What a crazy day. It started in the morning with some goofy website and some goofy FM sports radio station in Dallas claiming it was done, Mike Modano was a Boston Bruin. Then, it developed into word that no deal was done anywhere. Then, I spent all of my energy pleading with the Stars to “do something while you still can!” (I do realize that the noon hour on BaD Radio had nothing to do with the scenario, but it is my story and my blog. At least I Hope the Stars are not going to determine the path of their franchise based on a dopey radio show.)
Then, came the news that they are talking again, and the Stars are now back in the game. Then, my phone exploded with news that it was done – He signed in Dallas. Then, the waiting game ensued….and we waited. Nothing. Then, reports that Boston is still in this. And then, Mikey Mo goes to sleep. Why? Because he was annoyed for a few weeks, and now he is going to be a bit stubborn and make the Stars sweat a bit, I suspect. And honestly, I don’t blame him.
But, what was with the Stars reversal? Or did they just have a poor way of negotiation? Is it possible that Tom Hicks put on his cape and saved the day? The final chapter is still being written. But as of this second, I am very pleased for two reasons: 1) it appears the face of the franchise is here for the rest of his career and 2) it appears that the contract is incredibly reasonable. He will get a 5 year deal, but years 4 and 5 (when he is 38 and 39) are both incredibly cheap and you could very well pay that and not sweat the fact that he is no longer half the player he was.
Modano almost done …
Hicks says:
"The last thing I said was, 'Do we have a deal?' and he said, 'Yes.' So I said, 'Congratulations on finishing your career with us,' and we left it at that," he said. "Is it legally binding? No. Could Mike change his mind? That's his prerogative. But in my mind we have a deal."
But, Modano still is dragging his feet:
Modano said he wanted to sleep on the offer and would give Hicks an answer in the morning.
"Boston is still out there, and if they were to make an offer I think I would have to listen," he said. "I think we agreed in principle [with the Stars] and said we need to still take a little more time."
When asked to put a percentage on it, Modano said that 90 percent sounded "about right."
Lebreton says Modano is making the Stars wait …
The Stars' offer to Modano is fair, mostly because it addresses the long-term issue that Mike was searching for. If he can't play hockey four or five years from now, Modano can be the franchise's best ambassador, same as always.
On Tuesday night, Modano slept on the offer. Just because he could, probably, and maybe also because he wanted to give Armstrong a taste of his own medicine.
But don't push it, Mo. There's a puzzle still to be assembled. There are Stars fans' hearts, already wounded, who can't take any more suspense.
Save by Hicks. Goal by Modano.
Anything else, and the news conference would have been a wake.
Meanwhile, NY Times says Raffy knew what he was doing …
The positive drug test that has left Rafael Palmeiro's legacy in doubt involved the potent anabolic steroid stanozolol, a person in baseball with direct knowledge of the sport's drug-testing program said yesterday.
Stanozolol, known by its brand name, Winstrol, was most notably linked to the Olympic sprinter Ben Johnson of Canada, who was stripped of a gold medal in 1988 after testing positive for that steroid.
Now Palmeiro, one of only four major league players with more than 3,000 hits and 500 home runs, is being associated with the same substance.
The person who said that Palmeiro tested positive for stanozolol did not want to be identified because the testing policy prohibits anyone in baseball from disclosing information about test results without authorization.
Palmeiro said Monday that he had never intentionally taken steroids, but stanozolol does not come in dietary supplements and is among the most popular steroids on the market. It can be ingested or injected and usually remains in a person's system for at least a month.
In other news, the Stars grabbed former Avalanche and Duck defenseman Martin Skoula …
Pronger joins Edmonton …
Chris Young – shelled again …
Revo examines the transition of the Cowboys to the 3-4 …
Peter King on Deion’s closet …
I'm in the lobby of the Ravens' team hotel here in Westminster on Sunday night and two 40ish men are sitting at a table a short spiral away with fabric samples and big binders. One of the guys was David Corbitt, who tells me he makes men's suits. He's Deion Sanders' tailor.
We get to talking, and this might be the stat of my summer. Deion, playing beyond the twilight with the Ravens, has 1,900 suits. His closet at home is 2,500 square feet.
Which compares to my sartorial stats: I have two suits, and my closet is, I'm guessing, 25 square feet.
How to know you are rich: If you have a closet that is 2,500 square feet.
Napoleon Dynamite Action Figures …
Sports By Brooks on the marriage of Derek Lowe and why it isn’t doing so well …
41 comments:
God I hope Modano is as done as he looked in the last NHL year. I will laugh if the Stars lock him up longterm and he becomes an albatross like some of the Cowboys long term contracts.
couple of things:
1) Wow, Hicks is such a bastard. He won't spend any money on anything and he doesn't care about winning anything anymore! He'd rather not win actually! It's proven by letting Modano go! See how I'm jumping to conclusions with no factual basis for my allegations! WOW! I'm a sports fan! Now notice my lack of retraction statement while I try to hide my failed smile.
2)I was at the ranger game last night. I knew going in that it was likely to be a high scoring affair (CY v. McClung [a spare who'd given up 6 HR in his last 30 IP]). Imagine my shock when about 1/3 of the lower deck gave a standing O to a mound meeting between Orel and CY! What the hell! A mound meeting!
tired dip
Dear Sports Sturm
As I understand the cap valuation of a player's contract under the new NHLPA agreement is based on his average yearly salary (i.e. 4yrs and total of 16 million would be a cap hit of 4 mil a year, regardless of how its structured). Is this correct and if so doesn't this mean that Mo's contract could still be burdensome in 4 years especially if the cap were to decrease. Thanks Sports Sturm.
I can't wait to hear the Hardline explain how Raffy probably shot-up by accident.
Bob,
Quit being so modest. It's obvious to anyone who heard the show yesterday that the Stars panicked when he heard BaD Radio lose it on the air and callers flood the airwaves. You've made an impact, Bob.
I don't know about anyone else, though, but I routinely accidently inject myself with unknown substances. I buy Raffy's story 100%...
On Fox Sports Southwest last night they said that Hicks heard the public outcry from the people in Dallas yesterday after Hicks allowed Modano to shop around. My point is, Do you think Hicks reads Bob's Blog? If so, I have a few thoughts on the Rangers also.
TF
Sports Cap,
Yes, it's correct that even if the amount of money in the contract is staggered from year to year, the only number that matters as far as the cap goes is the average salary across the length of the contract. Sure, it could become a burdensome in following years if the cap goes down.
But the advantage of signing Mo to a front loaded contract is that if Hicks structures the deal in such a way that $14.5 million of the $17.5 million is paid across the first three years, then it would only cost him $2 million to buyout Modano, which comes out to 2/3 of the remaining $3 million left on his salary.
It's about damn time Hicks stepped up and made a legit offer. I don't understand why it had to come to this, when this contract could easily have been offered last week. Hicks and Armstrong were stupid to think that Modano wouldn't be a highly sought after guy. And as far as him realizing at the last moment of the potential backlash of losing Modano, what was he thinking the fans reaction would be, that they could easily move on after losing the face of the franchise after a lost season. I am glad that he is most likely staying now, but that doesn't change my opinion of Hicks at all.
On another note, I was actually impressed with the way the Hardline have dealt with the Raffy story. They didn't really back down and defend him. He definitely should not make the HoF. A disgusted as I am that Raffy was caught, if it takes a high profile name or names to give the testing credibility and consequently cleans up the sport, then maybe it's not such a bad thing. This is the final confirmation that we have been cheated out of many great moments now over the last 10-15 years as baseball fans, and that part of it is a sickening thought.
Hey Bob,
What size is your house? I'm guessing its somewhere between 1 and 2 of Deions closets.
he rejected the deal?????
son of a b-, i can't take this roller coaster ride anymore with mondano and the stars....
Geez, Mike...just sign the damn deal with the Bruins then if that's what you want and be done with it. Quit leaving the Stars fans twisting in the wind. I don't blame him for going where the most money is, but for God's sakes, just get it over with already...
from dallasnews.com
-------------------------
The agent for Mike Modano said Wednesday afternoon that Modano would not accept the Stars’ five-year, $17.75 million contract offer.
"It's just far too much of a hometown discount’’ said Brian Lawton, Modano’s Minnesota-based agent. "Mike knew there was going to be a difference between offers, but not as much a $9 million, and that’s what it could turn out to be.’’
When asked if a deal could still get done with the Stars, Lawton said, "It’s possible, but not likely.’’
Lawton said several teams have multiple-year offers on the table for Modano, and that the market took a huge swing upward Wednesday.
"Teams are giving term, five years is not out of the question at all,’’ Lawton said. "I mean, the market changed.’’
Stars owner Tom Hicks said Tuesday he believed the Stars already had an agreement with Modano.
"Well, I think Tom Hicks 'hoped’ he had a deal with Mike, but I know for sure Mike said he needed to talk to me first," Lawton said. "I think any report that there was ever a deal was inaccurate."
Lawton did not give a time frame on when Modano might sign a deal with another team.
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I don't blame him for rejecting the offer. It seemed idiotic to me for him to leave that kinda of money on the table. It's gonna be a sad F-ing day if this deal is dead and he signs elswhere..sad indeed.
F Tom Hicks.
You know I love you guys, but Bob - you're being a real ass today. There's a lot of middle ground between being the best player on the ice and forgetting how to skate. But keep on twisting other people's words into those which help make your point. Good strategy.
F Tom Hicks.
You're crazy, dude. It was a 5 year deal! That's hardly an insult, at his age. how exactly is he escaping blame?
4 @ 20,000,000
vs
5 @ 17,500,000
Is the math that hard? This isn't the NFL, those are guaranteed $'s. Throw in in a conservative $2.5m for year 5 of the Bruins deal and that's an additional (bring in Dr. Evil) FIVE MILLION DOLLARS (or 28%).
Hicks didn't 'step up' here at all IMO, he's saving face.
F Tom Hicks.
I agree with the goon.
F Tom Hicks.
Mike
I think the deal he was offered was respectable, and if boston is willing to max out their franchise for him, so be it. I love modano to death, but i think the stars put a fair offer on the table.
If he wants the money that bad i say let him walk. And the only blame you could put on hicks and the stars, is for not starting talks a week ago, other than that, i feel hicks made an honest effort.
Rumor in Boston is that the Bruins just signed Brian Leetch. So, we'll see if that changes anything in their plans to sign Modano.
Man, the fans in Boston will hate Modano if he signs there for big money/big years and plays anything like he did in 03-04. Good luck, dude.
I understand that it's hard to admit that our idols are wrong, but sometimes we have to. Modano verbally agreed with Hicks on a respectable deal last night (according to all reports) and is now turning it down. If you feel that is Hicks' fault, that's your perogative. I just don't agree.
leech to boston has been confirmed. I would like to know how much money they actually have left.
Its also possible the biggest offer isnt from boston, but from chicago. but yeah, the eastcoast media will be FAR less forgiving if he stinks it up.
I hope Chicago signs Modano..for Bob's sake. Then he can become a Blackhawks fan again and quit giving me shit for cheering for the Sox.
I'm glad that the Stars made an effort and gave him an offer, but if the only thing Hicks did wrong in this is not making this offer sooner, that's a pretty big screw up. Modano would have signed the deal, and would have nothing to compare it to. By him saying he was "90% sure" that he was staying, that tells me that his heart wants to stay in Dallas, but his agent told him that he's smoking crack for leaving so much on the table. I don't think giving the Stars credit on this is justifiable at all.
He would be overpayed by Boston if he signed the deal they offered, but then again, that's their fault for making a stupid offer. It should be expected that his production will be on a decline, but he would mean more to the Stars organization than any other team in the league.
Around here Mer, we only cheer for teams in our area. We dont jump on bandwagons when things here arent looking good.
dallas is one of the biggest fairweather cities around.
I dont know about that, its usually pretty hot here especially in the summer.
Mike
Goner,
You do understand how the salary cap works, right?
I figured anything above a three year deal worth $3 million per season was a respectable offer considering how bad of a season Modano had in '04.
For Modano to say himself that the deal was 90% done and then to renege like this shows just what kind of a greedy pr**k he is.
Around here Mer, we only cheer for teams in our area. We dont jump on bandwagons when things here arent looking good.
Hah! Yeah, Dallas is much more of a loyal city then Philly or Boston. That's funny.
People in Dallas only care about a team when it is winning. Given the popularity of the pre-Cuban Mavs or the current incarnation of the Rangers, I don't see how you can deny that.
I went to every Flyers home game in the late 80s/early 90s, when the team was absolutely terrible. Those games were all sold out. That sort of thing doesn't happen here.
And for the record, when I became a Sox fan, they were not even a playoff team. In fact, they were atrocious.
Well which is, are you from Philly or Boston?
Bob, for the love of god get the ticket on Satelitte radio (sirius). I've moved and have gone from an ALL day listener to nothing. It's like going through drug rehab, I'm having withdrawl. It's kind of hard to listen to the internet in the car. Thanks, lobster claw and gravy nipple.
When I "became" a Spurs fan this season they havent even started the playoffs yet.
Anonymous one,
Go read Meredith's blog to find why she supports the teams that she does.
She's from Philly. Hence her loyalty to the Eagles, Flyers, 76'ers, and Phillies and she supports the Red Sox because she went to school up in Boston.
Not too hard to figure out why.
Or do you not realize that the DFW area is chock full of transplants?
HOLY SHIT.
Forsberg to the Flyers. JR to be sent to LA within the week.
My mind is officially blown.
Might as well send the Cup to Philly right now. Great move by Clarke and Hitch.
I can deal with Meredith's loyalties because mine are sorta similar. I grew up in D/FW so my favorite football team is the Cowboys, NHL team is the Stars (obviously from '93 on forward as I didn't follow the NHL before then) and NBA team is the Spurs (they were the closest team geographically to Dallas when I started rooting for them in the '70s). My favorite baseball team though is the San Diego Padres from my college days out in the lovely San Diego area at UCSD. So there you go.
I forgot to mention that the Spurs actually got their start originally in Dallas as well (as the Chapparals).
The type of steriod Raffy was taking must be taken everyday during the cycle. I've taken it several times. Most of the time this taken in an oral form. It would be to hard for him to find a new injection site each day to keep out of view of the media. Also, it is not used to get bigger when taken by itself. It is normally stacked with another, which he probably didn't do.
Without a doubt, it would be impossible for Raffy not to know that he was taking this everyday.
Stay Hard? Yeah Right!
OK, Modano has now officially agreed to a deal. That ends the weirdest chapter in Dallas free agent sports history.
"Might as well send the Cup to Philly right now. Great move by Clarke and Hitch."
You might want to tap the breaks on that one..
You're talking about a team that is already over the cap and they haven't even signed Gagne yet. And besides, no matter how good Forsberg is, he can't play goalie. Who's gonna stop Ottawa and others from scoring on them? Those fast, nimble D-men like Hatcher??
My favorite baseball team though is the San Diego Padres from my college days out in the lovely San Diego area at UCSD. So there you go.
I hope you love Dave Roberts as much as we do in Boston.
"Might as well send the Cup to Philly right now. Great move by Clarke and Hitch."
I'm 26 and have never seen a Cup in Philly, so I'm not about to start counting on one now. But it will be an exciting season for us.
And our defense is actually going to be quite good. We've got a couple big guys in Hatcher and Rathje and a couple skill guys in Seidenberg and Johnsson. And speaking of Rathje, that guy can move the puck up the ice well. I don't think it will be quite as bad as Anonymous thinks it will.
And if Hatcher stays healthy and plays remotely close to his Dallas days, that will be a fine pickup by the Flyers. Only question will be is if health cooperates....
Hottest picture of Modano EVER.
And, love the ND figurines. Primo!
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