OK, so let me get this straight: The Carolina Hurricanes are considering letting go of Peter Laviolette, the coach who led them to the 2006 Stanley Cup title?
I guess missing the playoffs twice in as many years since that time lends itself to serious scrutiny.Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford told The Associated Press this week there isn’t a rush to decide on Laviolette’s future.
“Everything is under review, as it should be at the end of any season,’’ Rutherford told the AP.
“Even under the best of times, there (are) changes that are made,’’ he added. "And then when you miss the playoffs two years in a row, you have to consider ... the things you can do to try to change, and bring about change, in your team and give you a better chance to make the playoffs and win the Stanley Cup.’’
I could see how missing the playoffs in back-to-back years after winning the Cup could get a coach fired in a place like Detroit or New Jersey. But the Hurricanes don’t have the tradition of the Red Wings or Devils, so this bantering about handing Laviolette the pink slip is disturbing.
Besides, it’s not like Carolina completely tanked after winning the Cup like it did in 2003-04 — under then-coach Paul Maurice — following its 2002 Stanley Cup Finals loss to Detroit.
The Canes barely missed the playoffs this season and last. In fact, this year Carolina finished two points shy of winning the Southeast Division with a record of 43-33-6. It did so despite mounting injuries to key players throughout the season.
Laviolette shouldn’t be skating on thin ice just yet. Cut the guy some slack.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Phones ringing off the hook for Gillespie
Statesville history teacher Todd Jones got a phone call during his planning period Monday morning. A University of Miami women’s basketball coach was on the other line and wanted to speak to the Greyhounds girls basketball coach.
We would like to have Keyrra Gillespie come to Miami, Jones said the coach told him.
Small piece of advice, Hurricanes: Take a number and get in line.
Clemson, Florida and Charlotte have already offered Gillespie scholarships. Duke, Wake Forest and Kansas are a few other big names in the recruiting mix.
But interest in the junior point guard swelled in a short period of time, and it’s no coincidence the spike comes on the heels of Gillespie’s first team All-State selection March 27. College coaches around the country have been so advised.
Jones said he received 90 phone calls over the weekend from programs like California, Creighton and UCLA.
Even LSU — you know, the team that’s in the Final Four for the fifth straight year.
"I had to keep recharging my phone. It rang all weekend," Jones said. "It was crazy."
Pretty soon, those coaches can contact the three-time R&L county player of the year, and Jones brought that to Gillespie's attention.
"I said, 'You have your phone on ... I want you to answer every phone call,' "Jones said. " 'And you better be able to come back and tell me who called and everything else. I don’t care if it’s 100 of them, write down names. You need to come up with some questions you’re going to ask them, and I’ll help you with the questions if you want.’ She knows it’s coming."
Absolutely. The buzz comes with the territory.
We would like to have Keyrra Gillespie come to Miami, Jones said the coach told him.
Small piece of advice, Hurricanes: Take a number and get in line.
Clemson, Florida and Charlotte have already offered Gillespie scholarships. Duke, Wake Forest and Kansas are a few other big names in the recruiting mix.
But interest in the junior point guard swelled in a short period of time, and it’s no coincidence the spike comes on the heels of Gillespie’s first team All-State selection March 27. College coaches around the country have been so advised.
Jones said he received 90 phone calls over the weekend from programs like California, Creighton and UCLA.
Even LSU — you know, the team that’s in the Final Four for the fifth straight year.
"I had to keep recharging my phone. It rang all weekend," Jones said. "It was crazy."
Pretty soon, those coaches can contact the three-time R&L county player of the year, and Jones brought that to Gillespie's attention.
"I said, 'You have your phone on ... I want you to answer every phone call,' "Jones said. " 'And you better be able to come back and tell me who called and everything else. I don’t care if it’s 100 of them, write down names. You need to come up with some questions you’re going to ask them, and I’ll help you with the questions if you want.’ She knows it’s coming."
Absolutely. The buzz comes with the territory.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Hopping on the Davidson bandwagon
How about those Davidson Wildcats?
I admit I wasn't bold enough to pick Davidson to beat Georgetown in my NCAA tournament bracket -- although I did have it beating Gonzaga in the first round -- but that's exactly what the Wildcats did Sunday. They knocked off the second-seeded Hoyas 74-70 to advance to the Sweet 16.
As a proud Appalachian State graduate, it has never been my style to root for the Mountaineers' Southern Conference rival.
Well, those days are gone.
What's not to like about a well-coached, fundamentally-sound basketball team?
That's the Wildcats in a nutshell. Oh, and they just happen to have probably the best shooter in the nation in guard Stephen Curry, who followed up his 40-point performance in their first-round win over Gonzaga with 30 against the Hoyas.
People are talking about a possible North Carolina-Kansas showdown in the Final Four.
Don't count out those talented 10th-seeded Wildcats from winning the Midwest Regional this week.
I won't be.
I admit I wasn't bold enough to pick Davidson to beat Georgetown in my NCAA tournament bracket -- although I did have it beating Gonzaga in the first round -- but that's exactly what the Wildcats did Sunday. They knocked off the second-seeded Hoyas 74-70 to advance to the Sweet 16.
As a proud Appalachian State graduate, it has never been my style to root for the Mountaineers' Southern Conference rival.
Well, those days are gone.
What's not to like about a well-coached, fundamentally-sound basketball team?
That's the Wildcats in a nutshell. Oh, and they just happen to have probably the best shooter in the nation in guard Stephen Curry, who followed up his 40-point performance in their first-round win over Gonzaga with 30 against the Hoyas.
People are talking about a possible North Carolina-Kansas showdown in the Final Four.
Don't count out those talented 10th-seeded Wildcats from winning the Midwest Regional this week.
I won't be.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Some headscratching selections
The North Piedmont 3A released its winter sports all-conference award winners to the R&L on Monday. There are some more questionable selections this year. (SHOCK!)
Sometimes you wonder if the people voting on these things actually have a clue as to what's going on.
You can tell some let their jealousy or disdain for another school influence their voting.
Last year, Lake Norman swimmer Austin Johnson won a state championship in the 100-yard butterfly. He also was a regional champion, a county champion and a conference champion.
Somehow, a majority of NPC powers that be managed not to vote for him as NPC swimmer of the year. I know there were some other talented swimmers in the league, but not the caliber of Johnson.
It was absurd.
Mooresville's Ellen Velte got hosed in the girls swimmer of the voting in 2008. I think Statesville's Shannon Hayes is an outstanding swimmer, but Velte is better and the results back that up.
The NPC swim coaches have more of a swimming background than do the writers here at the R&L. Nevertheless, we will get it right when we unveil our county swimmers of the year in the coming days.
Sometimes you wonder if the people voting on these things actually have a clue as to what's going on.
You can tell some let their jealousy or disdain for another school influence their voting.
Last year, Lake Norman swimmer Austin Johnson won a state championship in the 100-yard butterfly. He also was a regional champion, a county champion and a conference champion.
Somehow, a majority of NPC powers that be managed not to vote for him as NPC swimmer of the year. I know there were some other talented swimmers in the league, but not the caliber of Johnson.
It was absurd.
Mooresville's Ellen Velte got hosed in the girls swimmer of the voting in 2008. I think Statesville's Shannon Hayes is an outstanding swimmer, but Velte is better and the results back that up.
The NPC swim coaches have more of a swimming background than do the writers here at the R&L. Nevertheless, we will get it right when we unveil our county swimmers of the year in the coming days.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
NPC shows its stuff
Coaches always love to defend the strength of their conference. Often times it blows up in their faces when the state playoffs arrive, because teams from other conferences eliminate them quickly.
So far it looks as though North Piedmont 3A boys basketball coaches who were bragging about the depth of the NPC this season look justified in doing so.
The top four seeds won their first-round playoff games Tuesday night, and three of them triumphed on the road.
Northwest Cabarrus (NPC champion) defeated visiting Eastern Randolph (Mid-Piedmont Conference No. 4) 64-51
East Rowan (NPC No. 2) upended St. Stephens (Catawba Valley Conference No. 2) 83-65
West Rowan (NPC No. 3) knocked off Asheville Roberson (Mountain Athletic Conference champion) 60-56 in overtime
Mooresville (NPC No. 4) toppled Kings Mountain (Southwestern Conference No. 1) 76-66
And don't forget Lake Norman (NPC No. 5) took defending 3A state champion Concord to the wire before losing 74-70.
Statesville (NPC No. 6) had a rough go, losing at Trinity, ranked second in the state, 78-55, but all in all I'd say that was an impressive statement by the NPC.
If the same four can win Thursday in the second round that would mean 1/4 of 16 remaining teams in the 3A playoffs would hail from the NPC. Now that would be something to brag about.
So far it looks as though North Piedmont 3A boys basketball coaches who were bragging about the depth of the NPC this season look justified in doing so.
The top four seeds won their first-round playoff games Tuesday night, and three of them triumphed on the road.
Northwest Cabarrus (NPC champion) defeated visiting Eastern Randolph (Mid-Piedmont Conference No. 4) 64-51
East Rowan (NPC No. 2) upended St. Stephens (Catawba Valley Conference No. 2) 83-65
West Rowan (NPC No. 3) knocked off Asheville Roberson (Mountain Athletic Conference champion) 60-56 in overtime
Mooresville (NPC No. 4) toppled Kings Mountain (Southwestern Conference No. 1) 76-66
And don't forget Lake Norman (NPC No. 5) took defending 3A state champion Concord to the wire before losing 74-70.
Statesville (NPC No. 6) had a rough go, losing at Trinity, ranked second in the state, 78-55, but all in all I'd say that was an impressive statement by the NPC.
If the same four can win Thursday in the second round that would mean 1/4 of 16 remaining teams in the 3A playoffs would hail from the NPC. Now that would be something to brag about.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Clearly, there's no shame in East Lincoln's game
Before I get started, take a couple of moments to look over this box score from Tuesday night's high school girls basketball game between South Iredell and East Lincoln, which was played in Denver ...
South Iredell 6 12 2 16 -- 36
East Lincoln 23 23 43 12 -- 101
SOUTH IREDELL (36): Tish McCombs 13, Saddler 9, Kay. Kerley 5, Hoover 5, Kas. Kerley 3, Morris 1.
EAST LINCOLN (101): Kiandra Long 22, Lindsy Wright 22, Sonny Marthers 15, Kristen Wakefield 13, Megan Savidge 11, King 9, Denton 4, Davis 2, Mordas 1, Ashley 1.
NOW, I ask, was that necessary against a 1-21 team?
Answer: Absolutely not.
Outscoring your opponent 43-2 in the third quarter when you led 46-18 at the half was classless, East Lincoln.
At 16-7 -- and 12-1 in a really weak conference -- the Mustangs are nothing to write home about. But they found time to run up the score on a struggling team. C'mon.
Some people have no shame.
South Iredell 6 12 2 16 -- 36
East Lincoln 23 23 43 12 -- 101
SOUTH IREDELL (36): Tish McCombs 13, Saddler 9, Kay. Kerley 5, Hoover 5, Kas. Kerley 3, Morris 1.
EAST LINCOLN (101): Kiandra Long 22, Lindsy Wright 22, Sonny Marthers 15, Kristen Wakefield 13, Megan Savidge 11, King 9, Denton 4, Davis 2, Mordas 1, Ashley 1.
NOW, I ask, was that necessary against a 1-21 team?
Answer: Absolutely not.
Outscoring your opponent 43-2 in the third quarter when you led 46-18 at the half was classless, East Lincoln.
At 16-7 -- and 12-1 in a really weak conference -- the Mustangs are nothing to write home about. But they found time to run up the score on a struggling team. C'mon.
Some people have no shame.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Hurricanes have some work to do
The Carolina Hurricanes play at the Washington Capitals tonight. They trail Washington by a point in the Southeast Division standings.
The Hurricanes need to pick up the pace or they're going to find themselves sitting out of the playoffs for the second straight year -- and they won the Stanley Cup in 2006 for crying out loud.
Currently, the Hurricanes have 56 points. Good grief, the fourth-place teams in the Atlantic and Northeast Divisions have more points than that.
If the NHL playoffs began today, the Eastern Conference seeds would look like this:
1. Ottawa (leads Northeast Division) 70 points
2. Philadelphia (leads Atlantic Division) 65
3. Washington (leads Southeast Division) 57
4. Montreal 67
5. Pittsburgh 65
6. New Jersey 64
7. N.Y. Rangers 60
8. Boston 59
On the outside looking in: Buffalo 57, Carolina 56, Atlanta 56, Florida 55, N.Y. Islanders 54, Toronto 53, Tampa Bay 51.
The Hurricanes need to pick up the pace or they're going to find themselves sitting out of the playoffs for the second straight year -- and they won the Stanley Cup in 2006 for crying out loud.
Currently, the Hurricanes have 56 points. Good grief, the fourth-place teams in the Atlantic and Northeast Divisions have more points than that.
If the NHL playoffs began today, the Eastern Conference seeds would look like this:
1. Ottawa (leads Northeast Division) 70 points
2. Philadelphia (leads Atlantic Division) 65
3. Washington (leads Southeast Division) 57
4. Montreal 67
5. Pittsburgh 65
6. New Jersey 64
7. N.Y. Rangers 60
8. Boston 59
On the outside looking in: Buffalo 57, Carolina 56, Atlanta 56, Florida 55, N.Y. Islanders 54, Toronto 53, Tampa Bay 51.
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