A Few Thoughts On...

The NHL trade deadline:

25 trades, 40 players, and the busiest six hours to ever end the NHL trade deadline. Yesterday, between 9am and 3pm- the official deadline- saw more deals than any previous final trading day. A few of the notable transactions from March 9th, 2006:

Some of the wisest moves were made by the Washington Capitals, who continued to take steps to create a foundation of youth and build the team around rookie-phenom Alexander Ovechkin by ridding of two veterans in exchange for two 2006 draft picks. The Caps sent Brendan Witt (D) to the Nashville Predators in exchange for a first-round pick and forward Kris Beech- who was Washington’s first pick in the 1999 draft, going 7th overall. The Caps then sent former San Jose Shark, Jeff Friesen, back to the West Coast as an Anaheim Mighty Duck for a second-round pick in the upcoming draft. They also claimed Rico Fata off waivers from the Atlanta Thrashers. Fata’s speed could potentially be an asset if placed with Ovechkin, who is equally as quick and can give and receive the puck better than any other player on D.C.’s roster.

Boston sent their team’s fifth leading scoring, Sergei Samsanov (37 pts in 55 gms) to the Edmonton Oilers for Marty Reasoner and Yan Stastny and a second-round pick in 2006. The Bruins have struggled all season (12th in the East and three games under .500) and the best thing about this trade is the draft pick, because nothing alludes to the possibility that Reasoner or Stastny will be Bruins next year, especially their stats.

Philadelphia’s GM, Bob Clarke, sent two second-round picks in the 2006 draft and forward Josh Gratton to the Phoenix Coyotes in return for defenseman Denis Gauthier. Earlier in the day, Clarke began his wheeling by shipping an ’06 third-round choice to San Jose for winger Niko Dimotrakos. Philly’s moves were made in typical Clarke fashion- swapping youth and potential for veterans and, hopefully, immediate results which haven’t always been as expedient as the team would like (just look at the number of Rings the Flyer’s have under Clarke’s guidance).

Although yesterday’s final day of trading was action packed, there were few big names moved around. The biggest being Mark Recchi, who was traded to the NHL point leading Carolina Hurricanes. This will give Recchi another solid playoff run and give the Hurricane’s a seasoned veteran’s experience and production in the locker room and on the ice. In net, The Colorado Avelanche and Montreal Canadians swapped goaltenders- Jose Theodore to the Avs and David Aebischer to the Habs. In the whole, there was a lot of micro-managing that occurred, bringing in players who can help in teams’ building processes or fit a particular need some teams were looking to fill. It should be exciting to see how the remainder of the NHL season goes, especially the fights for the final playoff spots in both conferences which are each separated by only three points. In the East, the Montreal Canadians (69 pts) currently hold the eighth playoff spot over Atlanta (66) and in the West, it’s Edmonton’s 73 points barely leading Anahiem with 70 points. The final weeks of the regular season should have a frantic pace as each team tries to maintain its position or climb the standings to make the playoff cut.

The Dubai Ports ordeal:

Dubai Ports World would have only been in charge of daily port operations. THE UNITED STATES COAST GUARD WOULD HAVE REMAINED RESPONSIBLE FOR PORT SECURITY. Yes, that’s right, all this hype- this FEAR generated hype- has no place in the discourse of the issue of whether a foreign, state-owned company should run the six east coast ports it was scheduled to acquire. Foreign entities own ports ops up and down both coasts of the U.S. So, why all of a sudden is there a huge outcry? It’s because the company is from the Middle East. Yet, our politicians will mask their concern by claiming that only America should control its ports and that a state-owned business should not have such access to another country's ports (a legitimate argument if it was made in a broader context that included places like China, a country that is deeply vested in the ports on the West coast). Where was the concern about port security before the Dubai debacle? It was of no concern because it is was in the hands of a non-Arab entity. Let's see how well the U.S.'s PR refutes claims of Arab bashing, becuase that's all it is.

The rejection of the Dubai port deal, without question, is discrimination. Since 9/11, this government, and especially the media, has successfully instilled the wrong kind of fear in people about Muslims. Now, we’re alienating an ally that would have worked within the confines of U.S. law, hardly changed the ports’ daily grind, and enhanced our image as a country that has a problem with Islamic fanatics not the entire Muslim community.

Congress sinking the ports deal, states banning abortion- even in cases of incest and molestation, the gay marriage debate continually existing as an underlying issue with in the public debate arena, the government and religious institutions championing anti-stem cell research campaigns- all this makes it hard to consider the United States as a progressive, tolerant, and intelligent country. It makes us look more regressive and discriminatory; something some of us wished could’ve been left back in the 1950s where it belongs.

Quiksilver Pro 2006- The Gold Coast

The 2006 professional surfing season is under way down under. On Australia's Gold Coast, all 45 pro surfers (plus a few wildcards and alternates, save for injury or poor performance) on the World Championship Tour (WCT) are attempting to unseat Kelly Slater from the WCT Throne. Slater, who won his record 7th title in 2005, is waiting to see how he finishes the Aussie hosted event to determine if he'll go for championship number eight. But he's got solid competition from every direction on this year's tour. Andy and Bruce Irons, Mick Fanning, the Hobgoods, Joel Parkinson, Taj Burrow, Phil McDonald, Fred Patacchia, and the rest of the awe-inspring pros have eleven more events in the 2006 six season after the Quik Pro ends on March 12th. Up next, the Rip Curl pro in Victoria in the Southeast of Australia.

www.fanatasysurfer.com - check it out...it's a great way to pass the time when you're landlocked at the office.