Takes One To Know One

Happy Thanksgiving all!

Was going to take the day off, but then I was reading the game story from last night's Thrashers-Caps game.

The Thrashers dominated the game and check out these three paragraphs from the AJC:

"Fire Hanlon," they chanted in unison, frustrated with the losses piling up
under coach Glen Hanlon.

From the perspective of Thrashers captain Bobby Holik, the Capitals
played like they agreed with the crowd.

"They played like they wanted to get their coach fired, but that's
another story," Holik said.

Oh my god, did Holik say that??? The same guy who is the captain of the team that quit on his coach and got him fired this season as well? Is this not just classic????

By the way, the Capitals did fire Hanlon this morning, but is Holik kidding me?

The Thrashers are now 11-4 since they fired Bob Hartley. So the question is this - were they that bad before? And if they did play to get their coach fired, can season ticket holders get their money back for the first games of the year when players who are paid VERY WELL to do their jobs, played like crap so they can get what they want??

When you want to know why the world is turned upside down remember, the most important people in the world, our children’s teachers, get paid horribly. While these whiny, spoiled athletes get rich off of us and then act like children when they don’t like their coaches.

And by the way, if Don Waddell wants to continue winning, I would trade Kari Lehtonen as soon as he gets healthy for a top line center or a power-play quarterback of a defensemen.

Curse of the Thrashers

The Curse of the Bambino is probably the most famous curse in sports. However in Atlanta, we have the Curse of the Groin.

It started in 1999 for the Atlanta Thrashers, when their first goalie, Damian Rhodes, had groin injuries all season for the Thrashers. It seems as every goaltender since has had issues, some with groin and some with many various injuries.

Now the Thrashers have a legitimate top-notch goalie in Kari Lehtonen and he has an injured groin and has been placed on the injured reserve list. Great timing Kari, the team is on a hot streak of one in a row.

New Day In Blueland

I am sitting at home and watching the Atlanta Thrashers first game without Bob Hartley and they are up 3-0 halfway through the game on the New York Rangers.

Two thoughts as I watch this - first and foremost, these players are actually playing the game they are being paid to play tonight. The look like a real hockey team, one that we haven't seen for the first few weeks of this season. The only thing they haven't done is fight. Where have you guys been? You are supposed to be professionals, aren't you? You played to get the coach fired, you accomplished it. Now play like the way you are for the rest of the season and maybe, just maybe you can get back in it.

While things look good, Kari Lehtonen reinjured his groin. There was great video from the SportsSouth broadcast of trainer Craig Brewer telling Don Waddell on the bench about the injury. Waddell rolls his eyes in the back of his head in total disbelief ... but he has seen this song before with his first goaltender Damian Rhodes.

The second thought is this, how come everyone but Don Waddell knew that Bob Hartley should have been fired when they were swept out of the playoffs? It was so obvious to everyone that watched this team except the guy who put it together. On top of which, you need to see the press conference where Waddell talks about the firing and how he believes this year's team is better than last years. And he said it with a straight face! Just classic.

Half Empty, Half Full?

After last night's 4-0 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, Bob Hartley has been fired by the Atlanta Thrashers.

As usual I watched as this team showed absolutely no heart at all in the loss. I hate saying those words, but when your captain Bobby Holik gets nailed by Jason Smith and NO ONE, not even Holik goes after him, what do you say?

Hartley lost this team last season when they were swept out of the playoffs. Now he has lost his job.

The million dollar question is how long does Don Waddell have? And the bigger question is which one of these so-called owners of the Atlanta Spirit has any hockey knowledge to make the right replacement for Don if they saw fit to fire him? Rutherford? Michael? Bruce? C'mon boys - sell the team to people who care about something other than themselves and their egos.

Last season, right after the Keith Tkachuk trade, I was in an elevator with some folks and Rutherford Seydel. He was talking to folks about the trade and taking partial credit for it. If that's the case, you should get blame for it as well, dontcha think? This ownership group is an embarrasing mess and it's not going to get any better anytime soon.

Jeff Schultz of the AJC talks about how the wrong man was fired in his column. And he points out some of the other expansion teams and how well they have done in the time the Thrashers have been around. SI's Alan Muir agrees with Schultz on Waddell not being without blame. Where there's smoke...???

The best thing Don has going for him is ownership - they are cutting costs every which way (including the intern program...I mean how bad is it when interns are let go!) and having to pay a new GM while paying Don may not make fiscal sense to them. But hey, that division banner sure is pretty in the rafters, isn't it? The one move they can make that would be prudent both from the financial and hockey smarts world would be to hire Thrashers color commentator on television, Darren Eliot.

There are many names out there, but the one name I have heard is Pat Quinn. Not sure I like it, but he has had success in the league. John Anderson of the Chicago Wolves would make sense as he has worked with the young kids already.

I say we put together a group called Caps 4 Da Cup - let's go root for the Washington Capitals... best uniforms going and Alexander Ovechkin! Road trip!!!! We're comin' Nate..