It's time for the Winnipeg Jets to make the playoffs in the National Hockey League.
After losing their beloved Jets for 14 seasons, Jets fans were just happy to have them back in town after being reborn in time for the 2011-12 season when the Atlanta Flames franchise was sold to Winnipeggers. Year 2 of the Second Coming resulted in close, but no playoff beards in Winnipeg, but now Year 3 is upon us and the hockey honeymoon is over. Fans aren't just happy to have their team back; they want some playoff action.
And the team built by general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff and guided by coach Claude Noel seems to have the makings of a playoff contender, although the Winnipeggers - who have sold more logoed merchandise than any other Canadian NHL club - will never be confused with a Stanley Cup contender. In the NHL, though, it doesn't take much to move from a pretender to a contender.
So what's different this year in Winnipeg? Start with Mark Scheifele and Jacob Trouba. Scheifele is 20 years old and Trouba just 19, meaning they won't be able to legally quaff any celebratory champagne if the Jets happen to clinch a playoff spot in an American city next April. Scheifele, Winnipeg's first-round draft pick in 2011, just about made the team last year but was sent back to the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League for seasoning. It worked. Scheifele dominated in junior (120 points in 66 regular season and playoff games) and now comprises one-third of a great second line for the Jets with Evander Kane and Devin Setoguchi, acquired from Minnesota in the off-season. (The Jets' solid No. 1 unit consists of Blake Wheeler, Andrew Ladd and Bryan Little.)
Trouba , an American defenceman and chosen by the Jets in the first round of the 2012 draft, could be a rookie-of-the-year candidate if his early-season play is any indication. Trouba scored the winning goal and was named the game's first star as the Jets won their season opener, 5-4 on the road in Edmonton. The Jets then won their home opener over the 2012 Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings, giving rise to fans' belief that this is the year they'll finally be lining up for playoff tickets.
TV funnyman Conan O'Brien: "The NBA is considering introducing jerseys with players' nicknames rather than their last names. Players like the nickname jersey because it's easier for fans to relate to them and harder for women looking for child support to find them."
Steve Harvey of the Bottom 10: "How bad are things for Jacksonville (0-4)? The Jags tried to lure people to their game against Indianapolis by offering them two free beers for every ticket of $45 or more purchased. The Jags, who fell 3-37, played as though they had broken into the booze themselves."
Greg Cote of the Miami Herald: "In one of the great comebacks in sports history, Oracle Team USA rallied dramatically to beat Emirates Team New Zealand in the final race of America's Cup sailing when the Kiwis' catamaran unexpectedly was sunk by a missile from a U.S. Naval submarine."
Cote again: "New Panthers goaltender Tim Thomas, 39, known for refusing to attend the White House after the Bruins' 2011 Stanley Cup in objection to the president, is mentoring young goalie Jacob Markstrom, and the impact has been immediate. I hear Markstrom already likes Obama less than he used to."
Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle: "The A's could have drafted Todd Helton in 1995 but took Ariel Prieto. Imagine what might have been! Two great seasons in Oakland, then traded to the Yankees."
Cam Hutchinson of the Saskatoon Express reports: "A California youth football league will start to fine teams that win games by more than 35 points. 'Can the CFL do that too?' asked the Winnipeg Blue Bombers."
Janice Hough of leftcoastsportsbabe: "Bud Selig took over as acting MLB commissioner on Sept. 9, 1992, saying repeatedly he wouldn't stay on in the job. He has now announced he will retire in 2015, when presumably he will join Cher on a farewell tour."
Hough again, on Team USA coming back from 8-1 to win the America's Cup 9-8: "On a brighter note for Team New Zealand, they were named honourary Chicago Cubs."
Headline at TheOnion.com: "New Pro Football Hall of Fame exhibit allows visitors to experience concussion."
Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times: "Two new statues of hometown hero Wayne Gretzky got spray-painted by vandals in Brantford, Ont. Outraged city officials can't decide whether to install security cameras or simply add a Marty McSorley statue alongside them."
Patriots QB Tom Brady, to Vanity Fair magazine, on his favourite articles of clothing: "My wife's lingerie."
Another headline from TheOnion.com: "Jay Cutler proudly watches son throw first tantrum."
CBS's David Letterman, listing the top 10 things overheard during the Obama-Rouhani phone call: "Hold on - Rodman's on the other line."
Former boxing manager Al Braverman after being accused of putting an illegal substance on his fighter's gloves: "It's not a foreign substance. It's made right here in the United States."
