Monday Morning Recap

So, an opening video to break the ice. Well, I don't have one... I have about 15... NFL Fantasy Files (found on youtube) are some ridiculous videos about the skill-set of some All-Pro players: Braylon Edwards, Andre Johnson, Marc Bulger, Chris Chambers etc... Here is one of my favorites, done by Jason Campbell of the Washington Redskins. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoYbevFvWg8. Hilarious.


Here are my NHL thoughts for the week...

1 a - Daily Oiler Bashing - Well, the nightmare season is complete. Brad Richards found Mike Modano sneaking in from the point (what were Staios & Strudwick doing?!) and I swear I could hear every single Oiler fans heart sink into the bottom of their stomach. Thump. It's one thing to lose a home-and-home to the Red Wings, but to lose to this year's NHL doormat? No good.

1 b - The Oilers sit in 14th now, still 2 points ahead of the basement dwelling Stars; however, the Stars are only 4 points out of a playoff spot. Is the West this strong? Or this weak?

1 c - What do the Oilers do about their goaltending now? Roli lost. Deslaurier lost. Back to Garon? What if he loses? Bring in someone new, aka Lehtonen? What happens to Deslaurier and Dubnyk then? Why draft them? I think the solution is inside the Oiler camp, but how much patience is left in the tank for the coaching staff and the fans?

1 d - Souray is the Oilers All-Star this year, not Hemsky. And they only get one. While Hemsky has been a bright spot and is been known for his soft hands and passing skills; however, he only has 6 assists playing 5-on-5; not to even mention his performance at home has been less then desirable (5 points in 7 games) AND he has 0 goals against the Northwest division. Just not good enough. It seems that when Edmonton needs a lift, it's not Hemsky dangling through five guys, it's Souray's booming cannon they look too.

2 - There's news of Claude Lemieux being very close to making a return to the NHL. He is attempting a comeback with the San Jose Sharks, and begins an extended stint with the AHL's Worcester Sharks. Was there another player better at picking up his game in the playoffs then this pesky rat (don't forget he was the 1995 Conn Smythe winner)? I'm already wondering how the Pacific Division is going to cope with Avery, Ott and Lemieux playing each other 8 times a year...





3 - Ok, lets all be honest here. I am stoked to see what kind of fingerprints Brian Burke is going to put on the Maple Leafs. Burke is known for his liking of North American players and guys like Kaberle, Antropov & Ponikarovsky could all have new homes by the end of the year. It's an exciting time for Leaf Nation. A quirky fact though, no GM has ever lead 2 different clubs to a Stanley Cup victory... Maybe we all spoke too soon...

4 - Who has the best defense in the league? It's a team with 4 Dmen in the top 25 in scoring. It's a team with their entire back end is a combined +40. It's a team with an avaerage Dman age of under 30. The Sharks. How many studs are on this team: Boyle, Ehrhoff, Vlasic... with role players Blake, Lukowich, Semenov (yes, the former Oiler) and Doug Murray. By comparison, The Red Wings 7 Dmen are an average of 31 years of age, have only 3 Dmen in the top 30, and are a combined -10.

5 - Drew, here is your shout out. Curtis Glencross is your diamond in the rough. He was a projected pre-season 4th liner while only making 1.2 million and is on pace for over 50 points. Personally, I'm not a fan, but the guy is playing like a stud. So there Drew, I gave your Flames some blog time. I'm gonna rip you up later on though.





Here are my non-NHL thoughts for the week...

1 - The Colts are 8-4, the Patriots are 7-5. The Colts are in the playoffs, the Patriots are not. The Colts hold the playoff tie-breaker, the Patriots do not. While Tom Brady is at home, rehabbing and taking it in the ear, Peyton Manning is winning football games... 5 in a row in fact... Suck it Sporer.

2 a - USC 38 vs. Notre Dame 3. How does that golden shower taste, Drew? Huh? HOW DOES IT FEEL?! USC has moved into #5 in the BCS and with a (foreseeable) win against 4-7 UCLA, will win the PAC-10 and set up a date with the 11-1 Penn State Nittany Lions in the Rose Bowl.

2 b - I sure hope #2 Florida beats #1 'Bama in the SEC title game next week. I just can't get behind a team with an elephant as it's mascot, I mean, how wimpy is that? Plus, I picked Tebow to repeat for the Heisman and, although he's probably only 4th or 5th so far, a big game against the #1 team would surely catapult him back into trophy talks.

2 c - I wish I knew the college football conferences/divisions as well as I know the 4 major sports'...

3 a - How STUPID is Plaxico Burress? In case you haven't heard, he shot himself. Who does he think he is, Jesse James? 50 cent? Dumbass. The story goes... He convinced a nightclub to allow him to carry a gun (which he had no license for) into the bar because he 'needed to be protected'. Guess what happens. Yep. He gets drunk, drops the gun, stumbles to pick it up and shoots himself in the thigh. Dumbass.

3 b - The Giants have scored 67 points in 2 games without Burress. Go figure.

4 - Funny story. I read a story that claimed that after Iowa beat Minnesota 55-0, two ppl were caught and given tickets for having sex in a public bathroom. Apparently, the police report concluded that, 'the woman, 38, was turned over to her husband. The man, 26, was turned over to his girlfriend'. Deep. That would be one awkward ride home...

5 a - I saw Role Models yesterday. Absolutely hilarious. I thought Paul Rudd would be the comedy, but Sean William Scott steals the show. A friend described it to me as if... Superbad, Knocked Up and 40-Year Old Virgin all had a threesome and had a baby. And they named that baby 'Role Models'. Great analogy.


5 b - You know what? I'm a man and I don't care who knows it, but Disney makes some damn good movies! I tried to make a top 5, then i had to expand it to a top 10, THEN I couldn't even do that because I was leaving out too many damn good ones! So there.

Cheers.
-Smith