by Dick Weiss : Philadelphia Daily News
Jim Hinkson misplaced the key to his Spectrum office last night and the Wings coach was forced to conduct his post-game press conference in the hallway outside the locker-room.
The lockout was symbolic.
Hinkson’s team is suddenly on the outside looking in at the National Lacrosse League’s Nations Trophy playoffs. Although the Wings have a mathematical chance to qualify for one of the two remaining spots, the peep hole may be too small to squeeze through after an 18-17 loss to Boston before 5,396 disappointed fans.
Unless the Wings, who have now lost seven in a row, can unlock the right door tomorrow night, their season could come to a crumpling halt after a last regularly-scheduled game at Long Island.
“THESE PAST SEVEN GAMES, everybody has been saying, ‘We’ve got one more game. One more game,” Hinkson admitted. “Now we’ve run out of time. It’s win or else.”
Even then, the chances of qualifying are miniscule. The Wings are tied for third with Boston and Quebec. If the Wings beat first-place Long Island and either (a) Boston defeats Quebec at home tonight or < b) Boston loses both of its remaining games, then the Wings will open a best-of-7 semifinal series next week with troublesome Long Island.
It should never have been this confusing.
“THERE’S NO LACK OF players,” said Wings General Manager Ken Wood. “They’re there. The skill is there. If there’s any great difference between this year’s team and last year’s team it’s a lack of discipline.” That flaw, unfortunately, must be traced directly back to the coach, a 32-year-old former player who was thrown into an unfamiliar position 12 days before the start of the season after Bobby Marsh was forced to resign.
Hinkson has excellent textbook knowledge of the game — literally. He has authored a book entitled, “Box Lacrosse: The Fastest Game on Two Feet.” He is still a player at heart, though, as evidenced by his frequent immature outbursts against NLL Commissioner Gerry Patterson and various officials.
According to a source close to the team, Hinkson also has had difficulty gaining the respect of older, key players such as Carm Collins and John Grant.
If the Wings do not qualify for the playoffs, expect team officials to reevaluate Hinkson, even though Wood claims “not necessarily.”
