Motorin' Through

Spector vs. Cosmo

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 20:48:00 -0500

Today, the good folks over at Cosmopolitan magazine unveiled their list of “The Hottest Players in the NHL 2013” and were immediately met with outrage on Twitter due to the exclusion of dreamy New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. Now, this is nothing against Brian Boyle, a handsome fella in his own right, but in my wife’s words, Lundqvist is pretty much a perfect physical specimen of a human male. I get it, and I don’t disagree. If Caroline and Henrik ran off together, I’d understand. That’s a two-man list, by the way: Lundqvist and Jon Hamm.

Seriously, look at this guy. This is a picture I took with a phone. Lundqvist still looks like he just came off the pages of, well, Cosmo.

The omission of Lundqvist wasn’t the only glaring problem with Cosmo’s list, so I opened the floor to votes for my Twitter followers’ choices of the hottest players in the NHL. Not surprisingly, Lundqvist was the runaway winner, but like Cosmo, I’ll share the results, naming the winner from each team. Congrats, fellas, and try to protect those faces as the season gets underway.

Here’s the list, ranked by vote total. You can click on the names for the Google Images results for each player.

New York Rangers: Henrik Lundqvist

Minnesota Wild: Zach Parise

Nashville Predators: Mike Fisher

Pittsburgh Penguins: James Neal

Chicago Blackhawks: Patrick Sharp

Colorado Avalanche: Gabriel Landeskog

Washington Capitals: Brooks Laich

Toronto Maple Leafs: Joffrey Lupul

Vancouver Canucks: Ryan Kesler

Anaheim Ducks: Sheldon Souray

Tampa Bay Lightning: Steven Stamkos

San Jose Sharks: Dan Boyle

Boston Bruins: Tyler Seguin

Carolina Hurricanes: Tuomo Ruutu

Montreal Canadiens: Carey Price

Philadelphia Flyers: Claude Giroux

Dallas Stars: Loui Eriksson

Florida Panthers: George Parros

Los Angeles Kings: Mike Richards

Ottawa Senators: Jason Spezza

St. Louis Blues: Vladimir Sobotka

Calgary Flames: Jarome Iginla

New York Islanders: Rick DiPietro

Buffalo Sabres: Cody Hodgson

Edmonton Oilers: Jordan Eberle

New Jersey Devils: David Clarkson

Phoenix Coyotes: Rostislav Klesla

Winnipeg Jets: Zach Bogosian

Detroit Red Wings: Darren Helm

Columbus Blue Jackets: Jared Boll

So, who’s got the better list, Cosmo’s readers or mine?

Me on KMOX - 9/17/12

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 08:13:08 -0400

Last night, I went on KMOX radio in St. Louis for a conversation about the NHL lockout. We also talked about the column that I wrote proposing that the NHL and NHLPA, with their lack of mutual trust, put Brendan Shanahan in charge of the negotiations, and much more.

Project Qualls: New York and Beyond

Mon, 30 Jul 2012 21:58:00 -0400

Closing in on 1500 votes cast in Project Qualls now, and it’s clear that there’s still very much a New York flavor, as in every sport except for hockey, a New York athlete is at the top or is tied for the top of the charts. Of course, the hockey player drawing the most ire from his home fans is very much a New York athlete – it’s just that Canucks fans don’t like Mark Messier. He’s gotten the most vitriol of any candidate so far.

Following are the players who have received five or more votes in Project Qualls. It makes sense for now that the most votes have come from New York, given that I used to work for the Daily News and a lot of my Twitter followers are from the city I still come home. If you’re a fan of another city’s teams, you can help by voting yourself with an email to projectqualls@gmail.com or a tweet to @ProjectQualls – the question: who is your least favorite player from your favorite team, past or present, in any sports? For more information, go to the Project Qualls introduction. Spread the word wherever you can and get those votes coming!

BASEBALL

Alex Rodriguez – 12 (Yankees 11, Rangers 1)

Chad Qualls 11 – (Yankees 5, Phillies 3, Astros 2, Diamondbacks 1)

Kyle Farnsworth – 10 (Yankees 10)

Jason Bay – 7 (Mets 7)

Josh Beckett – 7 (Red Sox 7)

Armando Benitez – 7 (Mets 4, Orioles 2, Giants 1)

Carl Pavano – 7 (Yankees 7)

Bobby Bonilla – 6 (Mets 6)

Kevin Brown – 6 (Yankees 5, Dodgers 1)

Adam Eaton – 6 (Phillies 6)

Kevin Gregg – 6 (Blue Jays 5, Cubs 1)

Julio Lugo – 6 (Red Sox 6)

Oliver Perez – 6 (Mets 6)

Ryan Raburn – 6 (Tigers 6)

Milton Bradley – 5 (Cubs 5)

Roger Clemens – 5 (Blue Jays 2, Yankees 2, Red Sox 1)

Andruw Jones – 5 (Dodgers 4, Yankees 1)

James Loney – 5 (Dodgers 5)

BASKETBALL

Stephon Marbury – 7 (Knicks 6, Celtics 1)

FOOTBALL

Albert Haynesworth – 7 (Redskins 7)

Tim Tebow – 7 (Jets 7)

Wayne Hunter – 6 (Jets 6)

Eric Smith – 5 (Jets 5)

HOCKEY

Mark Messier – 33 (Canucks 33)

Jaromir Jagr – 19 (Capitals 12, Rangers 7)

Donald Brashear – 14 (Rangers 14)

Scott Gomez – 13 (Canadiens 7, Rangers 6)

Sean Avery – 12 (Rangers 4, Kings 4, Stars 3, Red Wings 1)

Rick DiPietro – 10 (Islanders 10)

Arron Asham – 9 (Rangers 9)

Filip Kuba – 7 (Wild 5, Senators 2)

Tom Poti – 7 (Rangers 6, Oilers 1)

Brett Lebda – 6 (Maple Leafs 3, Red Wings 3)

Wade Redden – 6 (Rangers 6)

Valeri Kamensky – 5 (Rangers 5)

Jamie Langenbrunner – 5 (Devils 5)

Marek Malik – 5 (Rangers 5)

Mike Rupp – 5 (Rangers 5)

Alexei Yashin – 5 (Islanders 5)

Project Qualls: Day 4

Sat, 28 Jul 2012 17:56:55 -0400

Project Qualls has received 1000 nominations in four days, which is just incredible, so thank you very much! For those who have not yet participated, there are two ways to vote…

The question is: Who is your least favorite player from your favorite team? You can e-mail your answer to projectqualls@gmail.com or tweet it to @ProjectQualls. As you’ll note below, some people have voted for coaches and executives, as well. You can vote for past or present candidates in any sport.

For today’s update, a look at the teams that have garnered at least 1% of the votes – in other words, double digits. For some teams, like the Vancouver Canucks, a clear Project Qualls leader is emerging. For others, like the Maple Leafs, there is almost no clarity – the 17 votes by Toronto fans have been split among 16 different candidates.

Listed below are the names of the players receiving multiple votes on teams with at least 10 nominations.

Don’t see your favorite team – or your least favorite player from your favorite team – listed? Fire up that Internet of yours and get voting. As noted above, you can e-mail projectqualls@gmail.com or tweet to @ProjectQualls.

BASEBALL

Blue Jays: 19 votes – Kevin Gregg 3, Jon Rauch 3, Roger Clemens 2, Francisco Cordero 2

Cubs: 19 votes – Milton Bradley 4, Carlos Marmol 2, Alfonso Soriano 2

Giants: 10 votes – A.J. Pierzynski 2, Aaron Rowand 2

Mets: 48 votes – Bobby Bonilla 6, Oliver Perez 6, Jason Bay 5, Armando Benitez 4, Jeff Kent 3, Vince Coleman 2, Aaron Heilman 2, Guillermo Mota 2, Mel Rojas 2, Mo Vaughn 2

Phillies: 23 votes – Adam Eaton 5, Chad Qualls 3

Red Sox: 32 votes – Josh Beckett 6, Julio Lugo 4, John Lackey 3, J.D. Drew 2

Tigers: 10 votes – Ryan Raburn 4, Juan Gonzalez 2, Brandon Inge 2

Twins: 13 votes – Nick Blackburn 2, Nick Punto 2

Yankees: 82 votes – Kyle Farnsworth 10, Alex Rodriguez 10, Chad Qualls 5, Javier Vazquez 4, Joe Girardi 3, Felix Heredia 3, Kei Igawa 3, Carl Pavano 3, A.J. Burnett 2, Jose Canseco 2, Roger Clemens 2, Chuck Knoblauch 2, Russell Martin 2, Eduardo Nunez 2, Michael Pineda 2, Joe Torre 2

BASKETBALL

Bulls: 11 votes – Larry Hughes 2, C.J. Watson 2

Knicks: 23 votes – Stephon Marbury 3, J.R. Smith 2, Amar’e Stoudemire 2, Isiah Thomas 2

FOOTBALL

Bears: 17 votes – Caleb Hanie 3, Marion Barber 2, Rex Grossman 2, Kordell Stewart 2

Giants: 13 votes – Tiki Barber 3, Ron Dayne 2, Matt Dodge 2

Jets: 25 votes – Wayne Hunter 5, Tim Tebow 5, Eric Smith 4, Doug Brien 2, Matt Mulligan 2

Redskins: 14 votes – Albert Haynesworth 5

HOCKEY

Avalanche: 17 votes – Tyler Arnason 3, Darcy Tucker 3, Matt Hunwick 2

Blackhawks: 15 votes – Brian Campbell 2, Cristobal Huet 2, Sean O’Donnell 2, Marty Turco 2

Bruins: 10 votes – Tim Thomas 2

Canadiens: 16 votes – Scott Gomez 4, Max Lapierre 2

Canucks: 38 votes – Mark Messier 23, Mason Raymond 3, Aaron Rome 2, Mikael Samuelsson 2

Capitals: 20 votes – Jaromir Jagr 10, Joe Corvo 2

Devils: 18 votes – Jamie Langenbrunner 3, Kurtis Foster 2, Pierre-Luc Letournau-Leblond 2, Colin White 2

Flyers: 25 votes – Jody Shelley 4, Dan Carcillo 3, Michael Leighton 3, Danny Briere 2, Jeff Carter 2, James van Riemsdyk 2

Islanders: 19 votes – Rick DiPietro 6, Kirk Muller 3, Alexei Yashin 3, Oleg Kvasha 2

Maple Leafs: 17 votes – Brett Lebda 2

Rangers: 101 votes – Donald Brashear 13, Arron Asham 9, Marek Malik 5, Tom Poti 5, Wade Redden 5, Jaromir Jagr 4, Sandis Ozolinsh 4, Michal Rozsival 4, Sean Avery 3, Scott Gomez 3, Valeri Kamensky 3, Dale Purinton 3, Mike Rupp 3, Michael Del Zotto 2, Chris Drury 2, Brandon Dubinsky 2, Chris Higgins 2, Ryan Hollweg 2, Eric Lindros 2

Red Wings: 17 votes – Jonathan Ericsson 2, Jiri Hudler 2, Brett Lebda 2

Wild: 10 votes – Filip Kuba 3, Cam Barker 2, Martin Havlat 2, Marek Zidlicky 2

Project Qualls, Day 3: Going to an Olympics opening ceremony...

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 14:28:00 -0400

Project Qualls, Day 3: Going to an Olympics opening ceremony party tonight, so I won’t be counting votes. Instead, allow me to introduce the first mascot nominee to Project Qualls, what The Good Doctor, Jo Innes called “that tool in the centurion costume” This is why you should be following @JoNana on the Twitter machine. Also, you should be following @ProjectQualls on the same Twitter machine. Tweet your nominees there. The question is: Who is your least favorite player from your favorite team, past or present, in any and every sport?

Project Qualls: Day 2

Thu, 26 Jul 2012 22:21:00 -0400

What’s Project Qualls? Read this and find out.

After two days, there have been 625 names submitted to Project Qualls, and it’s tied at the top between Donald Brashear, with 12 votes as Rangers fans’ least favorite Ranger, and Mark Messier with 12 votes from Vancouver, where Canucks fans have long memories.

Today’s voting breakdown focuses on the players who have received votes with multiple teams. Interestingly, no NFL players have drawn the ire of home fans in multiple cities. At least not yet.

Who’s your least favorite player on your favorite team, in any sport, past or present? E-mail projectqualls@gmail.com or tweet it to @ProjectQualls. Thanks!

BASEBALL

Armando Benitez: Mets 2, Orioles 2, Giants 1

Jose Canseco: Yankees 2, Blue Jays 1

Roger Clemens: Blue Jays 1, Red Sox 1, Yankees 1

Kevin Gregg: Blue Jays 2, Cubs 1

Jose Guillen: Angels 1, Giants 1

Chuck Knoblauch: Twins 1, Yankees 1

Will Ohman: Cubs 1, White Sox 1

Vicente Padilla: Phillies 1, Rangers 1

Chad Qualls: Yankees 5, Phillies 2

Alex Rodriguez: Yankees 8, Rangers 1

Kenny Rogers: Mets 1, Yankees 1

Vernon Wells: Angels 1, Blue Jays 1

BASKETBALL

Chris Duhon: Knicks 1, Magic 1

HOCKEY

Nik Antropov: Jets 1, Maple Leafs 1

Sean Avery: Stars 3, Rangers 2, Red Wings 1

Dan Carcillo: Flyers 2, Blackhawks 1

Tim Connolly: Maple Leafs 1, Sabres 1

Scott Gomez: Canadiens 4, Rangers 1

Ryan Hollweg: Rangers 2, Maple Leafs 1

Jaromir Jagr: Capitals 6, Rangers 3

Filip Kuba: Wild 3, Senators 2

Brett Lebda: Maple Leafs 1, Red Wings 1

Andreas Lilja: Flyers 1, Red Wings 1

Petr Nedved: Flyers 1, Rangers 1

Matt Stajan: Flames 2, Maple Leafs 1

Marek Zidlicky: Devils 1, Wild 1

SOCCER

Titus Bramble: Sunderland 2, Newcastle United 1

Project Qualls: Day 1

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 22:29:00 -0400

If you’re wondering what Project Qualls is, read the introduction and cast your vote, then come back here and check out the early returns. I’ll wait.

Okay, after one day of voting in Project Qualls, these are the players who have received two votes from the fans of their respective teams. Don’t see your least favorite player from your favorite team here? E-mail projectqualls@gmail.com with the player on your favorite team — in any sport, players past or present. As you’ll see, not everyone has gone specifically for players.

You’re also more than welcome to share an explanation for your selection, as I did in the intro. You did read it, didn’t you? Okay, cool. As the project moves forward, I’ll work those explanations into what’s going on here. Here are the multi-vote players, by team, for the first day of voting. Donald Brashear is the leader with 10 votes from New York Rangers fans.

BASEBALL

Blue Jays: Jon Rauch

Giants: A.J. Pierzynski

Mets: Aaron Heilman, Armando Benitez, Bobby Bonilla, Jason Bay, Oliver Perez, Vince Coleman

Nationals: Henry Rodriguez

Phillies: Adam Eaton, Chad Qualls

Red Sox: Josh Beckett

Tigers: Ryan Raburn

Yankees: Alex Rodriguez, Chad Qualls, Javier Vazquez, Joe Girardi, Joe Torre, Jose Canseco, Kyle Farnsworth

BASKETBALL

Knicks: Amar’e Stoudemire, Stephon Marbury

FOOTBALL
Eagles: Donovan McNabb

Giants: Matt Dodge

Jets: Eric Smith, Matt Mulligan, Wayne Hunter

HOCKEY

Avalanche: Darcy Tucker

Canadiens: Scott Gomez

Canucks: Mark Messier, Mason Raymond

Capitals: Jaromir Jagr

Flames: Matt Stajan

Flyers: Dan Carcillo, Jeff Carter

Islanders: Oleg Kvasha, Rick DiPietro

Rangers: Arron Asham, Chris Drury, Chris Higgins, Dale Purinton, Donald Brashear, Jaromir Jagr, Marek Malik, Michael Del Zotto, Michal Rozsival, Sandis Ozolinsh, Sean Avery, Tom Poti, Wade Redden

Red Wings: Jonathan Ericsson

Sharks: Ed Belfour

Stars: Sean Avery

Wild: Filip Kuba

SOCCER

Arsenal: Robin Van Persie

Sunderland: Titus Bramble

Project Qualls

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 05:45:00 -0400

Maybe you want the story, maybe you don’t. If you don’t, here’s Project Qualls in a nutshell. I’m asking a simple question: Who is your least favorite player on your favorite team, current or all-time? E-mail your replies, regardless of sport, to projectqualls@gmail.com — I have no idea what will become of this, but I think it might wind up being very interesting. You can also vote by tweeting your nomination to @ProjectQualls.

Here’s the story…

At 12:46 a.m. on July 25, 2012, Joe Girardi’s overmanaging of the Yankees’ bullpen in what wound up a 4-2 loss to the Seattle Mariners resulted in much Twitter-bashing of both the skipper and the parade of ineffective relievers he had summoned. Among them was Chad Qualls, who was being so mercilessly ripped by the Twitterati that I thought to tweet this:

Instantly, the replies started to come — very quickly for that hour of the night on the East Coast, and especially given that I’m a hockey writer. It certainly did not hurt that the first reply was from Kevin Goldstein, in the form of a retweet.

As the replies came in, ranging from Esteban Loaiza to George Costanza back to Chad Qualls himself in a very meta moment, I got to thinking: everyone has that guy on their favorite team that they just can’t stand. Some of my most vivid sports-watching memories and some of my earliest swearing memories involve Tim Leary’s tenure with the Yankees. Now, having become a journalist and mostly given up rooting for North American teams, the player on my favorite team who drives me nuts is Titus Bramble of Sunderland — it never helps when someone comes to your team after you’ve built up a hearty dislike for him playing with a rival, in this case Newcastle United.

The point is, everyone has a Tim Leary or a Titus Bramble — the player on your favorite team who you just don’t like, or at least who is your least favorite. So, I set up a Gmail account and went ahead and asked…

Project Qualls came online at 12:59 a.m.

Now, as you’ve read this, I imagine that you’ve had a little time to think of your own Project Qualls candidates. Well, that’s the point. E-mail your least favorite player from your favorite team, current or all time, in any and all sports, to projectqualls@gmail.com

Stay tuned for updates.

“Massasoit: Great Sachem of the Wampanoags, Protector and...

Sat, 21 Jul 2012 15:06:23 -0400

“Massasoit: Great Sachem of the Wampanoags, Protector and Preserver of the Pilgrims / Erected by the Improved Order of Red Men as a grateful tribute / 1921” (Taken with Instagram at Massasoit Statue)

Barack Obama is Batman.

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 10:12:47 -0400

Call Me Maybe, Maybe, Maybe...

Sat, 09 Jun 2012 10:38:00 -0400

Oh, Carly Rae Jepsen, you have created a catchy monster, haven’t you? Here’s the original: Then Katy Perry got involved… And the folks at Staples Center in Los Angeles… Sticking on the sports theme, the Miami Dolphins cheerleaders got in on the act… Sticking on the orange theme, Donald Trump brought his hair to the party with the Miss USA contestants… And back to start… UPDATE: Twitter pal Megan Robinson pointed out this version by the Harvard baseball team…

Ah yes, the annual diabetes issue of Midwest Living. I never...

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 19:40:55 -0400

Ah yes, the annual diabetes issue of Midwest Living. I never miss it. (Taken with Instagram)

Plane and simple (Taken with Instagram at Los Angeles...

Wed, 16 May 2012 14:28:55 -0400

Plane and simple (Taken with Instagram at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX))

When you think about it, the cab company and the funeral company...

Mon, 14 May 2012 18:45:45 -0400

When you think about it, the cab company and the funeral company advertising outside a whole block of bars are direct competitors. (Taken with instagram)

Los Angeles Sports, April 2012

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 09:59:11 -0400

Kings: Not the Philadelphia Flyers.

Lakers: Not the Miami Heat.

Clippers: Not the Los Angeles Lakers.

Kobe Bryant: Not LeBron James.

Blake Griffin: Not Dwight Howard.

Matt Kemp: Not Barry Bonds.

My conference championship picks (sticking with what I said at...

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 13:45:00 -0400

My conference championship picks (sticking with what I said at the All-Star break, since the preseason Ducks/Caps pick ain’t happening) is reflected by the NHL Store’s front display. (Taken with instagram)

From the cover of the 1986-87 Sporting News Hockey Guide - the...

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 11:41:31 -0400

From the cover of the 1986-87 Sporting News Hockey Guide - the first hockey book I ever got. I love this picture. (Taken with instagram)

Not related to Pascal Dupuis (Taken with Instagram at Associated...

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 16:16:31 -0400

Not related to Pascal Dupuis (Taken with Instagram at Associated Supermarket)

Adam Graves has the hang of this conductor thing already. (Taken...

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 12:23:29 -0400

Adam Graves has the hang of this conductor thing already. (Taken with instagram)

Strike up the band! (Taken with instagram)

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 12:21:45 -0400

Strike up the band! (Taken with instagram)