This is my first blog on this new-fangled blogging system. All of my eloquently written blogs of the past have been deleted, so we start anew. Few things popping into my mind today.

We were talking yesterday about the increased value of draft picks in the NHL, and I’m firmly of the opinion that as the “new-NHL” continues along, draft picks will continue to increase in their value when it comes to trades. If you take a look at the NFL, (I know, I seem to compare everything to the NFL) a draft pick holds immense value. Teams will trade away a 1st and 2nd round pick just to move up 3 or 4 spots in the first round. Very good players will move teams in exchange for 2nd or 3rd round draft picks. If you’re going to acquire a first round pick from a team, you’re going to pay through the nose.

Well, the same can’t be said right now in the NHL, however, the value of picks is going to continue to rise. See, in the NFL, players are expected to be making impacts right away, and not just in the first round either. Well, take a look at the last few drafts…Patrick Kane, Sam Gagner, Jordan Staal, Jonathan Toews, Niklas Backstrom, Sydney Crosby, and Carey Price were all take in the top 10. And they’re all making significant, top flight contributions to their clubs. That wasn’t the case before the lockout…Vincent Lecavlier, David Legwand, Henrik/Daniel Sedin, Rick DiPietro, and Jason Spezza were all taken in the top 5 of the draft before the lockout. All of them took at least 2 seasons to materialize into top flight players. It’s the changing of the guard on the ice in the NHL, and it’s affecting how valuable draft picks are now.

I’m getting set to take a trip on down to Las Vegas, Nevada. It’s a vacation, I have tickets to UFC 84 at the MGM Grand, but it also turned into a situation where I get media credentials to the fight. I’m just really excited to see how the UFC comes across live, because being a guy who hasn’t missed a PPV in the last 3 years, it seems like it’s an unreal experience. The production value is so high on television, I can’t even imagine what the rush will be like when you hear Bruce Buffer do the “…we are LIVE,” and “…it’s TIME,” stuff. It gives you goosebumps on TV, but live, yikes…I’ve been fortunate enough to see some cool things live in person. A Flames playoff game, a live NFL game in Seattle, live college football in Boise, the Jays in Toronto and the Suns in Phoenix. All of these I anticipated beyond belief, but nothing comes close to the anticipation level of this. I’ll make sure I pass along what it’s like live, especially if you’re thinking of making the trip one day. Oh, and by the way, it’s only a matter of time till Dana brings it here.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 22nd, 2008 at 1:06 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.