UNH Wildcats 2016 Offseason Thread - Searching for Direction

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2016 Offseason Thread - Searching for Direction

Quiz refresh - we've run the board on everything else ... pulling things up, all that's left if is pro football. For purposes of these questions, "NFL Championships" will be constituted of Super Bowl (1966-present) and NFL Championship Game (1933-1965) winners. AFL Championship (1960-1965) and AAFC Championship (1946-1949) winners will be considered only for the questions that are specifically geared to multi-league winners. None of the WFL, USFL or XFL are considered here, as none of their teams were eventually merged into the NFL. Surprisingly, still no one has taken a sniff of any of these yet:

* Name the only franchise to have won the NFL Championship in three (3) different cities?
* Name the only three (3) franchises to win the NFL Championship in two (2) different cities?
* Name the five (5) cities to win NFL championships with two (2) different franchises?
* Name the only two (2) franchises to have won championships in two (2) different leagues?
* Name the only (1) franchise to have won championships in different leagues, in two different cities?

BONUS POINTS (True or False):

The NFL began competition in 1920. The 2001 Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots marked the first time a New England based team were recognized as NFL champions?

When the San Diego Chargers waxed the Boston Patriots 51-10 in the 1963 AFL Championship game, it marked the first time ever that a Boston based team had played in a professional football (NFL/AFL/AAFC) championship game?

A New England city has never hosted a professional football (NFL/AFL/AAFC) championship game?

I'll leave these out there until the end of next week (7/9/16) and post answers after that if anything is still left.

Hope everyone is enjoying a happy holiday weekend, and keeping yourselves out of trouble.

[vicb]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2016 Offseason Thread - Searching for Direction

I will take a shot.

* Name the only franchise to have won the NFL Championship in three (3) different cities?
Cleveland '45 - Los Angeles '51 - St Louis '99 Rams
* Name the only three (3) franchises to win the NFL Championship in two (2) different cities?
Baltimore - Indianapolis Colts
Cleveland Browns - Baltimore Ravens
Los Angeles - Oakland Raiders

* Name the five (5) cities to win NFL championships with two (2) different franchises?
Baltimore (Colts '58 '59 '70 and Ravens 2000 2012)
New York (Giants '34 '38 '56 '86 '90 2007 2011 and Jets '69)
Chicago (Bears '33 '40 '41 '43 '46 '63 '85 and Cardinals '47)
Cleveland (Rams '45 and Browns '50 '54 '55 '64)
Los Angeles (Raiders '83 and Rams '51)

* Name the only two (2) franchises to have won championships in two (2) different leagues?
Cleveland Browns (AAFC) and (NFL)
Dallas Texans (AFL) Kansas City Chiefs (NFL)

* Name the only (1) franchise to have won championships in different leagues, in two different cities?
Dallas Texans (AFL) Kansas City Chiefs (NFL)

BONUS POINTS (True or False):

The NFL began competition in 1920. The 2001 Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots marked the first time a New England based team were recognized as NFL champions? FALSE if you consider Providence Steamroller in 1928, TRUE if you only consider the NFL from 1933 per your 2nd sentence

When the San Diego Chargers waxed the Boston Patriots 51-10 in the 1963 AFL Championship game, it marked the first time ever that a Boston based team had played in a professional football (NFL/AFL/AAFC) championship game? TRUE

A New England city has never hosted a professional football (NFL/AFL/AAFC) championship game? TRUE

[NCAA watcher]

And you have to at least feel for Coach Souza, who is most likely going to be the lucky guy left behind to pick up the pieces ... unless of course, the program tanks so badly, BS35+6 decides belatedly that the previously promised "national search" wasn't such a bad idea after all.

I really, really hope this next incoming class of recruits is up to getting the program back to .500. Otherwise ...

Not sure I see why getting an opportunity that you otherwise probably would not have gotten on your own track record makes him sympathetic. A career in the hockey hotbed of Italy, two unremarkable recruiting years at Brown and two at AHA Uconn is not the usual path to the top. Much better to have grown up 10 minutes from Dick's old donut shop and ability to talk about the old country. If you manage to hitch your star to someone, you have to accept the pitfalls of their work.

Making Quinn all the more attractive is the fact he’s been a head coach at AHL Lake Erie and an NHL assistant with the Colorado Avalanche.

“I have that pro experience that gives me maybe a little bit of a leg up on other (college) guys,” Quinn said. “You never know; you like to take on new challenges. But for me, it’s way too early for (the NHL). I love what I do, and I’m in an unbelievable place. I’d love to win two, three, four national titles at BU.”
“We had to go out, identify them from an early age, build a relationship, work hard to get them, get into major battles with major schools throughout the country. Steve, Albie and Scott did a phenomenal job. The university did, too. They supported us and gave us the resourses to go and do this. They deserve all the credit.”

Quinn also spent plenty of time in the living rooms of players’ families, pitching BU.

“Yes, yes I do,” he said with a laugh. “I went over to Sweden two years ago over July 4 weekend and met with JFK (terrific B’s prospect Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson). That’s what you’ve got to do.

“These parents are entrusting you as coaches. They’re handing their child over to you and trusting to you to develop him, not only as a hockey player, but as a person. We take that seriously. It’s an all-encompassing process at BU. As hard as we work at making them better players, we’ve got to make them better people. Those go hand in hand.”

Mixed in here are two amazing contrasts. First, BU picking between Quinn (who as a college assistant recruited the ncaa champion team and then proved his ability to be hc in the AHL) and Sullivan (a former nhl hc, and future hc of Stanley cup champs) vs plucking a fourth year assistant from UConn. Wonder which team would have more credibility? Second, the work put in and connections in a hc being an active recruiter. Thankfully Dick doesn't waste his time overseas on foreign players. Fourth of July is for cookouts and golf.

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2016 Offseason Thread - Searching for Direction

I will take a shot.

* Name the only franchise to have won the NFL Championship in three (3) different cities?
Cleveland '45 - Los Angeles '51 - St Louis '99 Rams
* Name the only three (3) franchises to win the NFL Championship in two (2) different cities?
Baltimore - Indianapolis Colts
Cleveland Browns - Baltimore Ravens
Los Angeles - Oakland Raiders

* Name the five (5) cities to win NFL championships with two (2) different franchises?
Baltimore (Colts '58 '59 '70 and Ravens 2000 2012)
New York (Giants '34 '38 '56 '86 '90 2007 2011 and Jets '69)
Chicago (Bears '33 '40 '41 '43 '46 '63 '85 and Cardinals '47)
Cleveland (Rams '45 and Browns '50 '54 '55 '64)
Los Angeles (Raiders '83 and Rams '51)

* Name the only two (2) franchises to have won championships in two (2) different leagues?
Cleveland Browns (AAFC) and (NFL)
Dallas Texans (AFL) Kansas City Chiefs (NFL)

* Name the only (1) franchise to have won championships in different leagues, in two different cities?
Dallas Texans (AFL) Kansas City Chiefs (NFL)

BONUS POINTS (True or False):

The NFL began competition in 1920. The 2001 Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots marked the first time a New England based team were recognized as NFL champions? FALSE if you consider Providence Steamroller in 1928, TRUE if you only consider the NFL from 1933 per your 2nd sentence

When the San Diego Chargers waxed the Boston Patriots 51-10 in the 1963 AFL Championship game, it marked the first time ever that a Boston based team had played in a professional football (NFL/AFL/AAFC) championship game? TRUE

A New England city has never hosted a professional football (NFL/AFL/AAFC) championship game? TRUE

Terrific job by vicb basically running the board (with one slight hiccup) and bringing the summer "Searching for Direction" quiz to a close. The next to last question was, "When the San Diego Chargers waxed the Boston Patriots 51-10 in the 1963 AFL Championship game, it marked the first time ever that a Boston based team had played in a professional football (NFL/AFL/AAFC) championship game?"

False. The 1936 Boston Redskins advanced to the NFL Championship game as Eastern Division champions, where they faced the Western Division champion Green Bay Packers. The Packers won 21-6, so Boston would have to wait another 27 years for a return to a pro football championship ('63 Boston Patriots), and another 65 years for its "home" team ('01 New England Patriots) to win their first pro football championship. Otherwise, vicb nailed it on the '28 Providence Steamroller. And notwithstanding the '36 Redskins being the "home" team in the NFL Championship, they had to move the game to the Polo Grounds in NYC due to faltering attendance at their Fenway Park home. Not surprisingly, days later, the franchise relocated to Washington DC, where they remain to this day. So a New England has indeed yet to host a pro football title game.

https://news.google.com/newspapers?i...7075%2C2030668

Love some of the terminology in the archival news clip, from back when "the long distance telephone" was the cutting edge of communications technology, and capitalization was kept to a bare minimum.

[HockeyRef]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2016 Offseason Thread - Searching for Direction

Chuck in response to your comment regarding how close they came to winning 15 games I dunno we were in several (those ties like UMass which still grates on me haha) any of the OT's which could've gone either way...but really in the grand scene of things last season was a bust nonetheless.

Interested to see who steps up this year (Eiserman, Vela, Marks for instance- newbie players like Blackburn and the new DMan) and how the goal tending pans out...Anyway...moving on I guess!

[Snively65]

Terrific job by vicb basically running the board (with one slight hiccup) and bringing the summer "Searching for Direction" quiz to a close. The next to last question was, "When the San Diego Chargers waxed the Boston Patriots 51-10 in the 1963 AFL Championship game, it marked the first time ever that a Boston based team had played in a professional football (NFL/AFL/AAFC) championship game?"

False. The 1936 Boston Redskins advanced to the NFL Championship game as Eastern Division champions, where they faced the Western Division champion Green Bay Packers. The Packers won 21-6, so Boston would have to wait another 27 years for a return to a pro football championship ('63 Boston Patriots), and another 65 years for its "home" team ('01 New England Patriots) to win their first pro football championship. Otherwise, vicb nailed it on the '28 Providence Steamroller. And notwithstanding the '36 Redskins being the "home" team in the NFL Championship, they had to move the game to the Polo Grounds in NYC due to faltering attendance at their Fenway Park home. Not surprisingly, days later, the franchise relocated to Washington DC, where they remain to this day. So a New England has indeed yet to host a pro football title game.

https://news.google.com/newspapers?i...7075%2C2030668

Love some of the terminology in the archival news clip, from back when "the long distance telephone" was the cutting edge of communications technology, and capitalization was kept to a bare minimum.

Congrats to vicb for coming from nowhere down the stretch to win the race, err overall championship, if I am not mistaken.

Now, back to our usual programming and prognostications for how many more seasons will be required for DU to reach 600.

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2016 Offseason Thread - Searching for Direction

Not sure I see why getting an opportunity that you otherwise probably would not have gotten on your own track record makes him sympathetic. A career in the hockey hotbed of Italy, two unremarkable recruiting years at Brown and two at AHA Uconn is not the usual path to the top. Much better to have grown up 10 minutes from Dick's old donut shop and ability to talk about the old country. If you manage to hitch your star to someone, you have to accept the pitfalls of their work.

I honestly can't disagree with you on any of that. 'Watcher. Brutally fair assessment.

Mixed in here are two amazing contrasts. First, BU picking between Quinn (who as a college assistant recruited the ncaa champion team and then proved his ability to be hc in the AHL) and Sullivan (a former nhl hc, and future hc of Stanley cup champs) vs plucking a fourth year assistant from UConn. Wonder which team would have more credibility? Second, the work put in and connections in a hc being an active recruiter. Thankfully Dick doesn't waste his time overseas on foreign players. Fourth of July is for cookouts and golf.

Geez, you make it sound like cookouts and golf are bad things ... z

Chuck in response to your comment regarding how close they came to winning 15 games I dunno we were in several (those ties like UMass which still grates on me haha) any of the OT's which could've gone either way...but really in the grand scene of things last season was a bust nonetheless.

Good teams win those games ... poor teams (limited talent and/or mediocre coaching) find ways to lose them.

Ignore the stats geeks, who will try to convince you one-goal or OT games are coin-toss propositions.

Congrats to vicb for coming from nowhere down the stretch to win the race, err overall championship, if I am not mistaken.

No, I think you're still the overall winner, Snively65. vicb cleaned up on football and probably notched 2nd place.

Now, back to our usual programming and prognostications for how many more seasons will be required for DU to reach 600.

At 12 wins per season, Coach comes up short. He's probably gonna need an improbable run to the Garden in one of those seasons to get to his next round number. With an assist from Sully in Southie, I'm setting odds at 60/40 against.

He's really gonna need the Tirone of early 2015 - not the imposter who showed up in the 2015/2016 season.

If UNH drops to single digit victories this season, it's gonna take a 20+ win in his final season to get there.

I hope our midseason discussion in six months' time isn't "How bad can UNH be this season where BS35+4 pulls the trigger and starts the Souza regime a year early?" Or even "How bad can it get where BS35+4 resurrects the national search?" Because if those are the kinds of discussions we're having, the waning enthusiasm and support the program has experienced over the last decade is going to fall off a cliff. The folks who've dropped out previously, it's probably been a mix of short-timers and die-hards ... but we've gotten through most of the former, so any further damage is likely to happen to the latter. No more superficial flesh wounds - these would be "down to the bone".

[NCAA watcher]

I honestly can't disagree with you on any of that. 'Watcher. Brutally fair

Brutal? Yes
Fair? I think so.
But all that matters is if it is correct. The jury is out on that, and I hope I'm wrong. Even if you objectively screw up by pinch hitting a AA prospect to face Kershaw, (or bringing in Brandon Workman in game 6 to face the Cards) it can still work out. It's up to Souza to make it work.

[Snively65]

No, I think you're still the overall winner, Snively65. vicb cleaned up on football and probably notched 2nd place.

At 12 wins per season, Coach comes up short. He's probably gonna need an improbable run to the Garden in one of those seasons to get to his next round number. With an assist from Sully in Southie, I'm setting odds at 60/40 against.

He's really gonna need the Tirone of early 2015 - not the imposter who showed up in the 2015/2016 season.

If UNH drops to single digit victories this season, it's gonna take a 20+ win in his final season to get there.

I hope our midseason discussion in six months' time isn't "How bad can UNH be this season where BS35+4 pulls the trigger and starts the Souza regime a year early?" Or even "How bad can it get where BS35+4 resurrects the national search?" Because if those are the kinds of discussions we're having, the waning enthusiasm and support the program has experienced over the last decade is going to fall off a cliff. The folks who've dropped out previously, it's probably been a mix of short-timers and die-hards ... but we've gotten through most of the former, so any further damage is likely to happen to the latter. No more superficial flesh wounds - these would be "down to the bone".

"Right to the bone, Murray! Right to the bone!" Those are the words that our ORJHS shop teacher yelled at us as he introduced a new power tool in his classes.

[joecct]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2016 Offseason Thread - Searching for Direction

When KC won SB IV, were they in the AFL or the NFL?

[HockeyRef]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2016 Offseason Thread - Searching for Direction

"Right to the bone, Murray! Right to the bone!" Those are the words that our ORJHS shop teacher yelled at us as he introduced a new power tool in his classes.

That cracks me up...reminds me of the shop teachers I have known over 36 years of teaching.

Chuck, I'll agree with your statements that 'good teams find a way to win close games'...but I'll disagree that DU's career will end a year shorter if we face another not so stellar (ok, dismal) season as this past...he holds the cards. You guys have said so yourself...really, I'd be amazed but these days? Nothing really surprises!! Ho Hum...Happy 4th to all!!

[Snively65]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2016 Offseason Thread - Searching for Direction

Over/under for the coming season.

1. UNH gets 11.5 wins. I say over, with 12 W's.

2. UNH ranks 8.5 in HEA. I say over, at 8th and home ice.

3. UNH scores 2.5 goals per game. I say over, at 2.8.

4. UNH coughs up 2.5 goals per game. I say over, at 3.4.

5. Kelleher scores 35 points. I say over, at 36.

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2016 Offseason Thread - Searching for Direction

When KC won SB IV, were they in the AFL or the NFL?

They were technically the last team to play as an AFL team, as the '69 season was the final season of the 4 year transitional AFL-NFL merger process. The first 4 Super Bowls were the only competitive games between the AFL and NFL post-merger from 1966 through Super Bowl IV ('69 season with the end of the postseason in 1970). AFL and NFL teams began to play preseason games in 1966 (I believe - back when there was a 6 game preseason leading into a 14 game regular season), but what we know as inter-conference competition only began with the 1970 NFL season, which was the first season when we had conferences like the NFC and AFC.

If anyone is interested, I read a book last year called "The NFL Year One" which chronicled the 1970 season, and really does a nice job of outlining what pro football looked like in the aftermath of the merger. The completion of the merger, the movement of the Steelers, Colts and Browns to the AFC, the beginning of Monday Night Football and the passing of Vince Lombardi. All pre-ESPN, so of course none of this matters ... but what a momentous time as pro football eclipsed baseball as America's pre-eminent professional sport.

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2016 Offseason Thread - Searching for Direction

Over/under for the coming season.

1. UNH gets 11.5 wins. I say over, with 12 W's. Under

2. UNH ranks 8.5 in HEA. I say over, at 8th and home ice. Under - 10th, no home ice in the MBPBEGAM playoffs

3. UNH scores 2.5 goals per game. I say over, at 2.8. Agree - over

4. UNH coughs up 2.5 goals per game. I say over, at 3.4. Agree - way over

5. Kelleher scores 35 points. I say over, at 36. Over - I'll say 45 points, barring injuries

I don't think UNH will struggle for offense this year. The loss of Poturalski will barely be noticed. I do think they'll struggle, and it will be mostly a defensive issue. Still no proven puck movers at this level - scary.

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2016 Offseason Thread - Searching for Direction

Chuck, I'll agree with your statements that 'good teams find a way to win close games'...but I'll disagree that DU's career will end a year shorter if we face another not so stellar (ok, dismal) season as this past...he holds the cards. You guys have said so yourself...really, I'd be amazed but these days? Nothing really surprises!! Ho Hum...Happy 4th to all!!

Coach Umile has two years left on a 3 year contract. If they have another dismal season where it's even with or worse than last season, I don't see any reason why BS35+5 wouldn't just honor the contract by paying him what he's owed, but installing Coach Souza a year early if there is no real chance DU is going to get to the next round number. Umile held all the cards, but apparently cashed them in by insisting he have his say on his successor. And if 600 stops being a realistic outcome, then so long as he gets paid ... what does he lose?

Unless of course Coach Umile is planning to do a HE version of the "David Ortiz Farewell Tour"?

I can hardly wait to see what the folks out in Amherst have waiting for him on his visit out there in '17/'18 ...