there's really nothing better than watching flames tv and sipping a hot cup of coffee on a sunday morning (other than watching dion phaneuf win the breakaway competition at the NHL allstar game).
reggie spills on lombo's new nickname: LOM-BODY, "cause the girls seem to really like'im."
;)
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
coupla things
well, there goes my plan to get kaberle....
boy, they weren't kidding when they were joking about taking cliff fletcher off the golf course to put him back in the front office in toronto. the guy was sportin' a SERIOUS sunburn at the press conference today... don't get me wrong, i love ol' cliffy ---he built the flames into a winner in my lifetime, but i've got to think that 19months will be nowhere near enough to put the buds back on track. will leafsnation stand for a non-playoff [read: boring] team for the next three or four years ??? i doubt it... but hey, they're a couple years into loserdom already, so what's another half-decade ??? at least they've got mccabe signed up through 10/11, so there will be puh-lenty to giggle about for years to come....
my big question is: other than mats, did JFJ sign ANYONE to a 1-year deal ??!?!. the answer, of course, is yes. believe it. wade belak and dominic moore. this team looks pretty much as ugly through 08/09 and well into 09/10... yikes.
my other question is: if the board of governers has to okay all the GM's moves, is JFJ really to blame ???? the answer here, is... well.... kinda. good riddance, i say. the buds look poised to win the mug in about 14/15....
of lesser importance but far, far more interest (to me, anyways) is that it looks like our pal chuck kobasew is gonna start modelling his career after that iginla guy. chucky had a huge scrap tonight, which left him just a goal and an assist short of a gordie howe hattrick. the kid is having a monster season, and shouldn't need to worry about getting dealt this year. 'course, the fact that he's a 1.2 million dollar summer UFA on a debateably-contending team could make him tradebait.... damn, it would've been nice to see him get to where he is now whilst wearing a red sweater....
*sigh*
bummer about crosby going out with the injury that wayne primeau made so fashionable. mostly a bummer cause now i'm doomed in my pool.
and finally: good game tonight. nuff said.
boy, they weren't kidding when they were joking about taking cliff fletcher off the golf course to put him back in the front office in toronto. the guy was sportin' a SERIOUS sunburn at the press conference today... don't get me wrong, i love ol' cliffy ---he built the flames into a winner in my lifetime, but i've got to think that 19months will be nowhere near enough to put the buds back on track. will leafsnation stand for a non-playoff [read: boring] team for the next three or four years ??? i doubt it... but hey, they're a couple years into loserdom already, so what's another half-decade ??? at least they've got mccabe signed up through 10/11, so there will be puh-lenty to giggle about for years to come....
my big question is: other than mats, did JFJ sign ANYONE to a 1-year deal ??!?!. the answer, of course, is yes. believe it. wade belak and dominic moore. this team looks pretty much as ugly through 08/09 and well into 09/10... yikes.
my other question is: if the board of governers has to okay all the GM's moves, is JFJ really to blame ???? the answer here, is... well.... kinda. good riddance, i say. the buds look poised to win the mug in about 14/15....
of lesser importance but far, far more interest (to me, anyways) is that it looks like our pal chuck kobasew is gonna start modelling his career after that iginla guy. chucky had a huge scrap tonight, which left him just a goal and an assist short of a gordie howe hattrick. the kid is having a monster season, and shouldn't need to worry about getting dealt this year. 'course, the fact that he's a 1.2 million dollar summer UFA on a debateably-contending team could make him tradebait.... damn, it would've been nice to see him get to where he is now whilst wearing a red sweater....
*sigh*
bummer about crosby going out with the injury that wayne primeau made so fashionable. mostly a bummer cause now i'm doomed in my pool.
and finally: good game tonight. nuff said.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
sunday musings
so i decided to skip the superskills today, since i'm a lazy bum with cable (which was installed yesterday) and a wickedly awesome new tv. oh, and the thought of a zillion eight-to-ten year olds up in my grill when i'm not drinking either beer or coffee [only eleven days left....] does not a happy WI make.
instead i thought i'd do a bit of research on don meehan; the guy who holds the key to signing neither/one of/both dion phaneuf and kristian huselius. admittedly, i know very little about player agents, NHL or otherwise, but a quick glance to wikipedia tells me this guy is makin' some pretty good dough...
i'm not inclined to do the math, but let's estimate and average fifty clients' salaries --from 'elite' players [yeah, i said it] like iggy and ryan smyth (7mil/yr) to league minimum-eque guys like corey perry and jordin tootoo. i'll even estimate low for argument's sake, and say the 'average' would be around 2mil/yr per player. multiply by 50.
then, for argument's sake, let's imagine that meehan makes a 5% cut, which is preposterously low. dude is bankin' 5 mil/year; 700K on iggy and smyth alone... in actuality, this number is probably more like 10%-20%, which would push meehan's annual payout to a realistic 15 million.
anyhow.
i wonder how sutter plans to sign both huselius and phaneuf when dealing with the same agent, if he does indeed want to ink them both. meehan, in my opinion, holds all the cards here, which can't be a comfortable position for our daz to be in (i picture him wanting to be the cardholding type). anyhow... i'm not sure if the fact that meehan reps both flames players will help or hurt in this situation, but i see it complicating the affair, to be sure....
that's all.
instead i thought i'd do a bit of research on don meehan; the guy who holds the key to signing neither/one of/both dion phaneuf and kristian huselius. admittedly, i know very little about player agents, NHL or otherwise, but a quick glance to wikipedia tells me this guy is makin' some pretty good dough...
i'm not inclined to do the math, but let's estimate and average fifty clients' salaries --from 'elite' players [yeah, i said it] like iggy and ryan smyth (7mil/yr) to league minimum-eque guys like corey perry and jordin tootoo. i'll even estimate low for argument's sake, and say the 'average' would be around 2mil/yr per player. multiply by 50.
then, for argument's sake, let's imagine that meehan makes a 5% cut, which is preposterously low. dude is bankin' 5 mil/year; 700K on iggy and smyth alone... in actuality, this number is probably more like 10%-20%, which would push meehan's annual payout to a realistic 15 million.
anyhow.
i wonder how sutter plans to sign both huselius and phaneuf when dealing with the same agent, if he does indeed want to ink them both. meehan, in my opinion, holds all the cards here, which can't be a comfortable position for our daz to be in (i picture him wanting to be the cardholding type). anyhow... i'm not sure if the fact that meehan reps both flames players will help or hurt in this situation, but i see it complicating the affair, to be sure....
that's all.
Friday, January 18, 2008
trade rumours
apparently darryl sutter was in attendance at the leafs-bruins game last night. speculation is that the flames will make a play for sundin. i figure he wanted to take a really really seriously good, hard look at chuck kobasew and/or andrew ference....
;)
with any luck, he'll be able to take advantage of a drowning JFJ:
tanguay and warrener for kaberle and steen.
[could you imagine ????]
i've heard rumours about kessel. which would be nice, depending on the return ("not lombardi, not lombardi, not lombardi," WI says whilst rocking back and forth)...
;)
with any luck, he'll be able to take advantage of a drowning JFJ:
tanguay and warrener for kaberle and steen.
[could you imagine ????]
i've heard rumours about kessel. which would be nice, depending on the return ("not lombardi, not lombardi, not lombardi," WI says whilst rocking back and forth)...
flames v. kings pregame: goalies
the calgary flames officially signed cujo yesterday. i say 'officially' because the signing was reported early in the week, but during the news last night, as the anchor was handed a piece of paper, he announced " breaking news: the flames have signed curtis joseph, officially," which pissed me off cause when they said "breaking news: the flames have signed....." i was POSITIVE they were gonna say "dion phaneuf." which, of course they did not....
so i guess we have two NHL-calibre 'starting' goaltenders. alot of hullaballo has been made about cujo being one win away from tying terry sawchuck's wins-by-a-goalie record (fourth on the alltime list), which presumeably means he'll never get a W wearing the flaming C. i am pretty happy that there's a warm body on the bench that keenan will be willing to start, though, to give our kippy a night or two off. that said, i doubt the dogg [two g's cause he's pimp] will get any game action tonight, unless miikka decides to stink up the joint...
at the other end of the ice, the kings could be so lucky to have an experienced winner guarding the mesh. between aubin & labarbera, they have one quarter the number of career wins that joseph's got and 50% less wins than kipps (approximately). i'm sure they're counting the days until 08/09 when they can see how good jonathan bernier really is... still, the team is unbeaten in the last four, riding labarbera to some halfway decent stats during that period...
i can't say exactly what i expect out of the flames tonight. i presume (read: hope) that keenan will start conroy on the first line [my new theory on this situation is that if he's gonna play on the top two lines, let him play on the first since iggy and juice can get it done regardless], tanguay/langkow/moss on the second, nilson, lombo & boyd on the third & [please please please] smith, yelle & primeau on the fourth line.
did you see that ? i'm begging for primeau. that's where i'm at with the godard situation....
so i guess we have two NHL-calibre 'starting' goaltenders. alot of hullaballo has been made about cujo being one win away from tying terry sawchuck's wins-by-a-goalie record (fourth on the alltime list), which presumeably means he'll never get a W wearing the flaming C. i am pretty happy that there's a warm body on the bench that keenan will be willing to start, though, to give our kippy a night or two off. that said, i doubt the dogg [two g's cause he's pimp] will get any game action tonight, unless miikka decides to stink up the joint...
at the other end of the ice, the kings could be so lucky to have an experienced winner guarding the mesh. between aubin & labarbera, they have one quarter the number of career wins that joseph's got and 50% less wins than kipps (approximately). i'm sure they're counting the days until 08/09 when they can see how good jonathan bernier really is... still, the team is unbeaten in the last four, riding labarbera to some halfway decent stats during that period...
i can't say exactly what i expect out of the flames tonight. i presume (read: hope) that keenan will start conroy on the first line [my new theory on this situation is that if he's gonna play on the top two lines, let him play on the first since iggy and juice can get it done regardless], tanguay/langkow/moss on the second, nilson, lombo & boyd on the third & [please please please] smith, yelle & primeau on the fourth line.
did you see that ? i'm begging for primeau. that's where i'm at with the godard situation....
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
flames v. wild postgame: talking points
1. if nolan's willing to clobber dudes, why don't we bench godard (useless) and put primeau (expensive) out on that line ?
2. phaneuf's shootout slapper to the chest of backstrom
[two part question]
A) did he mean to do it ?
B) was he instructed to do it ?
3. habs' scouting staff present tonight and last night in nashville. [three part question]
A) is sutter shopping tanguay for cap space ?
B) are the habs shopping ryder ?
C) are the habs checking out PMB & veilleux (both RFA this summer) ?
4. how horrible wast the officiating, even WITHOUT mcgeough ????
5. who else was pretty stoked to see moss play with tanguay, and score on his second shift on that line ?
6. would it be at all possible for dustin boyd to skate harder than he did tonight ? (my opinion, for what it's worth ? NO).
7. did anyone consider how PISSED OFF vancouver would be re: the three point game ? :)
8. is it not amazing how much better hale is with aucoin than with warrener ?
9. is phaneuf's stock going up daily ???
10. did regehr's "calling out" of the team make a difference ?
discuss....
2. phaneuf's shootout slapper to the chest of backstrom
[two part question]
A) did he mean to do it ?
B) was he instructed to do it ?
3. habs' scouting staff present tonight and last night in nashville. [three part question]
A) is sutter shopping tanguay for cap space ?
B) are the habs shopping ryder ?
C) are the habs checking out PMB & veilleux (both RFA this summer) ?
4. how horrible wast the officiating, even WITHOUT mcgeough ????
5. who else was pretty stoked to see moss play with tanguay, and score on his second shift on that line ?
6. would it be at all possible for dustin boyd to skate harder than he did tonight ? (my opinion, for what it's worth ? NO).
7. did anyone consider how PISSED OFF vancouver would be re: the three point game ? :)
8. is it not amazing how much better hale is with aucoin than with warrener ?
9. is phaneuf's stock going up daily ???
10. did regehr's "calling out" of the team make a difference ?
discuss....
flames v. wild pregame: enough, already
posting is a lot more fun when the flames are winning, so i've been undermotivated to write much of anything these last weeks.... my return from australia coincided with a pretty good run, but it turns out that my geographical location has very little to do with the outcome of games. additionally, my new jersey has been shelved at 1-1-1, and i will certainly not be risking its' mediocrity tonight.
i really like the minnesota wild. other bloggers i know can explain, statistically, why they're at the top of the NW division, but i'll just stick with the WI usual: the land of 10, 000 lakes is a hockey-loving community (you might remember it as "the state of hockey"), the excel is a fun rink, i've got demitra in both of my pools, the prospect of boogard meeting godard, and last, but certainly never least (except in size): petteri nummelin.
sure, my boy numms hasn't played in a week or two, but that hasn't stopped the wild from rackin' up the Ws. i fear that this game will be a total blowout by the xmas-coloured crew, as they are offensively capable and we are defensively inept.
i would not bet on a win for the flaming Cs.
i really like the minnesota wild. other bloggers i know can explain, statistically, why they're at the top of the NW division, but i'll just stick with the WI usual: the land of 10, 000 lakes is a hockey-loving community (you might remember it as "the state of hockey"), the excel is a fun rink, i've got demitra in both of my pools, the prospect of boogard meeting godard, and last, but certainly never least (except in size): petteri nummelin.
sure, my boy numms hasn't played in a week or two, but that hasn't stopped the wild from rackin' up the Ws. i fear that this game will be a total blowout by the xmas-coloured crew, as they are offensively capable and we are defensively inept.
i would not bet on a win for the flaming Cs.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
flames v. preds pregame: we shall see
well, i don't have a whole lot to add today, that MG and leanne haven't already said. additionally, though i have a cohort living in the music city (who is a massive preds fan), i'm sortof out of the loop where the team is concerned.
what's been killing me lately is chunkymoose's post: "the slump cometh" . CM posts are so infrequent, that i'm bummed this one was so well-timed and sadly accurate:
"Teams who are in a slump start to do good things right near the end of them, but unfortunately still manage to lose games.
Teams who are about to slump start doing things wrong, but still manage to win."
uhhhh, right. exactly....
i'd love to see the boys win this one, and if there's any truth to the re-insertion of aucoin into the lineup (which would, in my opinion, see warrener benched), we might actually pull off a W. i'm sortof gutted i'll only get to see the first... DANG !
IGGY IGGY IGGY !!!!
what's been killing me lately is chunkymoose's post: "the slump cometh" . CM posts are so infrequent, that i'm bummed this one was so well-timed and sadly accurate:
"Teams who are in a slump start to do good things right near the end of them, but unfortunately still manage to lose games.
Teams who are about to slump start doing things wrong, but still manage to win."
uhhhh, right. exactly....
i'd love to see the boys win this one, and if there's any truth to the re-insertion of aucoin into the lineup (which would, in my opinion, see warrener benched), we might actually pull off a W. i'm sortof gutted i'll only get to see the first... DANG !
IGGY IGGY IGGY !!!!
Monday, January 14, 2008
a few things: the nutshell version
CUJO
well, i doubt he'll end his tenure here in cowtown by losing his melon and slashing johan franzen across the belly, but curtis joseph will spend the rest of the season backing up our fair kipper.
i could make age jokes, leafs/coyotes jokes, eyebrow jokes, dinner with "the enemy" jokes, spengler cup jokes, delissio jokes or rabid dog jokes. but i think the only thing that needs to be said is that our kippy sure as hell had better look like kipps1.0 with a game or two off... also needing to be said is that darryl sutter is a slippery little guy: when interviewed about cujo pre-game v. islanders, he just said that he "heard on tsn that it was down to calgary and SJ, but the night before calgary wasn't even in the running." slick, daz. nice work... now get us a G*#@^D&%!! DEFENSEMAN !!!!!!!
[i just called darryl sutter "daz." take note, cause i sortof liked it....]
this, by my simple mathematics, leaves four goalies in the QC. which, by my simple mathematics, is about two goalies too many.....
THE LEAFERS
uh, MLSE is um... kinda screwed.
they have a messed up system whereby it seems everybody gets a say (including the ---and this never ceases to amuse me---- teachers' pension fund). don't get me wrong, i think JFJ was the worst thing that ever happened to the buds, but it would be a tough job to have.... and also why scotty bowman, presumeably, insisted on having complete control over the team, and also presumeably why they never gave him the job...
[oh, and a little note to JFJ: psst: they are interviewing for your position...]
i think JFJ, and everyone for that matter, should always go out like our noodles: with a two handed baseball-bat-like homerunner across someone's midsection. in this case, i suggest JFJ take out richard peddie or cliff fletcher --his rumoured interim replacement.
oh, and they still have kaberle, so all hope is not lost. if i was in charge, that's who i'd start building around. although, with all those no-trade clauses hanging about, it's gonna be a tough go for whoever comes in. reminds me of some conspiracy theories i mulled over once upon a time (i refer to this post alot, it seems)...
RUMOURS
- everyone keeps saying my boy foppa will be heading back to philly. i still think the 'lanche might have something to say about that.... i bet dollars to donuts that he'll be back in the NHL before the end of the season....
- kessel for phaneuf (and warrener) ?
- if rob blake comes to calgary i will have to re-think my affiliation
- prospal on the market ?
that's pretty much it right now.
well, i doubt he'll end his tenure here in cowtown by losing his melon and slashing johan franzen across the belly, but curtis joseph will spend the rest of the season backing up our fair kipper.
i could make age jokes, leafs/coyotes jokes, eyebrow jokes, dinner with "the enemy" jokes, spengler cup jokes, delissio jokes or rabid dog jokes. but i think the only thing that needs to be said is that our kippy sure as hell had better look like kipps1.0 with a game or two off... also needing to be said is that darryl sutter is a slippery little guy: when interviewed about cujo pre-game v. islanders, he just said that he "heard on tsn that it was down to calgary and SJ, but the night before calgary wasn't even in the running." slick, daz. nice work... now get us a G*#@^D&%!! DEFENSEMAN !!!!!!!
[i just called darryl sutter "daz." take note, cause i sortof liked it....]
this, by my simple mathematics, leaves four goalies in the QC. which, by my simple mathematics, is about two goalies too many.....
THE LEAFERS
uh, MLSE is um... kinda screwed.
they have a messed up system whereby it seems everybody gets a say (including the ---and this never ceases to amuse me---- teachers' pension fund). don't get me wrong, i think JFJ was the worst thing that ever happened to the buds, but it would be a tough job to have.... and also why scotty bowman, presumeably, insisted on having complete control over the team, and also presumeably why they never gave him the job...
[oh, and a little note to JFJ: psst: they are interviewing for your position...]
i think JFJ, and everyone for that matter, should always go out like our noodles: with a two handed baseball-bat-like homerunner across someone's midsection. in this case, i suggest JFJ take out richard peddie or cliff fletcher --his rumoured interim replacement.
oh, and they still have kaberle, so all hope is not lost. if i was in charge, that's who i'd start building around. although, with all those no-trade clauses hanging about, it's gonna be a tough go for whoever comes in. reminds me of some conspiracy theories i mulled over once upon a time (i refer to this post alot, it seems)...
RUMOURS
- everyone keeps saying my boy foppa will be heading back to philly. i still think the 'lanche might have something to say about that.... i bet dollars to donuts that he'll be back in the NHL before the end of the season....
- kessel for phaneuf (and warrener) ?
- if rob blake comes to calgary i will have to re-think my affiliation
- prospal on the market ?
that's pretty much it right now.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
flames v. isles postgame: all kinds of bad
so, uh, watching the game last night was all kinds of painful... admittedly, the flames looked pretty sound offensively: good forecheck, good scoring opportunities from more than just the first line (i mean nolan AND conroy scored, for cryin' out loud), good pressure in the isles' end.... at the end of the first period, actual score notwithstanding, the flames were winning. oh, but wait.... hang on --it's the ACTUAL SCORE THAT MATTERS. there was a little too much "hospital hockey" on the powerplay and not quite enough in the way of shots. c'mon, fellas.... seriously....
defensively, the flames were outrageous (and in that godawful, terrible, feel-it-in-the-pit-of-your-stomach-before-it-happens bad way). i don't need to point this out to anyone that watched the game. this was, strictly speaking, a defensive disaster. sillinger scores on two breakaways ??? how does this HAPPEN ????
before the game, i was listening to the fan960: an interview with garth snow. one question they asked was if, after the 15-year contract, he still thought dipietro was a "kiprusoff or luongo" calibre goalie. snow said "absolutely." later on in the pregame show, rob kerr et al. were all-but chastising this comment... the question should have actually been "after signing a six-year deal, do you think kipps is a DIPIETRO calibre goalie ?" it's obvious who the better goalie on the ice was last night... when the game went to shootout, i'm sure we all already knew what the outcome was gonna be.
[note: did anyone else notice that during the pregame skate vs. the rangers, lundqvist and co. had a drill that specifically involved one-on-ones ? i presume they do this every night.... why don't WE ???]
onwards and upwards. this was a good wakeup call for the flames ---they can play hard for 60 minutes, but the stupid mistakes will always cost them in the end. i find it FASCINATING that lombardi and tanguay are paired in 4-on-4 but never in an ES line....
*sigh*
defensively, the flames were outrageous (and in that godawful, terrible, feel-it-in-the-pit-of-your-stomach-before-it-happens bad way). i don't need to point this out to anyone that watched the game. this was, strictly speaking, a defensive disaster. sillinger scores on two breakaways ??? how does this HAPPEN ????
before the game, i was listening to the fan960: an interview with garth snow. one question they asked was if, after the 15-year contract, he still thought dipietro was a "kiprusoff or luongo" calibre goalie. snow said "absolutely." later on in the pregame show, rob kerr et al. were all-but chastising this comment... the question should have actually been "after signing a six-year deal, do you think kipps is a DIPIETRO calibre goalie ?" it's obvious who the better goalie on the ice was last night... when the game went to shootout, i'm sure we all already knew what the outcome was gonna be.
[note: did anyone else notice that during the pregame skate vs. the rangers, lundqvist and co. had a drill that specifically involved one-on-ones ? i presume they do this every night.... why don't WE ???]
onwards and upwards. this was a good wakeup call for the flames ---they can play hard for 60 minutes, but the stupid mistakes will always cost them in the end. i find it FASCINATING that lombardi and tanguay are paired in 4-on-4 but never in an ES line....
*sigh*
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