How unusual is it, that Donovan McNabb and Terrel Owens would want to play together with the Redskins, after Owens went frosty on his former Philly teammate, in their second season together with the Eagles, who were losers in Super Bowl XXXIX ( 24-21, Feb.6,2005.) to the Patriots ? Even though the Redskins are unlikely to sign the well travelled wide receiver, it really isn’t surprising that two seasoned veterans who are highly competitive, would actually need each other, to help prove to the football world, that they each are still very capable of being elite players, even though some critics probably disagree. With a large void at the receiver position, the Redskins desperately need to find some decent talent for McNabb to throw to. Conversely for McNabb, without some solid receiving talent on his new team, it will be very difficult for the Chicago native and his Redskins, to be successful to any degree, in the brutally tough NFC east division. Even though they seemed to have had a bitter feud going in Philly, they know that they need each other to revitalize their respective careers. There’s every reason to believe that they have overcome their differences, although McNabb never seemed to lack in maturity at any time, while Owens has caused locker room rifts in his previous destinations, including San Francisco, Philadelphia,Dallas, and he was not retained by the Buffalo Bills.
The National Hockey League has had it’s share of problems over the years and went through an awful mess that hurt it’s image, with the Phoenix fiasco last summer. However, the Coyotes have become this years Cinderella story, almost from the start of the season, and are now giving the dynastic Detroit Red Wings all they can handle. Their home games have been sold out or very close to it,for their playoffs, and my friend Jim Devellano, senior vice president of hockey operations for the Wings, told me that he had conveyed to his Detroit colleagues during the regular season, that it wouldn’t surprise him if Phoenix would wind up representing the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup finals.Beyond that, the Stanley Cup playoffs in general, have been superb. The games have been somewhat unpredictable in the early going. At the present moment, it would be difficult to pick a clear cut favorite in either conference. Ultimately, it is competitive games that will sell seats in NHL arenas over the long term, way more so than Olympic games. People still want to go to a game to cheer on the home team, or whichever team they follow. Seeing great Olympic hockey might hook Olympic viewers, but most fans,want their respective home teams to succeed, and if they are failing in the win column, then all the excitement at Vancouver’s Winter Games or any others as well, will not compel someone to buy tickets to watch a poor product. Why would you want to go from Olympic quality, to that of a bottom feeder or a non playoff performer ? Olympics sell the Olympics, and nothing else. The National Hockey League sells its own product, and each team in their respective market has to meet the challenge of being competitive, in order to be a winner in the accounting ledger.