“Great One” makes great escape

It’s well documented that great players do not make great coaches.

For example, baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams, arguably the greatest hitter of all time, was a pedestrian 273-364 as manager of the Washington Senators from 1969-1972.

And now, NHL Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky, unquestionably the greatest hockey player of all time, is out as coach of the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes after posting a mediocre 143-161 record in four season as both the team’s coach and director of operations.

While he may not have been even an above-average coach, Gretzky’s decision to bail on the Coyotes is more about the franchise’s woeful financial status than his inability to lead the team to the postseason.

Due to make more than $8 million next season and in the midst of a five-year contract he signed 2006, Gretzky didn’t want see a paycheck bounce. After all, he’s got a wife with a gambling jones.

Instead, he’ll probably find a substantial six-or-seven figure job as a hockey consultant or television analyst.

This move frees Gretzky from any of the obligation of the day-to-day business of hockey, though he still retains a small portion of the team in ownership. 

This situation never made sense to begin with — Gretzky as coach of the Coyotes. Was he trying to come to terms with his retirement as a player by becoming a coach? Is he qualified to do just one thing — hockey — and was just the benefactor of a situation where an owner was enticed by his name moreso than his quality of service? 

Either way, it actually makes more sense that Gretzky’s tenure in Phoenix has ended rather than it ever began.

The great irony here? The name is the Coyotes’ facility in Phoenix is sponsored by Jobing.com. I wonder if Gretzky has his resume posted.

These Avengers will not be avenged

First the Rams, then the Raiders. And now – the Avengers.

The Los Angeles Avengers, the lone “professional” football franchise remaining in the Southland, ceased operations on Sunday, according to a story in the Los Angeles Times, which was picked up by ESPN.com.

The Avengers had played in the Arena Football League, which will not compete this season after league owners voted to suspend operations because of economic restraints. 

“It’s disappointing, because I don’t think it was necessary to get to this point,” team owner Casey Wasserman told the Times.

To what point? To the point where a minor league sports franchises are going belly-up because of the current economic climate? Well it’s happening all over. The Fresno Falcons and Phoenix RoadRunners of hockey’s minor league ECHL ceased operations during this season, as have the Atlantic City Surf and Ottawa Voyaguers of minor league baseball’s independant Can-Am League, which announced just a couple of weeks ago that neither would continue to operate.

At least the Avengers ownership had the presence of mind to end things at an appropriate time.

The Avengers are actually the second AFL franchise to fold, joining the New Orleans VooDoo, since the league voted to halt operations. The league has still not stated when it will resume operations and schedule games, but remains “hopeful” that the remaining 15 teams will play again in 2010.

“The fans in L.A. have been passionate and supportive of professional football, and I hope one day we can all share in the excitement of its return to Los Angeles,” Wasserman said, according to the Times.

There seems to be a lot of “hoping” going on. The league hopes to play games; Wasserman hopes football will return to Los Angeles. I hope both are right, although far much more so the former than the latter.

This is a sad turn of events. The Avengers were one of the AFL’s flagship teams and had a proud tradition, including an ArenaBowl championship earlier this decade. And the Arena League is just plain cool. It’s a sleek modern twist on a calous timeless tradition. Now the closest Arena League team team to SoCal, geographical, is the San Jose SaberCats. What the heck is a SaberCat anyway? What’s an Avenger, for that matter? My guess is an out-of-work semi-pro football player.

Make it Reign!

The Reign has begun in the Inland Empire!

The Ontario Reign began playing hockey Saturday night at new Citizen’s Business Bank Arena. What a game it must have been! I didn’t go, but it looked like it was one helluva an opening. Local sportswriter J.P. Hoornstra has the full scoop but I’ll summarize for you…

The Reign were down two goals heading into the third period but were able to tie the game and force overtime. Neither team scored in the extra period and per league rules, the game was decided by shootout. 

Some local kid from Upland then netted an amazing game-winner and the crowd went wild. Wish I could’ve been there. I like hockey, especially when I can see it up close. It’s so intense and FAST! It may be the best sport, in terms of action, to attend live.

The Reign play in the ECHL, one of several Double-A hockey leagues in North America with teams in places like Boise, Bakersfield, Dayton and Biloxi. The Reign are an affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings, so chances are good that when the Kings sign a talented draft pick, he’ll play here. We might also see some of the Kings regulars play here as they rehab from injury.

But hockey isn’t the only thing going on at the new arena. The Lakers will play an exhibition game there, and there’ll be concerts and junk.

And as a resident of the Inland Empire for more than two decades, it is about time there was a real ARENA around here! The closest thing to one until now has been Coussoulis Arena on the campus of Cal State San Bernardino. Hardly a professional stage, Coussoulis struggles to host college basketball tournaments and random pro wrestling events. But not this new place!

Citizen’s Business Bank Arena, or ‘Zen Arena (as I’m trademarking) is like having the Honda Center come east. And with tickets starting only at $10, a playa like you or me can afford to “Make it Reign!”