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Deadline Day: Ready or Not, Here it Comes.

March 3, 2009 By

Trade deadline day is always a circus. Even if the team you love doesn’t make a lot of moves, watching the carnage around you is always spectacular.

For the pre-deadline chat, Tom Luongo and I talked about some of the big names that may be moved on our podcast, The Rink. You can find that episode here. We are also going to be doing a post-deadline podcast to sum up who won, who lost, and who looked like a tool. I’ll post a link here when that is done.

As for breaking news, no one is going to be coming by here for it, so I leave that to the big boys. I’m going to be driving from Portland to Seattle while the deadline is ongoing, so I won’t be updating through the day.

I expect the Avalanche to shed a few players, but who is still in question. The obvious ones are Ian Laperriere and Jordan Leopold, but I could see Andrew Raycroft going for some depth player or a pick to someone who needs a backup (like the Sabres). My biggest feeling is that there isn’t much the Avs have that is tradable. Guys like Stastny, Wolski and the like aren’t up for grabs, and many of the rest aren’t desirable lately.

I’ll put my take on things up tomorrow, as well as a few more game recaps (I’m falling woefully behind on those). Hopefully, the Avalanche are still going to be worth watching after tomorrow (Too Late!).

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There Is Other Hockey

December 31, 2008 By

There are games other than the Winter Classic, you know. And I’m at one.

Go Avs!

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Avs Beat Detroit, And It Feels Good. Although….

December 27, 2008 By

Not to be “that guy” or anything, but the Avs beating the Red Wings may have been able to look a little better in the doing. I mean, I’m not as curmudgeony as this guy, but still (Shane, I kid)

I missed the first two periods of the game thanks to a paying job (hey, if I could blog and podcast for a living, trust me, I would), but I caught the third period on. And I was worried the entire way. Here’s why:

  • The Red Wings won the Stanley Cup by having a purpose to their plays. Tonight, the Avs did not. Things happened for the Avs when they had a reason to what they were doing. Instead of shoving the puck up ice just to get it a little farther up ice, a pass would tend to work out. Often, there would be a player open for a pass, but a basic clearing attempt was made that would wind up on a Red Wing stick. Lack of purpose in Avalanche gave the Wings more chances than hard work. Desperation has it’s place, but not like this.
  • Look, the Wings punched a few Avs in the face and got away with it. But Lappy wasn’t just selling the punch he received, he was rolling back prices like a US auto maker (hey, the Detroit auto show was cancelled. Best part of the city taken away). And hey, a few non calls went the Avs way as well. But a punch in the face 15 seconds after the whistle doesn’t deserve a “hey buddy.” A call maybe?
  • Know what to do when a top two defenseman loses his stick. Don’t make him ask for a stick. Seriously, I heard Adam Foote ask for a stick, and I was watching the game on my laptop.
  • Tyler Arnason. Hit the damn net. Two successive shots go wide of the net on either side. Number one center? I’m fed up with this mouth breather.
  • A Red Wing breaking up the center alone should be unacceptable. Look, they are going to complete their passes. Never assume they won’t.

I have no idea how Peter Budaj looked in the second when three goals against happened in four minutes, but I will assume he was awesome and was let down by the defense, because he was AWESOME in the third, and the shootout. Don’t call it a comeback, he’s been here for years.

The victory in the shootout was a solid victory for the Avs. Detroit and their fans will take a point out of the game as being a condolence, but in the end, it is empty to losing to an Avalanche team that isn’t that far removed from the team that was swept out of the playoffs last season. Sure, they got a point, but it doesn’t mean anything to them. The Wings will make the playoffs, we all know that. “Giving up” one point is meaningless to the Avs and Avs fans. Taking two points from the game, knocking on the playoff door, and doing it without a center worth mentioning is more important than anything the Wings get. The Wings will not need one point to make the playoffs, they will get plenty from the rest of their division. This is a victory that Avs fans should be proud of.

Nuff said. I have to go to Tempe, AZ. Wish me luck.

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Feed Reader Reader: Avs Headline Snapshot

December 25, 2008 By

This is something I have thought about doing for a few years, but haven’t done, mostly because I’m lazy, or dumb, or both. Here are little snapshots of what my feed reader is showing.

And if you can’t tell what the hell I’m talking about and you are reading this in an rss reader, then you should go to the original post. Your reader may not be showing you the images of the headlines.

Here we go:

Screenshot 01-30

Get back to me when you have a definition.
Screenshot 01-31
Look, there he is. He’s in the corner, holding his arm. And if you had looked at the previous headline, you may have found him. You know, getting an x-ray.

Screenshot 01-32

Jeez, who isn’t?
Screenshot 01-33
How about an alternative headline? “Avs Give Coyotes Point.”

Screenshot 01-34

Ummm….. This is a headline? That Crosby can score? How about a real headline? “Crosby punches balls, grows some.”
Screenshot 01-35

That worked out, didn’t it? Avs score 5 goals, to get the win when Raycroft is in net and lets in four, but score none against the Panthers when Budaj lets in three. Must be Budaj. Right. Love that math.

Folks, this is the easiest thing ever. And fun.  I’ll do it again soon.

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I Musr Be In The Front Row

December 12, 2008 By

I have never sat this high for a game before.

And even though we still have a half an hour to go, no one is here.

Oh well, Go Avs.

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Super Joe Vs Super Snow: The Machine Always Wins

December 10, 2008 By

There are six basic types of conflict (5+1), defined by Wikipedia (your source for all things true) as:

Character vs. Self

Person vs.Person

Person vs. Society

Person vs. Nature

Person vs. Supernatural

and the bonus

Person vs. Machine/Technology

In the case of Joe Sakic sticking his hand in a snow blower, I think we can highlight at least two of those, particularly the last one, and Character vs. Self, because you have to be battling yourself and good sense when you STICK YOUR HAND IN A FREAKING SNOW BLOWER!!!

OK, I don’t know for a fact that he stuck his hand in the snow blower.  Wait, yes I do.  From the Denver Post:

Avalanche vice president Jean Martineau said the accident happened to Sakic’s left hand, and that severe tendon damage occurred to one finger. That same finger and two others were broken.

“Basically, it’s a mistake. He’s a 39-year-old adult who made a mistake,” Martineau said. “He put his hand where he should not have put it. He’s, in a way, lucky. He’ll have a full recovery.”

So, yeah, he stuck his hand in a snow blower.

He is staring down a three month recovery process, by which time his back should be healthy as well.  Even though they say he will have a full recovery, where is he going to be when he comes back?  I would say that full recovery might still mean a little less motion. From my experiences with breaking a few bones, I can say that I didn’t get 100% motion back.

Now, I know that I made a lot of fun of Jose Theodore when he slipped and fell on the ice in his driveway, breaking his foot.  And now that Super Joe has had a not-to-dissimilar accident, I really should hold up my integrity and poke a little fun hes way as well.  Well, forget it.  As dumb a thing as this may have been to do, he’s in some serious pain, away from hockey for a lot longer, and has a lot to worry about, not just the team, but his family as well.

Besides, what can I say that he isn’t saying to himself?

“He’s very, very mad at himself. I’ve never seen him like that, and I’ve known him for 21 years,” Martineau said. “He knows he made a mistake.”

I bet he does.

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Hey Versus, Goals Were Scored, Can We See Them?

December 1, 2008 By

From Bob Harwood of Versus at the top of the postgame show:

In fact, there are so many goals we can’t show them all.

And this quote is why I am sick of the NHL on Versus.  The worst hockey highlights this side of ESPN Sportcenter.

No, instead of showing you goals, we are going to have an interview with Ryan Smyth.  And we won’t even ask him anything interesting like what he said to the ref that got him sent back in the box for the second Wild power play goal.

6-5 Avs.  Over the Wild.  That’s like a Nashville – Islanders score.  The new NHL lives on.

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Hey Tom, Avs Won

October 25, 2008 By

Sure, it was in the shootout, but it was a win.

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Sabres @ Avs: I’m There!

October 25, 2008 By

Whoo-hoo!!!

I’m at the game!

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Frozen Fury 2008: Better Late Than Never (massive post with lots of photos)

October 20, 2008 By

People don’t usually care too much about hockey game after they happen, unless they are epic battles, classic wins, or moments of greatness for ones own team. Even less so for a preseason game with “no consequences.” But the Frozen Fury, held every year at the MGM Grand, is one of those hockey games that is more than just players on ice, it’s an experience for the fans that doesn’t really compare to the rest of the NHL world. Frozen Fury isn’t just a game, it’s an event. There aren’t many any venues in the NHL where you can step out of the game and start gambling. The Frozen Fury is a good litmus test for the NHL moving to Las Vegas, for many a forgone conclusion. While the league looks at Kansas City with scrutiny, Vegas looks like a lock.

It’s well past time I put up my photos and talked about my first time at Frozen Fury. It was my intention to post this right away, but Las Vegas hotels would rather that you were on the casino floor, instead of the internet.

There are going to be a lot of photos, and many of them are not going to be hockey related at first. But stay with me, there are some gems.

There are many types of travelers in the world, and all of them react differently to the various difficulties inherent to the industry. For instance, computer failures. Your boarding pass doesn’t get printed right away, but a bunch of people after you get theirs in a timely fashion. My own sense of traveler zen depends on the amount of time I have arrived at the airport before my flight, and the amount of distraction I have at hand. This was a good day for me.

P1000784

Not that I had where to really go, or anything to do in the Kansas City Airport. And calling this and international airport is a bit of a stretch. This is simply a bus depot for planes.
P1000785 P1000786

Compare that to Denver International Airport, with good food, lots of space, and moving walkways from here to eternity.
P1000791
To see the rest of this, click the link below. I promise there will be hockey photos, and talk about the game. Really.
[Read more...]

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