to get into the playoffs again after near misses in 1980 and 1981. 

Things didn't turn out that way, however.  Despite stellar seasons from Carter and pitcher Charlie Lea, the Expos could never get more than a few games all season and ended up 78-83, Fifth in the National League East.  Big seasons were counted on by Starting Pitcher Steve Rogers and Rightfielder Andre Dawson.  Neither of hose occurred adn in fact Rogers struggled to a 6-15 season.  You know things are bad when the manager is fired mid season (Bill Virdon was fired after leading the team to 64-67 record) and the team does not have to finish the full 162 season (only playing 161 games).  Rose struggled as well, compiling a .629 OPS in 94 games.

A highlight for the team occurred early on in the season however, when Rose got his 4000th hit on April 13, 1984 with a double of Jerry Koosman in the 4th inning in Montreal in a 5-1 victory over Rose's old team the Philadephia Phillies.  Interestingly, the hit came on the 21st anniversary of his FIRST hit with the Reds in 1963.

Rose's tenure with the Expos was brief as he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds on August 19, 1984 to become the first Player Manager in the major leagues in more than three decades.

Jerry Glanville Continuing His UFL Career in Hartford of All Places

The former coach of the Houston Oilers (1985-1989) and the Atlanta Falcons (1990-93) has resurfaced in of all places, Hartford, Connecticut as the head coach of Connecitcut's UFL entry, the Hartford Colonials.  After a 3-5 opening season in the UFL in 2010, the Colonials are looking to improve on their inaugural season.  The hope is that Glanville will be able to instill some of his notorious technique to make his teams overachieve and more successful and put some more fans in the seats - be that as it may. Glanville may also be able to attract more talent with his NFL resume - the thinking being that players will flock to Hartford with the hope of parlaying that experience into an NFL job.

But is Glanville enough?  After mediocre stints as a Head Coach in the NFL with the Oilers and the Falcons, Glanville went to work for the networks.  After deciding that he wanted to finish his career coaching rather than watching from the sidelines, he returned to the sidelines.  Portland State didn't suit him as he struggled to win 9 games while lose 24 in his time there. Undeterred, Glanvile contnues his career in the UFL.  Will his hustle on every play approach work in professional football.  Even more importantly, is this enough for Jerry Glanville?  He's almost 70 years old and the chances of landing another high prestige job are slim, if not none.  Reports that he accepted the job before finding how much he was making in the financially-challenged league leads me to believe that he is ready to take this challenge on.

This might be the right venue, however.  With the NFL struggling to find labor peace, college athletics struggling with scandel and Arena Football struggling to survive financially, the UFL is poised to become an interesting choice in the Fall.  The Colonials have added to the excitement by signing former Hawaii standout quarterback Colt Brennan, who is still recovering from a serious car accident last year.  Perhaps with Glanville's guidance, the Colonials will start winning just as the league's profile is raised.  UFL games are fun and exciting.  The hiring of Glanville, if only for a season or two is a step in teh direction of financial stability.  I hope it continues. 

Kevin Dineen Wants the Panthers to Become the New Miami Heat

It's no secret that Kevin Dineen is one of my favorite players of all time.  The former Hartford Whaler scored the game winning goal in the Hartford Whalers' last game in Hartford in 1997.  Even though the team left for Carolina almost 15 years ago, Dineen didn't forget where his greatest success lied either as he attended the Hartford Whaler Fanfest back in August, and despite his other committments, stayed overtime to finish signing autographs for us fans.  One of my most vivid memories form those days was how Dineen stayed on the ice after that last game against the Tampa Bay Lightning thanking all of the fans.  It was clear that Dineen had the passion and drive that would translate to a college or professional coaching career.

It didn't take long, as just a couple of years after calling it a career after playing for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Dineen answered the call to coach the Portland Pirates, now the affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres.  What ensued was 6 successful seasons in Portland, including 5 years in the playoffs.

After 19 years and 355 goals (including a career best 45 goals for the Hartford Whalers back in 1988-89), and after 6 successful seasons as the Pirates' head coach, Dineen was today named the new head coach for the Florida Panthers.  The Panthers bring Dineen's enthusiasm, passion and hockey knowledge to South Beach. Dineen to his credit evoked the image of the City's other successful franchise, the Miami Heat in his introductory press conference.  Wanting to continue the buzz that the Heat have brought to the Town, Dineen hopes that his team will stop the slide that they have encountered since their last playoff appearance in the 1999-2000 season.  Not quite with the fanfare of their arena mates, LeBron and Chris Bosh, Dineen hopes to bring the same success on the ice.But how will Dineen do this?

The Panthers boast very strong goaltending as both of the team's veteran goaltenders Tomas Vakoun and Scott Clemmensen finished the year with 2.50 GAA, but they are both in their mid 30's.  The Panthers's goal scoring was the problem this season.  Only seeing three players score more than 20 goals (and the leader only counted 23 goals to his resume), the Panthers finished 29th in the NHL in goals for.  Scoring, unfortunately, is not something that can be coached.  The team's struggles will continue until a goal scorer or two emerge. 

In the meantime, good luck to Mr. Dineen.  I'll be rooting for him.