Happy St. Paddy's Day!

From your bros at Good Hustle Sports. We'll be back tomorrow with more bloggins to bludgeon your brain with. Stay safe, but remember: GIVE'R TAKE ALL

Cheers

Toronto's Operation #TankNation

(Photo courtesy of storm-nation.blogspot.ca)

(photo courtesy of raptorswatch.com)

                         

There's a debate raging around Toronto about the validity of #TankNation. It's the notion that when lower-end teams clearly aren't playoff bound, it's in their best interest to tank down the stretch to secure a better draft pick. 

Obviously no professional athlete would lose purposely, but this is more about the fans. The only thing they have to look forward to is next year, and they don't want their team to lose, but it wouldn't hurt. I understand the argument that to tank is classless, and it is, but bottom line, it's a struggling team's best chance at improving. The Raptors have embraced their fate and are tanking accordingly, while the Leafs are clinging to false hope, and after playing themselves out of the playoffs, will now likely play themselves out of a lottery spot too. #WorstCaseScenario.

Raptors Getting Real With Barbosa Deal

(photo courtesy of raptorsdigest.com)

                   

Bryan Colangelo didn't have many moves to make at the NBA's trade deadline, but he was still able to make one that made sense. Leandro Barbosa has been one of Toronto's most consistent players since coming north. His energy off the bench, ball movement, and quickness have made him a perennial sixth man of the year candidate. But Barbosa is also aging, and on a team mired in what is, in reality, still a long-term rebuild, it didn't make sense to keep him and his expiring contract around. Coming back in return was a second round draft pick, turning an aging and expiring asset into one with essentially limitless potential. It's tough losing a leader like Leandro, but the toughest decisions are often the ones that make the most sense.

A Subtle Sidney Could Spell Success for Pittsburgh

(photo courtesy of puckdaddy.com via Getty Images)

                     

In the 40 games since Sidney Crosby again went out with concussion symptoms and damaged vertebrae the Pens have surprisingly managed to thrive, sitting handily at 4th in the east. Forgive them if they're not rushing to mess with a good thing. Geno Malkin has been the best player in the NHL, playing with an unconscious James Neal. In the interest of maintaining chemistry, Crosby skated on the THIRD LINE. The result was a 5-2 drubbing of the New York Rangers, who are 1st in the east, in their own building. The Pens are the first team all year to score 5 against New York, and all Crosby had to do was chip in an assist. Kris Letang, who also returned in that game was a +5, a perfect illustration of how Pittsburgh's depth can now truly shine.

Williams Wills Bills Into Respectibility

(photo courtesy of buffalonews.com)

                    

You can now call Mario Williams simply "Mario Bills" if you're not into the whole brevity thing. You can also call him rich to the tune of $96M, $50M of which guaranteed. For a team with one of the worst pass rushes in the NFL last season, this could be well worth it. The Bills had only 29 sacks last season, Williams averages over 8.5 sacks a year, his career best being 14. That new threat will force offenses to adjust, opening things up for players like Marcell Dareus. This guy will have a ripple effect on Buffalo's entire defensive presence. Buffalo pulled out all the stops, and landed a top free agent, one that addresses a major need. This sends a strong message to fans and free agents alike: Buffalo means business, so pay attention.

Cowboy Kyle Orton is a Good Fit

(Photo courtesy of mysanantonio.com)

Kyle Orton is not Jon Kitna, and while that’s enough for many Cowboys fans, this is not an insignificant move. Tony Romo puts up some of the best regular season stats in the NFL, but he’s also had his share of injury trouble. Romo’s absence from the lineup has had a severe effect on the Cowboys’ record in recent years. With the departure of Laurent Robinson and Martellus Bennett, the Cowboys need some responsible ball management should Romo be out. Orton’s career passer rating of 79.4 (only two points better than Kitna’s) doesn’t exactly scream “responsibility”, but Orton is younger, and still has the goods to start on some NFL teams. Free agency still leaves alot to be determined, but as of right now “America’s Team” has shored up a position that’s been dogging them for a long time.

Carmelo Carries on Tradition of Cry Baby Culture

(photo courtesy of si.com)

The Knicks are stuck in a free fall that has them slipping from the playoff picture. Linsanity faded in the blinding light of Carmelo Anthony’s star, and now that shine has cost coach Mike D’Antoni his job. With that much offensive talent on the Knickerbocker roster, a bread-and-butter offensive specialist like D’Antoni has no excuse for sucking this hard. The way he’s exited however is a sad sign of the times. Reports had D’Antoni’s relationship with Melo deteriorating rapidly in the final days, with Melo asking for a trade. Thus the powers that be made their choice, and a spoiled brat got his way yet again. Sadly the NBA has cultivated a culture in which egos make business decisions, teaching the ever-valuable lesson to kids that if everyone likes you, you can get your boss fired. True role models.

Cage Fighting: Not as Safe as it Sounds

(Photo courtesy of thebiglead.com)

                                                                       

The UFC became a giant by convincing gaming commissions like Ontario’s that MMA is the safest combat sport in the world. Safer than boxing, maybe, but it's a cultural issue that may be doing their athletes the most damage. With Chris Leben opening up about his battle with addiction, and Gary Goodridge’s CTE diagnosis, we’re seeing a dark element to MMA that is seldom discussed. Fighters are under constant pressure to perform; their livelihoods depend on it, especially considering the modest purses, and limited sponsorship opportunities. When your job entails fighting a trained violence machine for peanuts, it becomes easy to feel the heat. Pop that pill; take the next fight. Ignore the headaches; take the next fight. MMA is safe enough to get sanctioned, but in a world of broken hearts, dreams, and bones, no one is truly safe. 

            visit joerogan.net and listen to The Joe Rogan Experience podcast on iTunes

ONCE AGAIN BACK IS THE INCREDIBLE

After a prolonged hiatus, Good Hustle Sports is back in your brain piece, but things are going to be a little bit different around here. We'll be introducing a new format: super-condensed brain droppings in 140 words or less. Quick, painless, and a little more in line with the title. Good Hustle indeed. Get in quick, and get the insight you're looking for, along with some interesting links and media just for funsies.


You'll still get some of the long-form entries you've grown accustomed to, they'll be called Good Hustle Specials and they'll be marked with an asterisk *. 


if you've got questions, comments, queries, bitches, or complaints you'd like to submit, get at me 
on Twitter @CollinVanOoyen 
or via e-mail at GoodHustleCollin@GMail.com


So welcome all, old readers and new, let's get it in, just like we always do.


Dig it.


Collin

*Why Tomas Kaberle Hates Money

    

    Tomas Kaberle's playoff goatee looks like it belongs on a greasy carney magician. Fitting because he's actually pulled off a pretty sloppy magic trick of his own: He's making three plus million dollars disappear from next year's contract! Ta-daaa! 

    Hockey karma manifested itself all over Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli's face when he gave up a first round pick and top prospect Joe Colborne in an attempt to bolster the B's powerplay with the pass-happy Czech. Boston's powerplay percentage has literally been cut in half since Kaberle's arrival on the team, and that struggling aspect of their game could prove to be their undoing in this Stanley Cup final. Suddenly the Phil Kessel fleecing is not quite as painful.

    On paper the pairing of Kaberle and Chara on the PP was a match made in heaven. Chara has the hardest shot in the league, and Kabby has a no-shot clause in his contract. But here we are in the middle of the Cup finals and Chara is trying to do his best Dustin Byfuglien impression in the blue ice in front of Bobby Lu. Something seems terribly wrong about that. 

    Granted, it isn't Tomas Kaberle's fault that the hulking Milan Lucic has played like a pussy cat all through the playoffs and can't do that duty himself. One would think however that the absence of Chara from the blue line might allow Kaberle a little more space and opportunity, but whatever the case may be he is not capitalizing in the slightest.

    In a perfect scenario Kaberle and the Bruins could still pull out a series win and take home the cup, but as his contract runs out can anyone reasonably expect Boston to re-sign him based on his performance in Beantown? 

    Kabby has shown all the hallmark signs of a player in decline. His skating and decision making have both begun to slow down, and it seems evident that he'll have to start readjusting his style of play if he wants to continue to be employed in the NHL. He's not played himself out of the league, he has too much Toronto clout for that, but he has certainly played himself out of a contract anywhere near the 4.25 million dollars he's earning now. He can kiss that no-movement clause goodbye as well.

    After considering all he has at stake, we have to wonder just what is it that went wrong for Tomas Kaberle? Is his heart still in Toronto?The last time we saw him playing meaningful hockey was the year before the lockout, when the 100-point Leafs were ousted in the second round, and Kaberle was one of the most solid players on that squad. He had a track record of playing well in the playoffs for Toronto, so why has this experience in Boston been so difficult for him? 

    It will be interesting to see where Kaberle's career takes him after this, whether he can rebound, and whether he can fit in on a team not called the Maple Leafs. If he can regain form he could wind up being a home run signing for a lucky GM, but I would suspect a deal like that to be in the short term. No one is going to commit four to five years to an aging creampuff whose only trademark is a quickly eroding ability to pass. Regardless, he will forever be an enigma. The most over-rated under-rated player the league has ever seen, and potentially the most irrelevant player to ever win a cup.