Pardon The Pulse

Yello.

Triggs has made it back this week folks with his fill of cake. So at the next Inside Pulse corporate party, he doesn’t get shit I tell you. No cake for him! Man, NFL free agency is right around the corner and I can do nothing but want to talk about it, but since it’s not even here yet…those will be some stories for next week. There were some things we could scrounge up to talk about for this week’s edition including the passing of another great athlete at far too young an age.

And does anyone else think people (not just athletes) are dropping like flies lately? Every time I look at CNN.com or Yahoo, someone else has bit it. Shame too because they’ll never get the chance to…

1.) NHL and NBA Trade Deadlines

Spaulding: I can’t really say much about the NHL trading shebang because I don’t know enough about it. But the smartest move I think had to be the Carolina Hurricanes trading for right winger Anson Carter from Columbus. Carter’s season is a bit off, but he’s a frequent scorer the Canes really needed as injuries have plagued them. And picking him up for only a draft pick is a good deal.

Onto the NBA where it was “boring central.” Nothing of even remote interest happened as the Jason Kidd, Pau Gasol, Vince Carter, and many other deals failed to take place leaving everyone where they are. First of all Memphis was insane for thinking that Gasol is worth Luol Deng AND Ben Gordon. Sure he’s a good player, but he’s not worth the price of admission that Deng and Gordon are. Smart move Chicago. Now Vinsanity will probably be out of Jersey soon anyway, but I believe Kidd will be on his way out after this season too which will get the Nets less in return now. I’m happy that Kidd didn’t go to the Lakers though because I’ve liked the guy for years and would have hated to see him dishing out to Kobe. Portland should have gotten rid of Jamaal Magloire though by pawning him off for something. He has greatly underachieved since leaving the Hornets and is worth next to shit now.

Triggs: You could call it boring but that’s because you would have enjoyed watching the shit storm that would have happened in the Chicago. I quite liked the lack of trades. Gasol is great don’t get me wrong, but I would have bitten my dog’s ear off if they lost Deng. I was willing to see Gordon go. Would I have been happy? No, but I would understand that…giving up both of them for Gasol I just couldn’t. I didn’t even like Thomas in the mix even though he stunk it up at the Dunk Contest.

Now…as great as Vince is, who ever wants him will not be giving up anything for him. There is no denying that his ability to defy gravity puts asses in seats, he just can’t seem to put as many shots though the net. He is a great draw but I don’t know if he would put any team over the edge except when he gets hurt he might put a GM on the ledge of a really tall building after OK-ing the trade. I think what most surprised me was Pierce staying put. This poor guy needs to get out of there, more so than Chuckles guy KG. Nothing is going on Boston except marks in the loss column. Ok…ok they have the dunk champ Green. I take it all back.

Chuckles: NHL Deadline – Tons of Moves. NBA Deadline – Dead. When Juan Dixon is the biggest name that gets dealt at your deadline, that’s snoozer. Triggs is right, some of the teams did well by not making trades that would have depleted their future more than helped their present, but I still think someone could have made some kind of a deal somewhere.

But NHL, moves left and right. Guerrin to San Jose gives them 2 outstanding lines. Carter going to Carolina was a good move; he should step up and play well along side Eric Staal. But the biggest shock value trade was Ryan Smith, Mr. Canada, getting traded from the Oilers to the Isles. Smith was synonymous with Edmonton and seeing him get traded was an absolute shock. It’s a great move for the Isles, he gives them the grit and toughness they need to be able to make a run in the playoffs. He’s is a tough guy, last year I saw him do one of the coolest things I’ve seen in a hockey game. One of his teammates got a dirty hit with a knee, Smith took offense to the hit and went after the guy who hit his teammate, Smith going after that guy irritated the other team and a second player came over and went after Smith and he just stood there with one guy in each hand ready to rumble. I’ll never forget that, that’s the king of guy he was for Edmonton, and that’s what the Isles hope they are getting.

2.)NFL 3rd Strike Rule

Chuckles: I think it’s a good idea, and a good start, but it’s not enough. I think it will help take down the number of incidents throughout the league, but I have a crazy idea how to knock it down even more. TREAT THEM LIKE ACTUAL PEOPLE! If a professional athlete does something that a normal person would be sent to prison for 5 years for, send them to prison for 5 years. Enough of this “Oh, he’s a pro athlete so we’ll fine him 50 bucks and put him on probation for a couple hours.” Screw that, punish them the way the justice system is supposed to. NFL teams would flip over this, because the Bengals would have barely had enough players to finish the season. If you want to send a message that criminal behavior isn’t going to be accepted in the league anymore, make that statement. Get really tough. The players will get that message. I’m not sure the 3 strike rule will do that until they have 2 strikes, and even that won’t stop everyone.

Spaulding: I agree and think it’s a fantastic idea. I’m not even going to get into the “slap on the wrist because they are an athlete” bullshit, but the 3rd strike rule is great for the league. There are so many good players who get a bad rap or simply get ignored by the actions of their teammates. And I’m not talking about “good” as in on the field, but the great things they do for the community and charities off the field. I honestly hope some players get three strikes so some examples can be made.

I honestly don’t see how Chris Henry still has a job with the Bengals or even in the league period. The kid is a complete and total idiot that I thought maybe he had gotten out of his system with some of his antics while he was at WVU, but obviously not. And his teammates can’t seem to learn from his mistakes since orange seems to be the appropriate color for that team…especially once they get on the side of the interstate picking up trash.

Triggs: Not enough in my book guys. 3 strikes are for baseball and baseball only. Too many of these guys keep making an ass out of the league and it’s nice to see the league step up but it needs to be a little harsher. If you’re willing to essentially let them slide two times then hit in the wallet hard. I just can not feel bad for these guys when if any of us did something like this we would see a fat pink slip on our desks at work. Yet because they put asses in seats and therefore money in owner’s pockets, they get another chance. It really doesn’t seem to matter what the offense is either. Look at Tank Johnson, the guy got to play in the Super Bowl. Forget the league here…this guy violated his probation. You get one strike and a hefty fine or suspension…second time your out. Wiffle Up rules!

3.) Sabres/Senators Fight Nights I and II

Triggs: I will probably surprise you to say that it’s a bit uncalled for. I feel like a hypocrite saying this because I have done my share of banging on the glass as a good fight breaks out in front of me. I live right near the Bridgeport Soundtigers and pretty much went to every home game during their inaugural year. Some of the best fun I ever had and the fights were great, but there is something about this fight that bothers me. If this were the WWE, JR would have been drooling all over himself, but it’s the NHL and it was real. Tempers flair in every sport but hockey is the only one where you can get away with slugging a guy. If anyone in the NBA pulled this crap they would be looking at a 12 game suspension. I am all for the retaliation fight but was there really a need for the goalies? I guess I am torn, yeah I like the fights, but I guess there is a line that needs to be drawn. Kind of like when a player leaves the bench, his fine is stiffer.

Chuckles: I agree the goalies had no reason to be fighting. The fact that Emery was laughing the whole time was humorous, but it didn’t mean he should have been throwing down and it degraded the whole fight. The original Drew Stafford(one of my many boys) vs. Chris Neil fight was the only necessary fight from that night. Neil took a cheap shot at Drury, that Drury made worse than it was, and Stafford went right after him, that’s the way hockey is. You take a cheap shot at a star, someone’s gonna kick your ass. And everyone knows that, that’s why it’s accepted in hockey. The second fight between everyone on the ice was rather pointless and clearly instigated by the Sabres. The Sens were ready to move on and play the rest of the game as seen by the fact they came out with their number 1 line (Spezza, Heately) and Buffalo came out with their thug line(Mair, Peters) you know Buffalo is looking to keep this going and because of that Lindy Ruff got fined the extra 10 grand. The second game was a little cleaner, there were still a couple fights but it was a much cleaner game and both games were terrific games.

Spaulding: I’m not the biggest hockey fan in the world, but I still pay attention. And I didn’t know anything about the fight until it popped up on Sportscenter one night and then again two nights later. The fight was pretty kick ass, but I agree with you fellas that it was just too much. When I saw the goalie laughing while brawling then that means it was just totally unnecessary. Do your bit in standing by your net and taking your mask off to watch your boys battle it out.

Tony Kornheiser made a good point though on PT…errr, some show on ESPN. He told Wilbon that this was the most coverage he had seen of hockey on Sportscenter in months. And he’s right. Hockey seems to be losing its appeal with the common fan like myself and only attracting its hardcore fans. That cannot be a good sign, but neither can the constant injury-causing cheap shots and huge brawls.

4.) Arena Football

Spaulding: OH YEAH BABY! FOOTBALL…with WALLS! The Arena Football League season starts in March and I couldn’t be happier. My New Orleans Voodoo are returning to play in the Arena after taking a year off to deal with some bitches named Katrina and Rita. Shame too. We had a damn good team after our first two years and then virtually lost everyone by being shut down for a year, but we shall rebound alright I think. Dan “Bowling Ball” Curran is back in town and QB Andy Kelly is an established veteran who can lead this club nicely.

I absolutely love Arena Football with its fast-paced action and tons of passing as compared to a game full of running plays. The net and small goal posts make for some fun times too with the ball bouncing off the damn things and able to be caught for a TD or returned. I am looking forward to going to a few games this year and maybe even see if I can finagle my way into the Arena Bowl which is also being held down this way. Football with walls baby…football with walls.

Triggs: More football…can there really be anything wrong with that? Well for one thing it gets in the way of my Baseball and Hoops. I really want to get into this more specially considering the Rush are the 2006 champions but I just don’t. I take in a few games a year but nothing to consider myself a real fan. This is another one you can check up with me mid year like NASCAR and see if I have been doing my homework. I’ll be watching…

Chuckles: My knowledge of the AFL is limited to Midway’s “Kurt Warner Arena Football Unleashed.” Outside that, I’m rather clueless. I’ve never seen a full game, although that’s partially because the league has been on NBC the last few years and had a rather odd schedule. Now that it’s on ABC/ESPN I might stumble into a game every now and then. Will I go out of my way to catch games? Probably not. Will I watch one if there is nothing else on some night? Maybe. I know that John Elway and Jon Bon Jovi are involved in the league somehow. I think they each own a team, but I don’t know if it’s the same team or different teams. The league starts this week? Ok. I didn’t really know that. Its football, but there is kind of a football overload possibility here, and it doesn’t help that it goes up against the NHL stretch run and MLB spring training. And that madness thing that’s coming up.

5.) The Passing Of Dennis “D.J.” Johnson

Chuckles: Congratulations guys, you found my weakness. Basketball and death. Neither of which I care about terribly. Old school basketball more so. Until this week I had no idea Johnson existed. Athletes die young sometimes, it happens. Darryl Kile from the St. Louis Cardinals a few years back died younger that Johnson. Jiri Fischer, defenseman for the Detroit Redwings, died for a minute on the bench last year and he is in his mid twenties, luckily there was a team doctor with knowledge of Fisher’s heart history and was able to use a portable defibulator to bring him back. Athletes are just like normal people, they die, sometimes without reason. Best we can do is move on, and think fondly of the person the way we remember them.

Spaulding: Sure. Everyone dies, but it’s just tragic to see people dying so young. Kile’s death was one that hit me kinda just out of nowhere and like a shock and made me rather upset even though I knew very little about him. As for DJ, I watched him a lot when I was a kid and really liked his style of play. He was there during the entire dynasty of Bird, Parish, and McHale and was just as big a part of those Celtic teams as any of those big names. He was not only a fantastic player, but he was also a great man that still had close to half his life ahead of him. Coaching the D-league Boston team, he was sharing his knowledge and skills with younger players so they could go on to maybe do some great things in the world of basketball someday. Much like he did. Rest in peace DJ for you truly went too early and will be missed. You are a great person and deserve to be in the NBA Hall Of Fame for your accomplishments. I hope you are honored for that soon since you didn’t get it while you were around. As you deservedly should have gotten.

Triggs: Too young. I was truly shocked when I saw the headline. The guy is a few years younger then my father and things like that really freak me out and instantly put into perspective how young this is. Not to mention we are talking about an athlete here. I don’t know if there was any sort of preexisting condition of some kind but it’s just scary to see someone just collapse and die on the court when he had to still be in really good shape. How could he not after playing 13 years in the NBA. And he didn’t just play. He played great. This guy was like the original glove. He was also an intricate part of 3 championship teams. I have always thought he should be in the Hall and I think his greatness gets overshadowed by the other greats he played with in Boston. It wasn’t one or two, well two greats and a legend, but Johnson deserved his day.

It’s sad that the memory of Dennis has to include; “He died so young”. We’ll all miss you DJ…

Well we got no favorable or unfavorable comments this past week, but thanks to a pimp from Eric S. over in his Wrestline News, Opinions, Etc., Chuckles has a bit of a rebuttal:

Eric S. apparently reads our article and to him I’d like to say, Jordan didn’t win anything without Pippen. But without Jordan, Pippen hardly won a game. I think of it this way…without Pippen, Jordan may not have been considered the best player in the history of the game. But without Jordan, Pippen would definitely not be considered a top 50 player in the league. And I stand by the thought that Pippen can NOT help anyone.

Them’s fighting words, but what do I know. I haven’t been in a fight since high school ten years ago. Ok pals and gals, we’re gonna be back next week with some nice and not so nice words for the stupid asses who don’t think the NBA All-Star game should be played here in New Orleans next year. At least I will have some not so nice words…for YOU Tracy McGrady. Ya sleepy eyed looking bastard.

We’ll have more to talk about as well especially with free agency having begun so keep an eye out for next week’s PTP and as always, drop us a line by e-mail or here in the forums. Until next week, always remember to ask your server if they have…the hepatitis before you order.