Here are my NHL thoughts of the past 2 weeks...
1 a – Daily Oiler Bashing – Well, a win is a win I suppose, but when you lose to Ottawa, Florida and, say it with me now, BARELY beat NYI and the Blues, you have some real problems. When you can't even beat the doormats of the league, how do you expect to beat the powers in the West (perfect example, see loss against San Jose)?1 b – I'm glad Roli is the clear cut #1. Remember, Sporer, when I said Garon was only a band-aid, but you wanted to sign him to a huge 4 million a year-multi year deal? Yeah, think how good your team would be then...
1 c – MacT is funny, when it comes to press conferences (see 'predictable questions' and reaction to Ruutu biting).
1 d – Souray is Edmonton's (only) all-star. Yippee.
1 e – Five years ago, the 2003 NHL draft gave us some of the games bes players: Marc-Andre Fleury, Eric Staal, Thomas Vanek, Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Brent Burns. So, what did Edmonton do wit this deep draft? Well, we HAD the 17th pick, but flipped it with the NJD (who picked Parise) while we picked at #22, Marc Pouliot. Nicely done.
2 a – I was going to write about Vancouver and how they are the team to beat in the Northwest, but f*ck that and f*ck them.
2 b – So, who is the team to beat in the West? I'm going to go out on a limb on this one, but I think it's Chicago. IF the Bhulin Wall or Huet can get hot again for a playoff run, this team can score goals a plenty and can keep them out with a solid, young defense.
2 c – On a side note, who would you guys rather have to start a franchise with: Kane of Toews? I think I would rather have Kane, anyone coming from the hockey players factory in London is always a solid bet.
3 a – Alex Semin. Wow. Brutal little slap fest he had with Marc Staal the other night, but what do you expect? My question is, what the heck was Staal doing fighting a high-scoring Russian, how low was that?! Semin shouldn't be hated on for throwing a tantrum, it's Staal who should feel the wrath for picking on someone out of his league.
3 b – I'm Mark Staal fan though and I still think he is/will be the best of the Staal brothers for his entire career.
4 a – Personally, I just can't see the Sharks in the Stanley Cup Finals. They are type-casted in my mind as the classic choke artists who can't win the big games. It's funny how I view the team that way since their leaders, Marleau and Thornton, are also big chokers. Then you look at Detroit and they have incredible leaders: Lidstrom, Draper, Maltby, Osgood, etc...4 b – Also on Detroit, you know how people call the one-hander 'the Forsberg'? Well, I think we need to call this move 'the Dasyuk' because it works all the time when he does it.
5 – You know, there are some NHL players that I just like that have really done nothing to make me like them, but have rather done nothing to piss me off and Stephen Weiss is one of those guys. He's not a prolific scorer, he's not a soft hands passer nor a bruising fighter, but he just seems like a good guy. He's scored 20 goals once (apparently that makes you a superstar, right Hemsky?), mind you he is only 26 and was taken 4th overall in 2001 behind Kovalchuk, Spezza and Svitov. Anyways, he's just seems like a nice guy and a solid 2-way hockey player.
6 – Time to douse Sporer's new flavor of the week. First it was Ales Hemsky... Then it was Robbie Schremp... Then it was Sam Gagner... Throw in some Taylor Chorney, Danny Syvret, Andrew Cogliano... and we come to his new love, Jordan Eberle. Sure he scores goals and makes key plays against players who are 16-19, but let's see him skate past Gaborik, dig the puck out of Phaneuf's legs and put a back-hand past Luongo. It's one thing to impress when you're a big fish in a small pond, but let's see how he deals with being a tiny fish in a huge pond, the stoner.7 a – I can't believe I left this till #7... MIKE MODANO = ALL-STAR!!! YEEEAAAAAA BOOOOIIII! It's really the only thing I can cheer about with my Stars being in such a horrendous rut, heck, it's probably even a bad sign that their almost-40-year-old centerman is their all-star with names like Ribiero, Richards, Zubov and Turco on their roster.
7 b – Big Poppa Mikey Mo has a hot wife, Willa Ford. It doesn't matter if she was only a one-hit-wonder, she's hot.
7 c – Speaking of all-stars, how about the NHL all-star game snubbing the real all-stars. Fan voting and every team being represented has led to: 6 of the top 10 scoring leaders are out, the top 3 in GAA and Save% are out, the top 2 goalies in wins are out... but I'm glad Dustin Brown was qualified.
8 – So, I look on TSN and find out Vinny L might be on his way to Montreal. Did you see the players involved? Vincent Lecavalier & his 11-year/$86 million deal for... Tomas Plekanec, Chris Higgins, PK Subban, Josh Gorges and more then one 1st rounder. Wow. Talk about selling the farm for a few more tries at the cup. Personally, I don't think that package is anywhere near close enough for Vinny's full value; Plekanec and Higgins are not 'impact' players, Subban and Gorges are young prospects and the draft picks are nice, but common... ITS VINNY! To me, he's worth much much more then that...9 – Ok, I am a huge Sports Illustrated fan, but their NHL man had a ridiculous column this week about his mid-season award winners... AO – MVP, Steve Mason – Calder, Mason – Vezina, Dennis Wideman – Norris, Bruce Boudreau – Jack Adams, Parise – Lady Byng. Ok, personally I don't think Ovi is the MVP this year (that should go to his fellow Russian), but I can get on board with it. Mason as Rookie of the Year, again I think someone else is more worthy (see Tower of Power in LA), but I can get on board with that one too. Boudreau for the Adams is ok and so is Parise for the Lady Byng (whoopty-doo), but now... WHAT THE SH*T WAS HE DOING WITH THE VEZINA AND NORRIS?!?! The Vezina, in my eyes, is Nabokov's to lose (most likely to Tim Thomas) and the Norris should have D-a-n- B-o-y 's name half-engraved on it already! Wideman and Mason didn't even make their all-star teams, how the heck can they win a league award? I understand wanting to make arguments and be the devils-advocate, but don't mess with the league awards when there are plenty of more obvious answers. F*ck.
10 a - Pat Quinn needs a job and rumors have him going to St. Louis, Ottawa or (most likely) Pittsburgh. Could you imagine what Quinn could do for young players like Crosby, Malkin, Staal, Whitney and Goligoski? Wow, in the words of Pierre McGuire, '(insert city here) get real excited about this!'
10 b - I hope the Coyotes drown in their own financial woes.
Here are my non-NHL thoughts of the past 2 weeks...
1 a – Yes, Sporer and Drew, the Colts have been eliminated. Sigh. They certainly didn't have the exploding offence that they had throughout the year, that's for sure; however, if someone would have told me that my Colts would be tied at 17, with under 6 minutes left, with the ball and Peyton Manning at QB, I would have taken it. There is no better clutch-4th-quarter-drive QB in NFL history then Manning (maybe Elway, maybe).1 b – Did the Pats win this weekend? Oh wait, no they didn't. I forgot, they didn't play. And Drew, I don't even know what your NFL team is, but they suck too.
1 c – 2008 was a good year: Manning won the MVP and lead his team to the playoffs. Brady broke his leg and had an child out of wed-lock. Nice.
1 d – Tony Dungy is done at the Colts head coach, that's a huge loss. He left John Gruden a Superbowl winner in Tampa, re-built the Colts into a superbowl champion himself and transformed the way should be played and coached. Let's not lie, in Tampa he had huge pieces of a puzzle with Sapp, Brooks, Barber, Dunn, Johnson and such and he also had the same in Indi (Manning, Harrison, Wayne, Freeney, etc), but he was able to harnass all that talent into consistent winners. He's the only black head-coach to win a superbowl and he will be remember as easily, not one of, but THE classiest the guy the NFL has ever known. May all your drives be long and straight Tony, you were a great coach.
1 e – Peyton Manning is a funny dude.
1 f – New England put their franchise tag on Matt Cassel. Wow. He's now guaranteed a 1 year deal worth an average of the top 5 salaries at his position. That means he is going to make $14,444,461, which puts him at #3, behind Manning and Brady. An effective use of salary-cap space and good luck trading him now, New England.
2 – They need to change the NFL OT rules. It's not even sour-grapes that I have, it's just plain common sense. How can only, potentially, one team have a chance to win the game? That's stupid. They should do it like the CFL, except start further back, say from the 50. Then you have to EARN some first-downs instead of just kicking a field goal automatically from the 30.
2 b – Last last weekend, all 4 road teams were the favorite to win. How the crap does that happen?! Nothing says re-align the divisions, like having division winners that went 8-8 (San Diego), 9-7 (Arizona) start at home while having 12-4 Indianapois and 11-5 Baltimore start on the road.
2 c – Last weekend, 3 of the 4 road teams won. Wow. But I gotta say, I'm not too excited about Baltimore vs. Pittsburgh or Phili vs. Arizona...2 d – Ed Reed is the best player in the NFL right now.
3 – Duke basketball is rolling again. They are sitting as the #3 team in the nation at 14-1 and leapfrogged rival North Carolina, who fell to 13-1 (and then to 14-2). Notre Dame is a distant 13th at 10-3. Maybe they shold make an inspirational call to Rudy...
3 b – The ACC is the toughest basketball conference; Wake Forest, Duke and North Carolina are ranked 2-3-5
4 a – USC FOR LIFE, BITCHES! They became the 1st team in histroy to win 3 consecutive Rose Bowls, by knocking off Penn State by a score of 'Alot to Not Alot'. Mark Sanchez was considered a late 5th-6th roudner int he NFL draft, now he projected in the middle of the second round. I guess that's what you get when you post the Rose Bowl numbers that he did (80% completion, 413 yards, 4 passing tds, 1 rushing).
4 b – Tim Tebow is being dubbed in the top 5 college players of all time. Wow. He's one of only 5 players to win 2 national titles AND a heisman, and yet he still has one year left of eligibility! Could you imagine how his legend would grow if he decides to stay?! Snap. Tebow is a champion on the gridiron and in life.4 c – Florida has 5 players who run a sub-4.40, included in that bunch is Will Demps who, as a high schooler, ran a 10.01 in the 100m. Holy smokes. And let's not forget, he's a football player trying track, not a track star trying football; there's a huge difference.
5 a – Some CFL news, star Eskies receiver Kelly Campbell has signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Snap, their secondary receivers (Ralph, Stamps, Nowaki) are really going to need to step up, especially in the wild West.
5 b – More CFL news, Jamal Richardson of the Montreal Alouettes has turned down a contract offer from the Minnesota Vikings.
5 c – I'm sorry, I must have missed the memo about the CFL paying more money to mediocre receivers then the NFL...
6 – BDSSP (Best Damn Sports Show Period) has compiled the 50 greatest sports duos in history. Wow, that's a crap load of duos; you won't find TO & McNabb, Hemsky & Horcoff or Peanut Butter & Jam on this list though...10 – Mickey Mantle & Roger Maris (New York Yankees)
9 – Shaquelle O'Neal & Kobe Bryant (LA Lakers)
8 – Sandy Koufax & Don Drysdale (LA Dodgers)
7 – John Stockton & Karl Malone (Utah Jazz)
6 – Wayne Gretzky & Jari Kurri (Edmonton Oilers, LA Kings)
5 – Magic Johnson & Kareem-Abdul Jabbar (LA Lakers)
4 – Bill Russel & Bob Cousy (Boston Celtics)
3 – Joe Montana & Jerry Rice (San Francisco 49ers)
2 – Lou Gehrig & Babe Ruth (New York Yankees)
1 – Michael Jordan & Scottie Pippen (Chicago Bulls)
7 – Those stupid TSN/Sportsnet Olympic games commercials for VANOC 2010, with the little kids, are stupid and I want to do not-so-nice-things to those future high-school drop-outs (I can see the dirty imagines in Sporer's head forming from that sentence). Canada has hosted the Winter Games on 2 separate occasions, '78 in Montreal and '86 in Calgary, and no Canadian athlete won gold in those games. Way to make the home town crowd proud.
8 – Remember the Titans is the greatest sports movie of all time: it's funny, inspiring, captivating and has a great lesson at the end of the movie. My top 5 is rounded by Gridiron Gang, the Major League series, Coach Carter and the Mighty Ducks series (I know I probably missed a bunch of good movies that didn't even cross my mind).9 a – Sex is alot like a baseball game; you can't just hit a homerun and skip all the bases. Foreplay is an important part of a healthy, sexual relationship.
9 b – Yes, that was marriage counseling for whom ever wishes to take it as such...
9 c – Filayshe is a funny word.
10 a – And to end on a good note, here are 7 reasons why Daredevil is the best...
i – He grew up in 'hells kitchen'; he isn't born a bajillionaire (Batman)
ii – He's actually blind, not make-believe blind (Cyclops)
iii – He's a lawyer, a contributing member to society, not some free-loader runaway (Wolverine)
iv – He's known as 'the man without fear'
v – The movie has Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner in a push-up bra, the awesome John Favreau and Michael Clarke Duncan in all his muscley glory; by contrast, X-Men has a former magician (Hugh Jackman), a wizard (Ian McKellan) and a Trekkie (Patrick Stewart) in their cast...
vi – In the directors cut, Daredevil makes reference to Fight Club, one of the best all-time movies
vii – His main media-reporter actually knows his identity, he isn't hiding it (Spiderman)
10 b - My laptop died before I could spellcheck this, so shut your pie holes and be thankful I was nice enough to add some pictures. Jerks.
Cheers.
-Smith
Ok, so the majority of your comments are accurate so I'm not going to bash you too hard, but the ones that you did get wrong are worth noting.
ReplyDelete1)So you have a problem with the Oil barely beating NYI and the Blues. First, a win is a win boner. Secondly, you said that we shouldn't be expected to beat the Sharks if we barely beat those teams, but to refresh your memory, though we lost to them last week, a few weeks ago we went into the Tank and stole one from them. Now I can already hear it, your argument: "The Oil BARELY beat them and Roli had to steal the game!" That's right boner, he did, sometimes a goalie has to do that. Maybe you should let Turco know that. Last time I checked the Oil were ahead of the Stars in the standings. You say "barely". I say listen to Vin Diesel in Fast and the Furious: "Doesn't matter if you win by an inch or a mile. Winnings winning!"
2)Souray is our only all star? Ya, but you can't dispute that he IS an all star. Refresh my memory, aren't you the guy who is still eating his words for saying this guy would be a bust?
3)Bad choice to choose Pouliot when we could have had Parise? Your argument is solely based on the fact that hindsight is 20/20. Of course when Parise is having a career season you would say that. That's like winning the lottery and then saying, "see I knew I should have picked those numbers!"
How were we to know that Crosby's linemate, racking up points, would underachieve? Tell me which draft pick this year will be a bust and 5 years down the road be right, and maybe I'll be impressed.
4)Modano is only in the all star game because every team needs a representative. At least Souray deserves to be there.
5)Jamal Richardson isn't getting paid more by the Alouettes than he would've in the NFL. He wanted a guarantee to make the team and play, essentially, and they wouldn't put that in the contract.
Stars Suck. Have a nice day.
I love it when someone is on the same page as me, lol.
ReplyDeleteI have a few points to make.
1) Tony Dungy retires....good, one Super Bowl ring doesnt constitute him being a very good coach anyways. Bill Belichick has 3......
2) Sheldon Souray is only going to the All Star game over Hemsky because 1. He has the hardest slapshot in the league and needs to prove it 2. Hemsky is out indefinitley with a cuncussion, and dont even start with your injury prone talks, because just like Souray, Hemsky will come back and prove you wayyyyyy wrong. Its Normal.
3)Stars Suck, i think thats already been covered but i thought id add to the torment (Mike Modano going to the All Star game shows just how much they suck, all of them....OVERATED!!!)
4)When Jordan Eberle puts on Oilers silks next year and then makes Phanuef look like a pylon then talk to me, for now your only insulting Canada's hero, dont be antiCanadian it doesnt get you far
5)You left out Patt Quinn being an option for Edmonton as well.
6)Daredevil is gay. Get over it.
7) Like Maroons87 said, the Oilers beat San Jose just 2 weeks ago, IN SAN JOSE!! Dont be stupid with your Oiler hate, the game against St Louis was hard, hard to watch for the 1st period, hard for the Oilers to overcome considering they had Reddox, Potulny (who is prettyyy good), Brule (who is also prettyyy good) all in the lineup, when they werent at the start of the year. Injuries once again plague the Oilers.