racingmeridian.com

Kyle Woodlief, a former NHL scout who runs the “highly respected” scouting service Red Line Report, dropped a bombshell while conducting an interview with New York’s Newsday. The Report has dropped John Tavares to third on their list of prospects for the 2009 entry draft, behind Victor Hedman and Matt Duchene. Woodlief describes Tavares as one dimensional, stating, “If he’s not scoring, he’s not helping”. Woodlief ripped Tavares play during the current OHL playoffs, noting a sense of “entitlement” and poor play during five-on-five situations. Woodlief does not, on the other hand, take into consideration that the player is likely just bored and fed up with the OHL grind. Tavares wanted to be drafted last year but was unable to secure NHL clearance. This whole year has doubtless been a tedious experience for a talented young man who feels he should be in The Show…Simeon Varlamov has stopped 56 of 57 shots since replacing Jose Theodore in the Washington Capital net. As early as Christmas there were whispers that the Caps felt they had uncovered the League’s next great goalie. Varlamov plays a hybrid butterfly/stand-up style, adapting as circumstances dictate. His glove hand is exceptionally fast. He played in the 2007 World Juniors (Silver Medallists) and was lauded for his ability and maturity. Early Russian scouting reports criticized his stick handling and refusal to retrieve pucks from behind the net. Varlamov was the Caps first round pick, 23^rd overall, in 2006. He is fascinating to watch and could be the story of the 2009 playoffs if the talented team in front of him rediscovers their scoring touch…the Washington Capitals have not won a playoff series in eleven years…Detroit Red Wing Johan Franzen has held Columbus’s Rick Nash scoreless through the first two games of the teams first round playoff showdown. The series moves to Columbus tonight and we’ll see if Nash can shake free on home ice…Chicago Blackhawk Patrick Kane did not play Monday night. The young star was stricken with the flu…five games on tap in the NHL playoffs tonight with two road teams, the Canucks and Red Wings, the nights big favourites…occasional Vancouver Canuck Mats Seldom was non-committal about actually playing a little hockey tonight. Seldom is usually golfing this time of the year and was undoubtedly certain he could torpedo the Canucks to a non-playoff position after signing in December. Seldom must be staring daggers at that bloody Roberto Luongo these days. He wants to go home, dammit!…Carey Price in goal last night? The wrong call, period…the Sporting News devotes about 20 pages to the NFL draft in today’s online edition. Boring. Why the endless speculation over who will go where? It seems prudent to simply wait till teams have drafted and then assess the players and potential impact. Now is the tine for watching hockey…wow. The Sporting News Power Poll has the Toronto Blue Jays as the third ranked team in baseball. They quickly add a cautionary note, however, suggesting cooler heads prevail until the Jays show they can muscle the big boys in the A L East. The Yankees currently rank ninth and the Red Sox eleventh……ESPN columnist Bill Simmons has alluded to some behind-the-scenes drama in Detroit this year where Allen Iverson was apparently a serious distraction for the Pistons. The diva reportedly let teammates know, “I’m the most famous person here”, and refused to quietly accept a diminished role. Simmons claims the Pistons went to great lengths to cover all the trouble up…Stephan Marbury, on the other hand, has been a picture of class and decorum as a backup point guard for the Boston Celtics. Marbury deserves re-evaluation after huge public spats with Larry Brown and Isaiah Thomas tarnished his reputation in New York. He is the rare athlete who may actually have been in the right while battling management…Dinara Safina has just assumed the No 1 world ranking in women’s tennis, this despite never having won a major. Huh. This also despite the fact the women she replaces, Serena Williams, soundly beat her the last time they met, in the Australian Open final…Roy Jones Jr claims he has a deal in place to fight Jeff Lacy in late July. This could be the boost that Lacy desperately needs. The once promising prospect has seen his career derailed by losses to Joe Calzaghe and Jermaine Taylor but is sure to have the measure of the mouldy and musty Jones…