Will the Grievance Charge Solve Things?

More bad news for the LA Kings because it just seems that Dean Lombardi has had enough of people who have overlooked this entire Ryan Smyth trade.

The Kings have filed a grievance charge with the NHL on Friday, on which they believe that Colin Fraser, the player they acquired in the Ryan Smyth trade, is unfit and unable to be with the team. Also, he has a broken ankle fracture which the Oilers said would be healed in the next few days. Well, guess what? The trade was like a month ago and he's still not healed.

The Kings are expected to release Fraser but they can't release him until he has completely healed from his ankle fracture and that'll take time. Unfortuntately, I think Dean Lombardi doesn't want to play him the money when he can't play and that's probably what he's mad about.

Earlier, Lombardi tried to acquire Gilbert Brule from the Oilers but found out he was also injured. He settled with Colin Fraser but after looking at him, he's had enough of the Oilers being misleaders in their attempt to get Ryan Smyth.

Lombardi's not asking for a void in the trade, as I expected he would say. Fraser's just not healthy, and he believes the Oilers tricked him into getting a player that's not healthy. And that's enough for him to file a grievance charge.

Grievance charges are not that easy and sometimes they may take months to even clear up. But for Dean Lombardi, he's probably got something going. He got a player that was injured and he can't do anything with him until his ankle fracture is over.

Ankle fractures take time to heal. I've had one when I was younger and it completely ruined the entire summer. Yes, it took me three months (July, August, and September) to completely get myself healed. So it's not surprising that it's taking Colin Fraser this long to get himself healed. But Lombardi just wants to get rid of him now!

My advice for Lombardi: If he wins it, let Colin Fraser still play for him! You've done your job and Colin Fraser is a great player. Just wait until he's healed and then you'll see how much of a factor he's had. I'm just afraid Lombardi might not listen to me. So he couldn't keep Ryan Smyth but he's creating too much drama to try to get his point across.

What'll happen now? Will he win? Or will Gary Bettman find another answer? Seems like the mess is going on for a while and there's probably no end in sight. We'll just have to wait and see, puckheads. The drama for LA is not over.

Is Bradley's Dismissal A Concern For The U.S. National Team?

Surprising news out of the world of soccer today, and this piece of news might be either the most concerning and the most surprising one people have heard in a while.

Bob Bradley's tenure with the US National Team is officially over, as Sunil Gulati, the President of US Soccer, told the media that Bradley has been relieved of his duties as the US coach. Although his immediate replacement has not yet been found, the US team has now gotten rid of a coach who had a very successful time with the US but ultimately has left a few dents in the road, especially ones in the Gold Cup and the World Cup.

He has a 43-25-12 record overall as a coach since being hired in January of 2007. 25 of those wins, however, came as exactly the wrong times, especially with two losses against Mexico and big upset World Cup losses against Ghana as well as the 2-1 close loss to Panama in the Round Robin tournament of the Gold Cup. So with all that said, will the new coach come in and put the team where it should be? The answer is, I don't know.

The US team has very many question marks concerning the team and with the new coach coming in, I'm not sure if all of it can be addressed. They'll certainly have to figure out a way to stop losing against poorer teams if they want to win the next World Cup and the next Gold Cup. This coach will have to know exactly what he's doing and what it honestly takes for this team to get far. Because let's face it, even though Bob Bradley was a good coach, it ultimately didn't translate to wins when the team needed them most.

This isn't really surprising, honestly, since I believed this would be coming, even though he signed a contract extension through the next World Cup. The US team needs to find a coach that can get them to their World Cup winners goal, because it hasn't really been much for the US team, except for the Gold Cup Finals when they had a pretty good run until losing to Mexico. But here's a name to look out for: Bruce Arena. He's a good coach and he knows exactly how to power this team to victories. With the Galaxy, he's doing pretty well. I wouldn't be surprised if that success translated with the US national team.

Whether or not the US team is ready for the next step, Bob Bradley will be manning the team. They'll have to find someone who can take this team far. Will the US team find a coach to get them to their goals? If so, who do you think might get there? We'll know soon enough, soccerheads.

Toss-Up July 26th, 2011

It's that time again for the return of the Toss-Up. It's been a while since this has been done, since there has been few debate questions in the past couple weeks, but I've finally managed to see five good debate questions right out of the pot. Agree or disagree? Post what you think here. And also if you have debate questions of your own, send them to hoodenterprise@yahoo.com or the Reid's NHL And MLS Insight Facebook page. Let's get to it.

Kris Draper's retirement. Big deal or no deal at it?
Anytime you talk about a Red Wing player, especially one at a caliber level, it's a huge deal. Kris Draper was one of the main reasons that Detroit was very successful. Now that he's retired, how will the team fare? Yes, I know Lidstrom is coming back for one more year, but you can't seem to lay all of the teams' wins on Liddy's shoulders. So this is a big deal because we don't know how Draper's retirement will affect the Red Wings going forward.

How do you think Derek's Boogaard's trial with go? Guilty or innocent?
The thing here is innocent until proven guilty. But let's make something clear. His brother sold him these drugs and then Derek died from mixing alcohol. He's going to be found guilty on one of those drug charges, but I don't know if he'll get the rest. Anybody who sells drugs should be in prison for a long time. So yes. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. He's going to do some time. I'd be shocked if he was found innocent on that mishandling drugs charge.

How do you like your Canadiens staff? Winners or losers?
The Canadiens may have one of the best fanbases in the NHL, but they're a confusing team when it comes to hiring their new coaches and assistant coaches. I'm guessing these guys will be winners because if they were, their GM probably wouldn't have brought them in. If the coach of the Canadiens wants these guys, then yes he'll do fine with them. If not, there could be consequences. I think they're trying to be winners. I don't think losers will cut it in that fanbase.

Where do you see Trevor Gretzky in the future? Chicago or somewhere else?
Okay, so the Cubs signed the hockey legend's son, which I think is a great idea. But will Trevor actually bring it to Chicago? I debated this like a month ago and I said that he'll probably have to find success somewhere else. I think he can find success here with the Cubs. The problem is, no one is watching that team right now because it's in the gutters. Maybe Trevor will bring back that fanbase but for his future, he'll do well in Chicago but his ultimate destiny lies somewhere else. Right now, he'll have good luck in Chicago.

The Winnipeg Jets' new logos? Ugly or awesome?
I'll tell you what's ugly. The Canadien's throwback uniforms because they look like prison uniforms. If you look at some of those logos, they are awesome. It says it's inspired by the Royal Canadien Air Force, which I think is a great salute to a piece of military, modern or history. I can't wait to get the jersey with these logos next season, because it looks great to see them and on players, it looks even better. This is definitely an awesome logo.

Five debate questions. One answer for each. Keep checking back for more news and notes from around the NHL and the MLS. Until next time, keep enjoying your offseason, puckheads, and enjoy that soccer frenzy, soccerheads.

Another Retirement for a Red Wing Veteran

Red Wings fans just lost another great player on their team to a big retirement, and this one did come with great respect.

Another winning three Stanley Cups and piling together more than 400 wins, Red Wing veteran Chris Osgood has retired, offically ending the veterans' tenure with the Red Wings as a player. He will continue with the team as a goaltender consultant, but his accomplishments are just that important to a career that has gone back-and-forth from time to time.

This is just the Red Wings' second retirement in as many weeks. As you may have remembered, defenseman Brian Rafalski retired and now comes along Chris Osgood, but Osgood has left a much bigger impact on the team than Rafalski did. He earned most of the attention along with returnee Nick Lidstrom and supreme player Stevie Yzerman. He's 10th on the NHL list in goals with 401 and went 71-49 in the playoffs, one of the best winning percentages ever in the playoffs.

Chris Osgood will be remembered by what he brought to the Red Wings. Not only his courage and his leadership but also his gifted abilities in goal and his fate towards the city of hockey. I think Osgood's retirement says it all. This guy did what he could and he decided to hang it up after a great career with the Red Wings, Islanders, and Blues. But his other teams are not as important as that of the Red Wings.

With the great veteran Chris Osgood gone, the Wings have now brought back Ty Conklin, who is expected to fill that backup role to Jimmy Howard. Osgood will be great at his goaltending consultant position, but fans will remember him as one of the many players that lead the Red Wings to history.

Galaxy-Real Madrid Recap

No complaining for Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid in their first preseason game of the 2011-12 season, especially one that involves the LA Galaxy.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a beauty of a goal in the 53rd minute of play, while three other Madrid players got on the board, earning them a 4-1 preseason win over the LA Galaxy in a game that perhaps most fans of LA would have seen rather than the Red Bulls-Chivas USA game going on at the Home Depot Center.

Things were tense between the two teams all match but it was Real Madrid that got most of the upper hand on the Galaxy's smaller forwards and defenders that were anxiously trying to block the big guys of Madrid. In the end, it probably wasn't meant to be the Galaxy that would walk out of this one.

David Beckham wore the captain's band that game in order to try and make a statement against his former team, but ultimately failed to even produce some sort of impact on the field before he was replaced in the 61st minute. I think this was a good idea for Beckham to get it. I'm just not sure it would've mattered anyway seeing that Real Madrid came out and really blasted the Galaxy's offense and defense.

For the Galaxy, a great match is all we ask, and certainly it proved it at the LA Coliseum. They'll have to move forward though in the MLS as Seattle is gaining ground and threatening to take over the entire MLS from the Galaxy. This game helps get the Galaxy's offense back on track Wednesday when they face Columbus, but they'll have to do work in order to get balls past Wiliam Hesmer, the Crew goalie.

Real Madrid looks in fine shape right now, even though it is their first game. Wednesday they'll face CD Chivas Guadalajara at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. I think they'll dominate that game too because of the performance they show and it looks like the new players for Madrid are really clicking on all sides of the field, whether it be offense, defense, or goaltending. It is expected to be a tough game though as Chivas will not go down without a fight.

It was a great game at the LA Coliseum and hopefully left some important memories on those of Real Madrid fans in LA, Galaxy fans all over, and Real Madrid fans in other parts of the world. I don't expect they'll be back in LA next year but if they are, I expect a great game just like the one I saw on Saturday.

Fans, I have many great pictures from the Real Madrid-Galaxy match, but I'll only be posting about 10-15 photos because I took over a hundred photos in total. Here's the recap of the game and look at the beauty goal scored by Ronaldo.