Hartley Miller's Slap Shots - Nov. 24th Edition

By Hartley Miller

The Spruce Kings are approaching the mid-point of their BCHL regular season. They have won just half of their 26 games (13-10-0-3) and based on their play, the Spruce Kings don’t deserve a berth in the Royal Bank Cup National Jr. "A" Championship. However, the Kings are hosts, so they need to show they will be competitive.

There was supposed to be a buzz about the Spruce Kings in 06/07. Instead, the Kings have had a mediocre performance and poor attendance. As well, some players have asked for a one way ticket out of town, and some supporters have been shuffled out of the organization. This is not exactly the kind of PR most teams want.

On a different note, "coffee shop talk" indicates that this underachieving club should make the same choice as the Cougars, and fire their coach. I don’t usually agree with Turgeon on hockey matters, but I do think that it is in the best interests of the club to retain Ed Dempsey for the remainder of his contract, which expires at the end of the season. It is well documented that coaching changes at this time of the season seldom works.

When asked if Dempsey will lead the Spruce Kings into the 2007 Royal Bank Cup, Turgeon emphatically stated, "Yes, we’ve had a two-year plan and we are a year and a half into it". Turgeon expects the Kings to acquire a couple of high scoring forwards, prior to the trade deadline, which he believes will catapult the team into the league’s upper echelon.

The Spruce Kings have done a good job in one area; keeping fans away from the Coliseum. The average crowd is approximately 750 per game (down 300 to 400 from past years). Turgeon, a self proclaimed financial guru offers his own spin: "I'm not worried about it at all because our gates are up dollar wise". Turgeon attributes this to fewer free tickets given away this season.

In addition, concession revenues are low; in fact, not even Orville Redenbacher would buy the popcorn. However, the politically polished Turgeon says, "the concession numbers aren't going to make or break the hockey club. There are no financial concerns at this point, but if the house (show home ticket sales) does poorly that could hurt the club next year". Turgeon doesn’t have to worry about next year since he is stepping down in June. I guess this will give him more time to plot his next strategy for purchasing a WHL team not for sale.

I will give Turgeon some credit. He has never hidden from the media, and welcomes other people’s views. Turgeon states, "Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I mean I've heard criticisms about myself and Dempsey and what not. You have to take the good with the bad. We have a plan and we believe the part of the season from after (trade deadline) Jan 10th will be much better and the team will be performing at a much higher level. If that doesn't happen then the criticisms about the coaching and myself and whoever else is involved in the club maybe they are justified. The public is obviously concerned about where we are in the standings so it’s their right to voice their opinions".

Bang on, Rick. In my opinion, the Spruce Kings have a lot of ground to make up in order to gain credibility, and I’m not just talking about the standings.

From the quote rack:

"Pedro Martinez is saying that if his shoulder doesn't get better, he might retire. And if it gets really bad, he'll become a Cub."

Steve Rosenbloom of the Chicago Tribune.

--------

"NASCAR’s Jeff Gordon married a Belgian model, after much waffling."

Jeff Funnekotter of Calgary, in Cam Hutchinson's Saskatoon StarPhoenix column "

-----

Four!"

Elliott Harris of the Chicago Sun Times, on how golfer John Daly announced his latest divorce.

-----

"Miss July 2005."

San Antonio Spurs guard Brent Barry, when asked by Sports Illustrated which pet he would most like to have.

-----

"The last undefeated NFL team fell on Sunday and members of the undefeated '72 Dolphins toasted this with champagne. On the other hand, when the last winless NFL team finally wins, members of the '76 Buccaneers toast that with Thunderbird."

Contributor Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe, California.

-----

"Mike Nolan of the 49ers and Jack DelRio of the Jaguars roamed the sidelines in suits this week. Either a new trend is starting or it's another sequel to 'The Matrix.'"

Bill Littlejohn

-----

"Last time I saw someone in a sweatshirt like that, I flipped him a quarter."

John Marshall of The Associated Press, on Bill Belichick of the New England
Patriots, who has been tabbed as the NFL's worst-dressed coach.

And in case you missed it:

"The St. Louis Rams have no one on their roster named John, Tom, Michael, Dan, Robert or David.   They do have players named Oshiomogho, Jerametrious, Raonall, Pisa, Fakhir and La'Roi."

From Peter King of SI.com

-----

And how was your week?

Send along a quote, note or anecdote to:

hmiller@94xfm.com

Email | Print | Facebook | Twitter | Digg | Del.icio.us