Snowman On Fire

Nashville has signed Dov Grumet-Morris to a two-way contract (meaning he gets paid to play in the NHL and the minors, although with a zero dropping off the paycheck as he moves down a level). Grumet-Morris wins the hockey player minority hat trick: he’s a Harvard grad, he’s a goalie, and he’s Jewish. Not the first Jewish goalie in the NHL, and not the first Ivy-matriculated goalie in the NHL (Ken Dryden, anyone), but probably the first to live in the intersection of all three circles in this Venn diagram of Jewish Hockey Geography.

This is the second flyer (not the Philly kind) that Nashville has taken on a nice Jewish boy — the last being the signing of Andrew “Bubba” Berenzweig, who played parts of four seasons with the Preds, picking up 3 goals and 7 assists in the course of 37 regular season games.

There’s no trend here (yet) as none of the young Jewish stars have had a chance to win the Stanley Cup and make kiddish in it. But I’d fly to Nashville to see that.

How cool is it that Chris Young was voted to the MLB All-Star Game? Not only does it demonstrate the power of the fan’s voice (MLB received about a million votes an hour down the home stretch), but it shows how the right mix of real world (in-ballpark prompts to vote for hometown favorites) and electronic (votes cast over mobile phones) experiences can capture the sense of a particular point in time. Young pitched outstandingly well on the day voting closed, and he launched himself up the coast for Tuesday’s All-Star Game.

I’ve been following his career for a while — since he played center for the Princeton University basketball team, was drafted by the Pirates (who cut short his roundball career as a contractual condition), played for a San Francisco Giants farm team in Hagerstown, Maryland, made his debut with the Texas Rangers, beat the Yankees for his first “big” win and then settled into current stardom in San Diego. Along the way ESPN Magazine gave him props as “The Bigger Unit” (around 2004) and he married the granddaughter of Lester Patrick, he of Patrick Division fame (ooh, a hockey-tie in!)

He does the work, every day, and I’m thrilled to see him get the recognition he deserves. And it puts him in some outstanding company. Young is the first Tiger (of Princeton stripes) to appear in the baseball All-Star game, and only the sixth Ivy graduate to achieve that distinction. The first — Lou Gehrig, Columbia graduate — not a bad pairing for the answer to a trivia question in the future.

First the strong words: Forget the comparisons to Bobby Holik. Scott Gomez is the next Alex Rodriguez, in the eyes of the fans, the league, the press, sports agents and possibly youth hockey players. Tough call? Absolutely, and not one I’ll make in publicly lightly, because as a person I still think Scott Gomez is mostly a good guy. Don’t ever confuse business success with personal and brand integrity. Gomez has assured himself of business success (financially); he’s still got his personal integrity (in terms of being approachable, kid-friendly, and an outstanding spokesman for hockey diversity); but he’s taking a brand hit. That’s the A-rod comparison.

Let’s go down the list one demographic at a time:

In the summer of 2007 it’s a parade of free agents who form a veritable Clustrmap of player movement. Continuity in rosters builds a fan base; it helps drive attendance and loyalties in kids who eventually pass those on to their kids. When the players that your kids adore take off, either their loyalties go to an out of market team or their interest in the home team declines. Neither is good for the long-term health of the league. Just because the salary cap forms a nice big allowance doesn’t mean owners have to spend the whole thing; spending less on players and then building a local fan base through local broadcast television rights, local cable coverage, or even community outreach like low-cost ticket distribution will ensure the “financial certainty” that figured so prominently in the lockout settlement. Paying players to jet set between teams only ensures that at some point, owners are going to scratch their heads trying to figure out how to de-cap-itate a long-term contract with a player who is nursing a sore groin for what seems like half a season.

Final A-Rod comparison: Mike Greenberg of ESPN Radio claims that A-Rod is going to escape from New York this year, setting up “the biggest free agency” in recent history. Ask the kids who follow baseball if they care. None of them want to be A-Rod, proving that maybe the Beatles were right: Money can’t buy you love. But it can buy you a pair of centers.

Boy am I torn. I adore Scott Gomez. He’s partially responsible for the “snowman” nickname. I was reminded of that again tonight when I packed up my golf clubs and noticed the NHL Charity Event 2003 bag tag, the time and place at which Gomez remarked on my carding an eight on the first five holes. He has never failed to tap the glass when he sees me at practice, or at a game, or even stop on his way out of practice to talk about that golf game that’s now four years (and one Stanley Cup) distant. He talks with the boys in the local diner; he respects his parents; he speaks out on behalf of autism. So many things to like. Until tonight.

Tonight, he’s no longer the Gomer. He’s a goomer. As in the phrase emergency room doctors use for whiny, cranky, not-really-hurt patients who are taking up space and time. Goomer = “get out of my emergency room”. Not just because he signed for $7.3M a year over 7 years. Not just because he signed with the much-hated, cross-river evil empire New York Rangers. He did it after impltying in the press that he couldn’t envision going to the Rangers; he did it after expressing how much he loved the Devils. Clearly, as has been reported, he made up his mind about this a while ago.

So be honest. Tell the fans you’re going, and you’re going for more money. That’s a 50% pay raise over this year, and it’s “screw you” money if he plays out the contract. Unfortunately, the “screw you” is directed right back at the fans on this side of the Hudson. I simply wish that professional athletes would dispense with using the media to gain empathy, and instead just tell the truth. Scott and Lou didn’t get along, Scott wanted more money, the Rangers ponied up, and now he’s a blue shirt.

Tomorrow I’m disassembling the Devils wall in my office. The Gomez signed pictures I’ll keep, but they’ll go in my autograph and photo scrapbook, to be shown at random times when we can explain away jerseys as a function of time and loyalty. The clipping that Gomez inked for me, from a 2000 Sports Illustrated article on his standout rookie year, will be interesting for all of those facts, including the fact that I thought to save it when I still subscribed to the swimsuit and pro football focused magazine. I’ll keep the picture of us at the NHL Charity Event, but it’s no longer the banner wallpaper on my cell phone. The signed jersey is coming down, and I’ll find something else to replace it.

Here are some recently jilted Gomez-lover ramblings, made in the heat of the moment and at the depths of rejection:

I don’t wish any sort of ill fate on Gomez, because he is a good guy, and I do believe he acted in his best financial and career interests. It’s painful — downright painful — that as Chris Drury and Gomez opened on Broadway, the best Lou could do was get Johnny Oduya back to the contract table. But such is life in the world of free agency. The Devils have big holes on defense and at center, and we need to get some bodies into those emergency rooms.

Goodbye, Brian Rafalski. I have no idea what Lou has in mind for his blue line corps, but losing Rafalski on the first day of free agency probably wasn’t his Plan A. That said, I’m hoping Plan B is really, really exciting, because one of the leading names I wanted to see in NJ — all-time leading Jewish scorer and former Red Wing Mathieu Schneider — just went west to the Ducks. And Johnny Oduya wasn’t made a qualifying offer, so he’s free to sign elsewhere without any form of compensation.

I’m going to wager that opinions will be split on this. Rafalski was a good guy, a hard worker, and really steeped in the Devils style: undrafted, picked up out of the European elite leagues, and a big contributor during two Cup runs. That’s the good side. The past season and a half, he seemed almost always a half step out of place or play, whether misplaying the puck on the power play or just being ineffective at shutting down big lines. We’ll miss him, certainly, and I’m glad he didn’t end up with the Rangers or Flyers because then we’d end up implicitly cheering against him.

With Daniel Briere migrating south to the City of Brotherly Love, the field is in play. There are some names out there, and with Rafalski gone, Mogilny and Malakov off of the payroll, and the salary cap raised to over $50M, I’m hoping Lou and Jeff open the wallet up. Soon. The whole free agency thing is likely to be down to mouse nuts by Independence Day.