Nearly two weeks into the 2011-12 season, the Blue Jackets have been able to accumulate one single point out of the twelve possible so far this season. Clearly not the start that they wanted to get off to and certainly not the kind of start you want in the ultra-competitive Western Conference. The team is averaging just two goals per game and is the only NHL squad without a win this season.
Shy of an injury to Rick Nash, any and everything that could go work has gone wrong for Columbus. Jeff Carter is on injured reserve with a fractured foot. James Wisniewski is still in the league’s doghouse. Steve Mason has continued to be inconsistent and the Blue Jackets do not have an experienced backup. Salary cap constraints forced the Blue Jackets to call up Mathieu Corbeil from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League to back up Steve Mason. Injuries to Curtis Sanford and Allen York, the team’s minor league goaltending depth, were also partially to blame.


The quest to find the new face of Cleveland sports continues with another edition of the Star-Power Rankings-- a Top 25 list slightly less controversial than the BCS standings, but no less arbitrary and ridiculous. This week, despite coming off arguably the least exciting two-week period in recent Cleveland sports history, there have still been a few shake-ups on the Star Power board. Most notably, it would appear as though the PR nightmare brewing in the Browns' backfield may have already taken the Madden cover boy down a peg. But if Peyton Hillis has jumped the shark, just who the hell has done enough to jump over Hillis in the rankings?
When it comes to early ‘90s Saturday morning cartoons about pro athletes who fight crime, ProStars was easily among the best. Though the show only aired for a couple months in 1991, the adventures of the crudely animated Michael Jordan, Bo Jackson, and Wayne Gretzky probably represents the pinnacle moment for the classic, sports hero archetype of the 20th century. Sadly, it’s a show we couldn’t possibly recast in the post-BALCO, post-sexting world of today. … Or could we?
It’s safe to say this is not the start the Blue Jackets envisioned for the 2011-2012 season. They sit 0-3 to start the year for the first time in franchise history and, if you have followed the team, you know that with how bad some of the teams have been, that’s quite a feat.
Not a real busy weekend in Cleveland sports which worked out really well given the weather and the outdoor possibilities it presented. But there's more than enough going on to squeeze out a Weekend Wrap. You have the on-going Peyton Hillis saga that needs to be discussed and you had a coming out party for Braxton Miller developing in Lincoln Saturday night until Miller hurt his ankle. That's when Joe Bauserman showed up drunk and belligerently bad at the party and ruined the whole night (with some help from the defense and coaches).