INTRODUCING: JIM LANG ON SPORTS!

Toronto-based broadcaster Jim Lang is a long-time friend of mine.  You may know him from his years on Sportsnet TV and Radio, or as the voice of the Toronto Argonauts.  Jim has signed on as an analyst on the SportsCage and will be writing a weekly column for this website centring on our three favourite leagues: CFL, NHL and NFL.  Here’s the first installment.  Enjoy!:

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TORONTO — I have had the privilege of being a friend and colleague of Rod Pedersen for almost 15 years. So I was flattered when he asked me to write a weekly column for his blog. With that in mind I thought I would take a look at some things in the world of sports that have caught my attention.

NHL

There is a cool website, www.mangameslost.com, which tracks all of the man games lost due to injury by a certain team in all four of the major pro sports leagues.

As of November 3rd the Edmonton Oilers were at the top of the list with a whopping 87 man games lost to injury. In comparison the Calgary Flames had only lost 33 man games to injury at that that point in the season.

Are injuries an excuse for losing? No they are not.

Injuries are a fact of life in professional sports. No team in any sports will go through a season without experiencing some kind of injury to a key player. How that team deals with it speaks volumes of the depth of the respective organization and the character within their dressing room.

A case in point is the Anaheim Ducks. As of November 3rd the Ducks had lost 71 man games to injury. The Ducks are also one of the best teams in the Western Conference. That is a testament to the job Ducks General Manager Bob Murray did stocking the organization with depth at all levels. The Oilers can only dream of the kind of goaltending depth the Ducks can boast.

So Oilers General Manager Craig MacTavish has a number of jobs on his to-do list. At the top of the list is acquiring a legitimate NHL goalie that can give their team a chance to win when they are being outplayed. (Look no further than the Maple Leafs to see what that can do for your team.).

Next, the Oilers desperately need to improve the talent along blueline. And by that I mean they need to add a good mix of a puck moving defenceman and some stay-at-home defencemen. Of course all of that takes time. Unfortunately Oilers fans are running out of patience and want a team that produces better results now.

The Phoenix Coyotes

Quietly the Coyotes have emerged as one of the hottest teams in the league. The Coyotes have won five in a row and seven of their last eight games. This is another example of why Coyotes Coach Dave Tippett is the best kept secret in the NHL. Led by Keith Yandle the Coyotes have three D-men ranked in the top 10 of defencemen scoring leaders.


CFL

The weather gods seem to be smiling down on the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Rider nation.

Environment Canada is calling for bitterly cold temperatures for Sunday’s Western Semi-final between the Riders and the Lions at Mosaic Stadium. I don’t care what anyone says, that is an advantage for Corey Chamblin and the Riders. Unless the Lions decide to hold practice inside of a meat locker this week they will never be able to recreate those kinds of conditions. Meanwhile the Riders are accustomed to this kind of weather. They practice and play in it all the time.

That psychological edge of not caring about the weather will be something the Riders can use to their advantage. They already know it is going to be a gong show in the stands with the huge crowd, the cold weather just adds to the intimidation factor the Lions will have to deal with. From the Lions standpoint it is imperative that they get out to an early lead to try and take the crowd out of it. If the Riders score early then Travis Lulay can forget about calling audibles at the line of scrimmage, it will be too loud.

NFL

With each passing day the mess in Miami over the Richie Incognito incident just gets worse and worse. The Dolphins have serious concerns on offence as they get ready to face the Buccaneers this week. Because of Incognito’s bullying he has been suspended, Jonathan Martin has left the team and the end result is the Dolphins have lost 40 per cent of their starting offensive line. If that wasn’t bad enough there are reports that have emerged that indicate Incognito was following orders. http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2013-11-05/sports/fl-miami-dolphins-hazing-1106-20131105_1_richie-incognito-jonathan-martin-safe-and-professional-workplace

In a scenario similar to the Code Red in the movie “A “Few Good Men” it appears Coach Joe Philbin and his staff asked Incognito to go hard on Martin in order to toughen him up. If any of these reports are proven to be true then Philbin will be out of a job.

A bigger concern from the rest of the NFL is the staggering amount of serious injuries to key players. The latest is Packer quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The Packers franchise quarterback is expected to be out of action for at least three weeks and he deals with a fractured collarbone on his left, non-throwing, shoulder. The scary thing for Mike McCarthy and the Packers is that they don’t really know when Rodgers will be back; the three weeks is just a ballpark estimate. I contacted a front office executive in the NFC and asked him about, what I thought, was a higher than normal amount of injuries throughout the league. He said it is a reality that teams are forced to deal with on a yearly basis; “Attrition is always the biggest concern every season.”

This all speaks to the importance of depth in pro sports. Players will get hurt, how you are able to deal with it separates the champions from the also-rans.

The OHL

Coming soon to an NHL rink near you will be Erie Otters forward Connor McDavid. The Newmarket native turns 17 in January and isn’t NHL draft eligible until 2015. Despite his young age McDavid leads the OHL with 25 assists and has 30 points through 17 games. Thanks to McDavid and his linemate Connor Brown, the Otters are off to a 13-3 and 1 start to the season.

(Follow Jim Lang on Twitter at @jimlangsports)