The Show.

Anyone who has ever been on the playground during recess can appreciate what the NHL is doing with this year's All Star Game. Every league has a goal of keeping its All Star Games innovative and fresh so they can maintain fan interest, and the NHL has a history of switching things up and trying new formats. For a while they did North America vs. The World as opposed to East vs. West, but this year it's a whole new game, and in my opinion, a much better game. This year, two captains will pick from a field of players and the two teams will play. Pretty simple, just like the days of touch football in elementary school. With this format, instead of playing for a conference that a player probably doesn't have a ton of pride in, said player is playing for someone who picked them for a reason. This boost's up the pride factor which should make it a more intriguing game from a player's standpoint, which in turn will make it more interesting for fans. All Star games are notorious for being bland but I think this will put an interesting spin on things and make the game much more interesting.

One of, if not the most important part of any All Star Game is fan interest. How are you going to assure that fans are going to be interested and intrigued? Every league has tried different things to maintain a strong fan following. The MLB made their All Start Game matter by awarding the winning league home-field advantage in the World Series, and in the midst of receiving criticism about the declining interest in the NBA slam dunk competition, the NBA and it's players began to make things interesting by incorporating props, costumes, and even food. Fan voting is a good way to ensure interest, but only to an extent. Luckily, the NHL hasn't given fans 100% say in who is in the game, but they've given fans the power to choose the top six players (a goalie, two defensemen and three forwards), which is a very happy medium. The league will pick an additional 36 which will assure that the right players get into the game. Out of the 42 selected players, two captains will pick the team's they want, regardless of what conference the players are in. This will make it the best game possible for two reasons: The first reason is that the east vs. west format doesn't assure a good matchup. As we've seen in baseball, the AL has dominated the All Star Game by for the better part of the last decade, losing just once since 1997. With captains picking teams, there will be much more parity and will thus lead to a better game. The second reason is that the captains may not necessarily pick the best players, but rather the right players. It's not always about having as many top goal scorers on your team as possible, but rather having the players that will work well together and give you a well balanced team.

A big argument for those against this All Star Game's format is the fact that someone is going to be picked last. I'm sure you remember this process as a kid: the captains pick the best players first and when it comes to the last few players feelings inevitably get hurt. To me though, if I'm considered the worst All Star in the NHL, I'm still an All Star in the NHL, right? Being named to the game is enough of an honor, and if I'm picked last I could care less. Of course that's just me, but these players are grown men. I'm sure being picked at all will negate any hard feelings or embarrassment, if there's any at all.

I was skeptical of this change at first because it's such a dramatic one, but the more I've learned about it and the more I've thought about it, the more I like it. It takes pro hockey to the pond where all that matters is playing the game. It'll be a lot of fun to see these players playing for each other rather than playing for a conference. Although All Star Game's in general are known for being somewhat sluggish or trite, I think this new format will add a bit more energy and pride to make it a game of interest. Whether it will work or not, I have no idea. All I know is that the league has my interest as a fan, which is essentially their goal.

Roy Halladay was a question to some going into playoffs. Yes, he had an unbelievable season - one that will most likely earn him his second Cy Young award - but he had never pitched a playoff inning, and regardless of how good a player may be, there's always a question about how an athlete will perform come playoff time. However, Roy took that question and answered it with an exclamation as he pitched a no-hitter in his first ever playoff start.


As I saw this happening it was of course exciting. There had been only one playoff no-hitter in the history of baseball, but what's more is that, for those who forgot, Halladay already pitched a no-hitter this year (actually, it was a perfect game if you want to get technical about it.) Tonight he became the first player to ever pitch a no-hitter in the regular season and playoffs of the same year. So like I said, exciting? Of course. Surprising? Not totally. If there's one guy in baseball who could do this it'd be Doc Halladay. His work ethic is legendary, and the amount he studies his opponents gives Peyton Manning a run for his money. So with that being said, let me rephrase what my emotions were like: was I surprised that a major league pitcher was able to throw a regular season and playoff no-hitter in the same year? Absolutely. Was I surprised that that pitcher happened to be Roy Halladay? No.

As for an impression, Halladay has Phillies fans breathing easy. Like I said earlier, how a guy will perform in the playoffs is always a question. Look at A-Rod. He's notorious (with the exception of last season) for slumping in the playoffs. He'd put up great numbers all season and come playoff time he'd choke. That's what the post-season can do to a lot of players. The pressure is too much, it gets in their head and they crumble. Halladay isn't like other players though. You wanna talk about pressure? This start has been building up for 13 years. He's been a top three pitcher in baseball for the last decade and now, after all that time and all that dominance he was getting his shot in the spotlight with everyone watching. So being the kind of player he is, he took that shot and did what he's been doing his whole career. With the pressure on he was like a rock. He was in the zone and there was no way he was gonna crack. If you watched the game you know what I'm talking about. Some of his pitches were literally unhittable. But that's what Doc does, even when it counts most.

As for the Phils, they've been known as an offensive team, which explains a majority of the success they've had in the last few years, but now combine that veteran offense with the three aces the team has and you have a very scary combination (unless you're a Phillies fan, of course.)

And in case you missed it:

It's funny how sports work sometimes. During the 2008-2009 NHL season Brad Thiessen, a goalie who played at Northeastern University, got called by the Penguins after his junior season ended. He went to play for the Penguins' AHL team in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and got called up to practice with the Penguins during their playoff run. The Penguins ended up winning the Stanley Cup that year, and Thiessen got himself a ring. Roy Halladay, on the other hand, is in his 13th season of big league ball. He's a Cy Young winner. He has pitched over 300 games in the show and has won just under 170. He has had three 20+ win seasons, has pitched 58 complete games and has 19 career shutouts. Stats like this seem deserving of a championship, but he's not just ringless - he's without a single inning of playoff baseball. Sometimes the most deserving players are also the most deprived players. Halladay has been deprived of post-season baseball his entire career, but with the Phillies clinching the NL East crown for the fourth consecutive year, he'll get his long overdue shot at October baseball.

The Phillies acquired Halladay from the Blue Jays during last years offseason and it was a win-win for both parties - the Phils get a top 3 pitcher in the league who the thought would most likely win them 18+ games, and Halladay finally got a shot at the post-season and the World Series with a legitimate contender. That was the plan, and so far it is coming together just as expected.

The Phillies have been baseball's hottest team in September going 19-6 as of Sept. 29th, which isn't too surprising considering this teams experience when it comes to winning when it matters. They've been able to run away with the division and will now enter the playoffs as a group that is well-tailored for a third consecutive World Series appearance. They have a lot of players who have had great success in the playoffs, and adding a post-season-starved Halladay to the mix certainly won't hurt. Halladay isn't the only Phillie who has been yearning for a chance at the post-season, however. Mike Sweeney, a first baseman the Phillies acquired during the season from the Kansas City Royals, is in the midst of his 20th MLB season, and the playoffs have managed to evade him until now. Sweeney, although a great player, is not expected to be the kind of guy who is going to carry a team through the playoffs. However, one of the things you constantly hear about Mike Sweeney is what a great clubhouse guy he is. He's well respected by his teammates and he's a seasoned vet who knows a lot about the game, and having him in the clubhouse during the playoffs is not something to overlook.

There's a lot of pressure during playoff baseball, especially if you're a pitcher. The importance of each game makes mistakes fatal, which is a factor that Halladay hasn't dealt with until this point in his career. The city of Philadelphia is relying on him to pitch the way he's capable of, because if he does they'll have a great shot to win the whole thing. It will be interesting to see how he responds, but knowing the type of player he is I'd say it's safe to say he'll be fine, and hopefully he'll get a shot at his AL rivals that always kept him out of the post-season. After all, he's been building up to that first playoff pitch for his entire career.