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Is it time to fire the coach or break up the top line by trading one the teams star players?
If it doesnt happen now after the Ducks lost their sixth in a row Friday by turning a two-goal lead in the third period into a 6-5 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks it probably never will happen.
Thats because its the second six-game losing streak in the past 13 games for the Ducks (6-12-4), who find themselves one point out of last place in the Western Conference after losing 15 of 17 games since a misleading 4-1 start in October.
That start was so long ago, there were NHL cognoscenti who actually thought this team was a Stanley Cup contender and those who believed that Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf and Bobby Ryan formed the leagues most prolific scoring line. (OK, I was one of them. Guilty as charged.)
Since then, the questions and arguments have changed dramatically. Now those same experts are wondering whats going to happen in Anaheim if the Ducks dont start winning.
Even the guys in the home sweaters are beginning to wonder about the possibility of getting a phone call from Murray and being told to pack up the gear and head to another city.
Its not likely that Murray suddenly is going to withdraw his support of Coach Randy Carlyle, who hoisted Lord Stanleys coveted silver chalice in 2007 and has led the Ducks to the playoffs in five of his six seasons behind the bench, so making a major trade is not out of the question.
Can you blame (management) entirely if they do? Ryan said after breaking out of his own scoring drought with two goals Friday, his first two since Nov. 3. Probably not.
Ryan went on to say that the Ducks historically have started slowly and then made the playoffs with late-season surges, but he also conceded it never has been this bad.
Weve done it before, he said. Like Ive said, weve had bad months before and come out of it. But we havent had to come back like were going to have to come back this year (to make the playoffs). Were digging ourselves a deeper hole, and everybody is fed up with it.
So we cant blame them if they pull the trigger on something.
Teemu Selanne, the leading scorer in franchise history and again this season (21 points in 22 games), also is wondering if drastic moves will be made. He came back for one final season, at age 41, because he thought the team had the talent to chase another Cup, and his frustration level understandably is rising.
Management has been unbelievably patient and loyal so far, Selanne said Friday, sweat-soaked after a postgame workout he needed to compose himself. I sure hope there are no panic moves, but I dont know how long that he (Murray) can be patient.
If Murray makes a major trade, it likely would involve Getzlaf or Ryan, because they have the most value and Perry presumably is untouchable.
A year ago, Perry led the league with 50 goals, ranked third in scoring with 98 points and won the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP. Getzlaf (76 points in 67 games) ranked 14th in scoring, and Ryan (71 points) ranked 21st. Together, the top line scored 245 points (an average of about 3 points a game).
Going into Fridays matinee, Perry ranked 68th in NHL scoring (15 points), Getzlaf 113th (13 points) and Ryan 207th (9 points). They were on pace to combine for 145 points, or 100 fewer than last season. So the mystery was not why the Ducks were losing, but rather why the top line couldnt get going.
Selanne believes its all about confidence, specifically a lack thereof, because the teams proven scorers have been struggling to produce.
To his credit, Ryan said the turnaround has to start with the guys making the big bucks.
Thats his line, right?
All the offensive catalysts, he said.
All three players on the top line scored two points Friday, as did Selanne, and still it wasnt enough to protect at 4-2 lead in the third period, when Chicago scored four consecutive goals. The Ducks are now 2-3 when they score four or more goals.
That happens when a team has no confidence, Selanne said. When so many bad things have happened, you almost expect bad things to happen.
Even when they answer the phone?
Contact the writer: ryoungman@ocregister.com
NASHUA, NH – Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney and President Obamas re-election campaign traded barbs Monday over the prospect that the congressional super committee will fail to resolve the nations debt crisis. Romney blamed the presidents lack of leadership while an Obama spokesman accused Romney of pandering to tea party voters.
In a campaign appearance here, Romney said, Whats most disappointing about (the super committees stalemate) is that our president has had no involvement in the process. … I would have anticipated that the president of the United States would have spent every day, and many nights, working with members of the super committee to try to find ways to bridge the gap, but instead hes been out doing other things, campaigning and blaming and traveling. This is, in my view, inexcusable.
Full CBS News coverage: Mitt Romney
In a statement, Obama campaign Press Secretary Ben LaBolt, said Romneys opposition to tax increases to balance the budget is a political ploy for tea party support. This is one more indication that Mitt Romney is more interested in getting a perfect score on the tea partys litmus test than he is in putting country before party to do whats necessary to create jobs and reduce the deficit, the statement said. Romney wont ask millionaires and billionaires for a dime to get our finances back on track — he would instead give them additional tax cuts and force the middle class and seniors to bear the entire burden of deficit reduction.
Also on Monday, Romney appeared with Rep. Charlie Bass, who gave the former Massachusetts governor his endorsement. Romney praised Bass as a House member who has stood up for the traditional New Hampshire principles of limited taxation and smaller government.
I will work for you day and day out to win this election over the coming months, Bass said at a Romney campaign appearance at BAE Systems, a major New Hampshire employer.
Romney campaign memo: Rep. Bass endorsement a mixed blessing
Heading into this weekends games, the Bears Matt Forte and Peterson have the exact same number of carries, with Forte having gained just over 50 more yards. The comparison ends there however, as Petersons 16 catches for 125 yards pales next to Fortes 46 receptions and 465 yards.
Another question with regards to Peterson will be durability. Hes been an absolute beast for four-and-a-half seasons, always fighting for extra yards and often taking on hits when he shouldnt (many that led to fumbles during his first three years). Peterson is an incredible physical specimen, so it wouldnt surprise anyone if he kept up his productive pace for 10 years, but history shows that runners with his bruising style dont tend to last that long.
Is it insane for the Vikings to entertain the thought of trading Peterson? In the short-term it sure seems like it, but taking a wider perspective of what has worked in the NFL and especially what is working now, it might not be crazy at all.
Vikings fans dont like to be reminded of the infamous Herschel Walker trade of 1989 when the Vikings acquired the franchise running back for players and draft picks that ended up including Emmitt Smith, Alvin Harper, Dixon Edwards and Darren Woodson and helped stock a Cowboys team that won three Super Bowls.
It might be time for the Vikings to flip the script.
It was 2008 and I was in the Lions locker room. They had just been pounded by the Jacksonville Jaguars and fallen to 0-9, on their way to 0-16, and Kevin Smith was mad. The rookie running back let loose to myself and the surrounding media, calling out his team and expressing deep frustration about the Lions performance.
The rant got him in trouble, and he was much less vocal for the rest of the season. But he struck me as a guy who had a ton of passion for the game, and I was happy to cheer for him throughout a season where most of the players mailed it in halfway through. Then, injuries derailed his next two seasons, and as 2011 started, I was like many other fans who didnt bat an eye when Detroit (or anybody else) did not offer him a contract. Certainly no fans missed him as the Lions went 5-0 and were the talk of the NFL.
Then reality hit, at least to Jahvid Bests head. His second concussion of the year sent the Lions scrambling to find a who-knows-how-long replacement. They tried to trade for Ronnie Brown. That failed due to an examination that discovered Jerome Harrisons brain tumor. Football fans throughout the league rejoiced at a mans life possibly being saved because of a trade. I wonder if Kevin Smith was among them.
3 weeks later the Lions were still looking for an answer at running back. The Maurice Morris/Keiland Williams experiment was going as expected; spectacularly average. Detroit brought in enough work-out prospects to form a second football team. They emerged with two signings, one a very familiar face. The expectation was that Smith could step in when needed, since he already knew the offense and was familiar with his responsibilities in it. He could spell Morris, perhaps provide some help in the passing game since he was a decent receiver out of the backfield during his previous stint with the Lions.
At the University of Central Florida, Kevin Smith ran for 2,567 yards his junior year as the top rusher in the nation. He was known as a back with patience and good vision. When he got to Detroit, he was known for dancing and indecisiveness. When he shouldve turned the corner and learned how to run in the NFL, he was injured. It looked like any other story of a player who was a big-time college stud who just didnt work out.
Then came the second chance with Detroit, and now Smith may be giving the Lions the running game they need to finally make the playoffs in over a decade.
Its fitting, at least to me, that the player who took losing so hard in 2008, may be a key guy in making sure a strong start to the season isnt wasted in 2011.
A tempest in a coffee pot is bubbling in the world of fair trade, the socially responsible food movement that seeks to lift farmers in the developing world out of poverty by offering them a premium for crops like coffee, cocoa and bananas. And the fight will soon reach your local Starbucks, Wal-Mart and Whole Foods.
Fair Trade USA, the movements leading advocate in the United States, angered critics by saying it would cut its ties at years end with the main international fair trade group and make far-reaching changes in the sorts of products that get its seal of approval.
The changes include giving the fair trade designation to coffee from large plantations, which were previously barred in favor of small farms. The group is also proposing to place its seal on products with as little as 10 percent fair trade ingredients, compared with a minimum of 20 percent required in other countries.
The group says the changes will benefit more poor farmers and farm workers around the world and make it easier for large corporations to sell fair trade products. Sales of fair trade goods in 2010 were $1.3 billion in the US and $5.8 billion globally. Fair Trade USA said it hoped to double sales in the US by 2015.
Critics accuse Fair Trade USA of watering down standards, perhaps motivated by the bigger fees to be earned from certifying a higher volume of products. Some sellers of fair trade products fear that small coffee farmers will lose market share to the big plantations and that companies will have an incentive to include only the minimum amount of fair trade ingredients in their products.
Its a betrayal, said Rink Dickinson, president of Equal Exchange, a pioneer importer of fair trade coffee, chocolate, tea and bananas, based in Massachusetts. Theyve lost their integrity.
Paul Rice, chief executive of Fair Trade USA, said the fair trade movement was dominated by hard-liners who resisted needed changes.
Were all debating what do we want fair trade to be as it grows up, Rice said. Do we want it to be small and pure or do we want it to be fair trade for all?
He dismissed criticism that his group was seeking to increase revenue for its own sake.
The more we grow volume, the more we can increase the impact of fair trade, he said.
As part of his efforts to expand the fair trade designation, Rice is cutting ties between his group and an umbrella organization, Fairtrade International, which coordinates fair trade marketing activities in close to two dozen countries. He said his group paid outsize fees to Fairtrade International about $1.5 million last year and received little in return. The international group has also rejected the changes put forth by Rice.
The best thing we can do is make sure were staying true to the principles that got us to where we are, said Rob S. Cameron, the chief executive of Fairtrade International. Im not going to water those principles down.
The brouhaha has surprised many companies that sell fair trade products and will soon be forced to take sides. For consumers who pay attention to where their food comes from and how it is produced, the result could be confusion as they try to sort through a proliferation of competing fair trade labels with differing claims.
Coffee, which Rice said accounted for more than 70 percent of the fair trade market in the US, is at the center of the dispute.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, which calls itself the largest buyer of fair trade coffee in the world, said that it would continue to work with Fair Trade USA as it sought to increase the amount of fair trade coffee it used.
The company is participating in a pilot project with Fair Trade USA involving a 500-acre organic coffee plantation in Brazil, a farm that previously would have been too large to get fair trade certification.
Our ongoing commitment to small-scale farmers remains intact, Sandy Yusen, a Green Mountain spokeswoman, said. We also believe that Fair Trade USAs vision presents new opportunities that allow us to impact even more farmers and workers.
Yusen said that Green Mountain bought 26 million pounds of fair trade coffee in 2010; in that year, it paid $1.6 million in licensing fees to Fair Trade USA, making it the largest source of revenue for the nonprofit group, according to federal tax filings. The fees are meant to pay the cost of auditing a companys production to make sure its fair trade claims are accurate.
Starbucks, which has about 11,000 coffee shops in the US, also said that it planned to continue using Fair Trade USA to certify coffee it sells in this country. However, the company said that it had not decided whether to place a fair trade label on coffee grown on large plantations. Starbucks said that about 8 percent of the coffee used in its global operations came from fair trade farms in 2010, or about 21 million pounds.
Wal-Mart and Whole Foods also sell fair trade coffee and use fair trade ingredients in store-brand products; both companies said they were evaluating the situation.
About two dozen countries have fair trade labeling organizations that license companies to market fair trade products. Fairtrade International provides a uniform logo for use on packaging in most countries.
Most fair trade programs around the world already allow bananas, tea and flowers to be grown on large farms. But traditionally, fair trade coffee and cocoa had to come from small farms organized into cooperatives. The farmers receive a premium for use in community projects, like paying for schools or medical care.
Those poor farmers were once isolated from markets in the developed world and had to sell at a low price. Fair trade organizations help them improve product quality and, most important, give them access to a world market.
Rice said bringing large plantations into the fair trade sphere would mean that workers on those plantations, whom he called the poorest of the poor, could also begin to receive benefits.
Weve developed a vision for that bigger, better model of fair trade, he said.
But critics say that large plantations do not need help getting access to major markets, and the small coffee farmers who have been at the heart of fair trade could be squeezed out.
HONG KONG — China’s ministry of commerce announced on Friday that it had opened an investigation into whether American subsidies and other policies in the solar, wind and hydroelectric sectors had unfairly hurt the industrial development of China’s renewable energy industries.
Related
China Bends to U.S. Complaint on Solar Panels but Plans Retaliation
(November 22, 2011)
Trade War in Solar Takes Shape
(November 10, 2011)
Trade Disputes Hurt Renewable Energy, Chinese Executive Asserts
(October 28, 2011)
A blog about energy and the environment.
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The announcement comes two weeks after the United States Department of Commerce said that it had accepted a request by SolarWorld Industries America and six other companies in the United States for an investigation into whether Chinese solar panel manufacturers had obtained export subsidies from the Chinese government, or had dumped solar panels in the United States for less than it cost to manufacture and distribute them.
The Chinese ministry said in a statement on its Web site that its investigation would end by May 25. That could allow the ministry to retaliate if the Commerce Department imposed punitive tariffs on shipments as part of either its antidumping investigation, for which a decision is due by mid-March, or as part of the antisubsidy investigation, for which a decision is due by mid-May.
The China Photovoltaic Industry Alliance, a government-controlled industry alliance, said on Monday that it was considering a request to the Chinese commerce ministry for an antidumping investigation into American shipments to China of polysilicon, the main ingredient needed to make conventional solar panels. But the commerce ministry announced on Friday that it had accepted a request for a far broader investigation from the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products, as well as from the new energy chamber of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce.
American exports to China in the solar, wind and hydroelectric sectors are tiny. China set very high requirements for local content in solar panels or wind turbines but abandoned the standards in 2009, when the Obama administration pointed out that local content rules violated World Trade Organization rules. By that time, both sectors had grown strong.
American companies have also had limited success in exporting hydroelectric equipment to China. Almost all hydroelectric dams are built in China by state-controlled companies that have shown little interest in buying foreign wares.
W.T.O. rules are particularly stringent in banning export subsidies of the sort that China is alleged to have introduced to become the world’s dominant manufacturer of solar panels and wind turbines. But the W.T.O. also bans countries from setting domestic policies that discriminate against imports, although its rules set a high burden of proof that such policies have the effect of limiting imports.
You may not want to increase taxes or
increase government spending but in our present predicament,
government spending is the only thing keeping our country alive.
Just to name a few, 20 million federal, state and local government
workers, 1.4 million military, 55 milion on Social Security,
300,000 businesses that depend on government contracts or purchases
plus teachers, police and firemen.
There has been a lot of discussion
lately about Grover Norquists ATR Americans for Tax Reform), a
pledge to oppose any and all efforts to increase taxes, which was
started back in the Ronald Reagan days and has virtually become a
platform for the Republican party. It is unbelievable but
apparently 238 House members (all but 6 Republicans and 99% of the
GOP caucus), 41 Senators and 1200 state legislators have signed it.
I cannot understand how so many Republicans were conned into
signing it. Congressman Frank Wolf, Va. reportedly said it has
paralyzed congress. The ATR Norquist pledge has indeed created a
destructive impasse on the legislative process and blocked any
possibility for a realistic tax reform without considering any of
the consequences.
So what do the anti tax Norquist
pledgers propose, get rid of Obama, as if it was all his fault,
some apparently care less about knowingly wreaking havoc on
American lives and destroying America.
Not one legislator, Republican or
Democrat has stepped forward with a plan to correct the real
problem Free Trade, which is the only way to return jobs back to
the United States. All the other heated discussions about taxing
the rich, repealing the Capital Gains Tax, removing the tax
loopholes and reducing the spending would help reduce the deficit
but do little to create jobs.
The last thing we needed was the
recently passed Free Trade Agreements with Columbia, Panama and
South Korea. All the House Democrats voted against it but for some
unknown reason, although it had nothing to do with reducing taxes,
the Norquist Pledge conspiracy voted it into law, thus eliminating
even more jobs in the United States.
Jack H. Knowlan
Jackson, Mo.
said. As we reshape our roster, this made sense for us.
Last winter, the Rockies added Wigginton and Jose Lopez, seeing them as critical complementary pieces for a team that contended until the 2010 seasons final two weeks. Both moves backfired. Lopez never panned out, and Wigginton got swallowed in the third-base drama, losing playing time to Ian Stewart in July, Chris Nelson in August and ultimately Pacheco over the final month.
Wigginton, 34, performed well until July, but his struggles with runners in scoring position (.163 in 123 at-bats) accelerated his exit. He finished with a .242 average, 15 home runs and 47 RBIs.
Pacheco, 25, hit .286 with two home runs and 14 RBIs in 21 games. He can play third where Nelson, Brandon Wood and Stewart, who remains a trade candidate, are in the mix first base and catcher.
Saving $2 million on this years payroll can help as the Rockies look to add another bat and starting pitcher. The Rockies are still attempting to acquire the Braves Martin Prado, who would be their primary second baseman but can also play third.
They also are aggressively pursuing Roy Oswalt and have interest in outfielder Jonny Gomes after losing out on free agent Grady Sizemore. They were led to believe by Sizemores agent that they finished second to the Indians.
We will continue looking for ways to improve, ODowd said. Its a long winter.
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
McDonnell hints at auto deal as trade mission to India and Israel ends
By Laura Vozzella
Gov. Robert F. McDonnell at an appearance in Virginia in August.
(Robert A. Martin – Associated Press)
Wrapping up an 11-day trade mission to Israel and India, Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell said he had no business deals to announce but indicated that big things were in the works.
“I think we’ll have some announcements within the next 30 days,” McDonnell (R) said in a conference call from India on Monday morning. “Major, major projects — a manufacturing plant for automobiles, to major acquisitions of farmland — might take six to nine months. There are some decisions that are imminent and some where we’re planting the seeds.”
McDonnell said the trip had been a productive way to “tell the Virginia story,” and thereby entice Israeli and Indian businesses to set up shop in the commonwealth or import Virginia products.
Virginia’s biggest export to India is coal, but McDonnell spent much of his time promoting the state’s wine, film and tourism industries. He hosted wine tastings with some of India’s top wine critics, hoteliers and others who might be interested in importing it.
McDonnell has also met with education and political leaders. He noted that Virginia Tech is in the final stages of creating a master’s degree program for Indians to be based on the country’s southeast coast. The program will focus on science, technology, engineering and math.
On Monday, McDonnell opened an agricultural trade office in New Delhi to promote Virginia wood products, apples, processed foods and soybean oil. He had been scheduled to meet with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, but that fell through.
“That was disappointing,” McDonnell said. “We would have liked that, but obviously he has a huge country to run.”
McDonnell was asked in a conference call last week whether he was competing for the same business that Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) will seek with his own trade mission to India, which started Monday.
“There is plenty of business for everybody to have,” McDonnell said. But McDonnell added that Virginia’s 12-person delegation was “leaner” that Maryland’s, which will include more than 100 business leaders, educators and elected officials.
By
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02:57 PM ET, 11/21/2011
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