Well This Throws A Wrench Into Things

Surely if you're here and you have the patience to read the header of this blog, you know what the whole point of it all really is. This is a running account of my adventures and journeys to see all 122 teams in the NFL, NHL, MLB and NBA play a home game. The goal is to get it all done by the time I'm 55, and with 41 teams down, I've made some significant progress in my years, but there are still some outstanding issues. I get asked a number of questions about my plans and my adventures and there are two that show up more than any others.

1) If a team builds a new arena, do you have to go see that team again? Yes, I do.

2) What happens if a team moves?

That second one is slightly more complicated. Well, the answer isn't really all that complicated -- yes, I need to see them again -- but for record keeping purposes will I have to assume that there is suddenly 123 teams to keep track of? If I haven't seen that initial franchise, well, I guess not, and it appears I won't have to answer that question just yet, but it appears I may have my first test on question No. 2 today, with the announcement that the True North Sports Group has agreed to a deal to purchase the Atlanta Thrashers. While the franchise is not officially on the move to Winnipeg, Manitoba just yet -- that can't be formally done until the board of governors approves the deal on June 21 -- most parties involved seem to expect that that will be the case from the NHL, to the Atlanta Thrashers, to even the more comically social media savvy players.

So, with a team likely moving to Winnipeg and out of Atlanta, I'm sure the big concern for all of you is, "I wonder what this means for David Kalan." Don't worry, I'm going to tell you. I've thought about this often because earlier this year it appeared painfully obvious that I was going to have to account for a team moving this summer, although I didn't expect it to be a hockey team. Of course, that move wound up not happening, and possibly do to some, uh, outside resistance. But that move wouldn't really have been so bad because a) I've been to Sacramento before and feel no real need to go back, and b) a cluster of three NBA teams in the Los Angeles/Anaheim metropolitan area would have made for a convenient and fun little swing through southern California.

This move is completely different because Winnipeg isn't near, well, anything really, but it does actually excite me somewhat because I now have a reason to go there, and I like being able to see new cities. It is somewhat unfortunate in that had the Thrashers stayed in Atlanta, I have several friends I could stay with whereas I know no one who currently lives in Manitoba. There is the chance however that I could try to tack Winnipeg onto the beginning of a Western Canadian hockey tour that I am planning on doing at some point, one that would take me from Calgary to Edmonton and then to Vancouver via a train that goes through the Canadian Rockies which are supposed to be, you know, gorgeous. It's worth noting of course that Winnipeg is some 824 miles from Calgary, roughly the same distance from New York City to Chicago, so taking it onto that trip could be ill-conceived, but how often am I in Western Canada anyway?

Either way, there is some sadness here for the Atlanta organization and its fans, though I suppose they'll always have a memory of Dustin Byfuglien lifting the Cup in his Thrashers jersey after being traded by the Blackhawks last summer, or Lil Jon dining with it. Byfuglien, incidentally, hails from Roseau, Minnesota, which is just 116 miles or so from Winnipeg.

So, in the end, with this news breaking it looks as though I'll have to add Winnipeg's MTS Centre onto my list of arenas, which given what it looks like, actually should be pretty cool when I finally get there, though it will be interesting to see a game there if, for no other reason, it only holds a little more than 15,000 people. And if I do manage to put Winnipeg onto my Western Canadian hockey swing, it will be particularly fun to go through each city and see the differences before winding up ultimately in Vancouver, which, if none of you have noticed, is also in the hockey news these days because it's hosting Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.

And it's hosting it tomorrow.

Yeah, the Stanley Cup Final, one of my all-time favorite things to watch or experience kicks off between the Canucks and Bruins Wednesday night, and while some mediocre sportswriter is giving you the ins and outs of some meaningless statistics, fan-related angst and video game predictions, there really is nothing quite like just sitting down and watching the game. Personally, I'm of the mindset that Vancouver is just too good and will take the series in six games, but Boston is certainly no slouch of a team after pulling off a gutsy Game 7 win over Tampa Bay in the Eastern Conference Finals Friday night.

If nothing else a good, hard series between these two will be a great distraction from the messiness of Mets land, where, despite two wins in a row now, things have kind of gotten sticky due to some comments from the man in charge right around when he's selling a chunk of the team to a guy that, despite his great name, could probably use a little better fashion sense when he's playing poker. Many are hoping David Einhorn will stick around long enough to get majority ownership and end the Wilpon regime, or at least long enough to continue the flood of Ace Ventura jokes.

Another particularly awesome aspect of the whole thing is that if Vancouver finally wins its first Stanley Cup, it will likely do so in large part due to the efforts of Ryan Kesler and Henrik and Daniel Sedin. The upshot of that, is that Canada will finally get its vaunted Cup back for the first time in 18 years, but doing so would require the charge being led by an American and two Swedes.

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure they'd be plenty happy and the Canucks roster is still made up of a vast majority of Canadians, but relying on the Americans to get your achievement would still be pretty fun -- almost as fun as knowing that Qatar, which famously and quite possibly corruptly beat the U.S. for the right to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, is doing so largely on the basis of ideas that are not just being stolen from America, but being stolen from American television. That's right. Qatar's plan to block out the sun during its insanely hot summers is essentially lifted from The Simpsons, which on a side note, after re-watching this episode from the "Who Shot Mr. Burns" Saga, I am still convinced was the greatest show in history in its prime.

So yeah, I'm excited about the Stanley Cup Final. I hope you are, too.

Oh, Hey. Pitchers and Catchers Reported This Week

I'm not sure if you noticed, but the earliest parts of baseball season are upon us, meaning pitchers and catchers reported this week. Now, in years past this news was unbelievably exciting, to the point that I would make sure the entire world knew all about it. Of course that remnant of my college years there came in 2007, four months after the Mets had been tantalizingly close to a World Series berth and seemed primed to challenge for another one. This season is another matter. Pitchers and catchers reported this week and I was, well, kind of ambivalent.

And how did that happen, you ask?

Well, despite all seeds of optimism -- such as the realization that the Mets actually have a pretty decent roster if they stay healthy -- most people agree this could be an awfully long season in New York, and that apparently extends to players who haven't even been on the roster for 20 years. Then again, unlike the players on the current team, Tim Teufel actually won a World Series. Regardless of the misfortune affecting Mr. Teufel, I am almost overwhelmed by how not overwhelmed I am by the Mets this season. This is the first time in at least a decade that pitchers and catchers have reported and I've been almost ambivalent about it in every sense.

Don't get me wrong. I will still be watching baseball enthusiastically all season long, and I am currently planning a trek to the southwest to see the Mets visit Arizona and San Diego in August -- remarkable considering they're likely to be well out of the race by then -- but something about this season just doesn't excite me like it has in seasons past. We'll see if a few spring training games actually get me back into the swing of baseball fandom.

In the meantime, at least there's one team that's giving me a reason to get excited about the next few months.

This one.



I'm not entirely sure how the Devils have suddenly turned on the switch, and as I said last week, the excitement cause by New Jersey's current run is likely too little too late, but that doesn't make it any less fun; particularly if they can knock off the currently eighth-seeded Hurricanes in Carolina tonight and trim that postseason deficit to 10 points with 23 games to go. As I've said before, if that happens, I'll actually throw my support behind this foolish run. A run that, if you hadn't paid close enough attention, has now given the Devils a 14-1-2 record in their last 17 games.

And if you are as excited about the Devils right now as I am, surely you just can't get enough hockey, and if that's the case you must be totally pumped up for the inaugural Hockey Day in America tomorrow -- a day to celebrate America's deep-running love of hockey.

Yes, that exists, oh naysayers. Just because you don't care doesn't mean millions don't. In any event, there is nine hours of hockey coverage on NBC and Versus tomorrow, including NBC's first ever NHL doubleheader, but you probably knew that since you read that totally great article about NBC's coverage on NHL.com earlier this week. You always keep up with your NHL news, just like how you were looking for hourly updates on Dustin Byfuglien's contract extension late Tuesday night or Steve Yzerman's thoughts on facing the Red Wings for the first time in a professional capacity.

Regardless of the fact that none of you reading this actually probably care about any of those topics, Hockey Day in America should be fun, if not busy for me at the office. All four games NBC is showing should be pretty decent matchups and the whole day is capped off with the Heritage Classic in Calgary, which, like all outdoor games, will be a lot of fun.

Lastly, if the Devils impending hot run that winds up just short isn't enough to excite me (WARNING: DAVE IS ABOUT TO TALK ABOUT AUSSIE RULES FOOTBALL) Geelong's 2011 campaign down under is about a month from getting underway, and its opening match in the preseason NAB Cup bounces tomorrow afternoon. Yes, I know what what you're thinking. "How are the Cats going to compete to their typical standards with Gary Ablett Jr., the best and fairest in the game, taking his talents to the brand new Gold Coast Suns?" Yes, those are valid concerns. But remember, this is still a rich, deep, and young roster, with strange talents like Corey Enright, Steve Johnson, Tom Hawkins and my personal favorite, Joel Selwood. Don't forget the experienced leadership of Cameron Ling, Brad Ottens, Cameron Mooney and Darren Milburn. Geelong, which was one win away from a fourth consecutive Grand Final appearance this past season, will still have the talent to be in the mix.

Heightening this excitement? AFANA just announced this season's impending schedule for broadcasted games on ESPN3.com, because unfortunately that's really the only way to see any footy these days. And the best part about this schedule is that of the 22 matches Geelong will play in the home and away season, 11 of them will be streamed live on ESPN3.com. Best of all? The one announced live match to be broadcast on ESPN2 this season is Geelong facing off with Port Adelaide on Sunday morning at 12 a.m. on April 10 in a rematch of the 2007 Grand Final, Geelong's first Premiership in 44 years.

Aren't you excited, too? No? Well, don't worry about footy then. Or hockey.

Did you hear pitchers and catchers reported this week?