Pucks_and_Pols

GOP Nomination Standings: Onward toward SoCarl

2012-01-11T09:30:00.000-05:00

New Hampshire was pretty much decided before the votes were even cast in the Republican race to become that party’s nominee for President. Barring a colossal upset, Mitt Romney was going to win his New England backyard and he needed a big win to move the ball forward after squeaking out a barn burner in Iowa. His win was indeed huge, and Romney became the 1^st non-incumbent Republican to capture both Iowa and New Hampshire.

Here are the numbers with 95% of the votes counted so far:

Mitt Romney: 95,669 39.4%

Ron Paul: 55,455 22.8%

Jon Huntsman: 40,903 16.8%

Newt Gingrich: 22,921 9.4%

Rick Santorum: 22,708 9.3%

Rick Perry: 1,710 0.7%

Buddy Roemer: 918 0.38%

Renegade Candidate Ron Paul finished significantly higher than expected with a huge influx of independents and young people turning out for the extreme libertarian. Paul has claimed to be in this race for the long haul and will take each delegate he collects to the convention. You can bet his supporters will be as disruptive as possible to the eventual establishment nominee. His post-Primary speech was rife with energy and his followers took over trending topics on twitter for a time last night. Enthusiasm is never a problem with Ron Paul voters.

Jon Huntsman had a respectable showing in 3^rd place with 16.8% of the vote, but there are big questions of where the former Ambassador can make his next stand after putting so much effort into New Hampshire. Unlike Paul, he has not been cultivating much of a national base of support, and although he has vowed that his ticket has been punched to South Carolina, I can’t see him making much of an impact among the Southern voters there.

The two men most likely to still unite a Conservative challenge to Romney’s nomination both came in a little bit under expectations last night with Newt Gingrich finishing in 4^th place with 9.4% of the vote, and Rick Santorum sliding in right behind him at 9.3%, only a few hundred votes separating the two. It is actually good news for Romney that neither of these candidates were able to even top Mike Huckabee’s totals from 2008 in this race.

Rick Perry meanwhile was persona non grata in the Granite State. He couldn’t even crack the 1% mark and for all his Texas oil millions, he barely squeezed out a margin about virtually unknown candidate Buddy Roemer from Louisiana. It seems like all momentum seeped out of the Perry campaign months ago with an unreal amount of debate gaffes. He is now a shallow hull of a candidate, only being propped up by leftover funds from the period when he entered the race with tons of energy and cash influx. Don’t expect to see him in this race much longer.

GOP Nomination Standings: New Hampshire Primary day

2012-01-10T15:10:00.001-05:00

Today the rubber hits the road in the New Hampshire Primary.

From what I can see so far, this State is definitely Mitt Romney's to lose. Coming off a razor thin win in Iowa against the surprisingly surging Rick Santorum, Romney certainly needs a more significant margin of victory to solidify his status as front runner coming out of the Granite State. The word “inevitable” is starting to find its way around Romney’s path to the nomination, but no matter how well he does in New Hampshire, he will not be able to sow things up in this 1st in the nation primary.

The Anti-Romney forces have pretty much conceded the New England early battleground to him, and plan to make their last, best pitch to the much more stridently conservative citizens of South Carolina. Rick Perry is already there, hoping that some Southern Home Cookin’ will suit him better than the bitterly independent residents of small town Bedford, Berlin, and Barrington.

Jon Huntsman has staked almost his entire campaign on New Hampshire and a poor showing here would all but sink his aspirations for the Oval Office. He has had a bit of a mini-surge recently, but his followers hoping for a Santorum-in-Iowa like showing are probably not basing their expectations within reality.

Speaking of Santorum, he has ridden the wave of momentum coming out of his stunning surprise in the Hawkeye State with some savvy, raising quite a bit of cash which is like lifeblood to these campaigns, but New Hampshire is not exactly fertile ground for his brand of conservatism. Mike Huckabee won Iowa outright in 2008 on the back of evangelicals, but couldn’t crack 11% in this primary. Santorum should expect about the same number. He needs to somehow convince a lot of Newt Gingrich supporters that he is actually their man to beat Romney in South Carolina in order for him to extend the contest much further.

And of course Ron Paul is going to be in this thing for the long haul. I am more and more convinced his strategy is not to win the nomination outright, but to force the eventual nominees hand by collecting enough delegates to get some of his stridently held ideals into the platform for the General Election. We shall see if the hardline libertarian handcuffs the Republicans or opens the gates to infuse the enthusiasm of his demographically dissimilar base into the usually staid convention halls of the Grand Old Party.

It should be an interesting night to watch the results come in, not so much for the eventual winner, but to see who the real losers are. At this point it is all about fundraising, media spin, and campaign narrative as the actual delegate count will be rather insignificant from this early race.
Here are the numbers I expect to see, and if any of these candidates come in +/- 5% or more from the expected # it can be spun as a big win (or loss) for their campaign:

Mitt Romney: 40%
Jon Huntsman: 18%
Ron Paul: 16%
Rick Santorum: 11%
Newt Gingrich: 10%
Rick Perry: 2%
.

Penguins' season starts Thursday

2011-10-02T19:21:00.002-04:00

The Pittsburgh Penguins officially begin the season Thursday at Vancouver with the faceoff set for 10 p.m.
The Penguins won their first five preseason games, but are trailing Detroit, 3-1, late in the third period in the final exhibition game.
Obviously, these games mean nothing, although I do believe Pittsburgh will return to the playoffs this season.
I say they will return to the playoffs after securing 95 points this season. They will top the 100-point mark if Sidney Crosby returns in due time and Evgeni Malkin returns to his 2009 form.
Marc-Andre Fleury will continue to play well, but he will have a few bad games, which will call for removal from being the No. 1 goalie. He is a star. I don't know why fans love to bash him? I guess it's like being the quarterback in football.
James Neal's production will be very important, especially if Crosby is out and Malkin struggles.
Jordan Staal will continue to shine as one of the best defensive forwards in the game, while the defense will remain as an above-average unit.
Injuries will play a part and the power play must be better. It stunk when Sid and Geno were playing last year, so that is no excuse.
Enjoy the games and keep your stick on the ice.

Red Wings' Osgood retires

2011-07-19T14:00:00.002-04:00

Detroit goalie Chris Osgood announced his retirement on a conference call with reporters Tuesday after 17 seasons in the NHL.
Osgood, 38, led the Red Wings to three Stanley Cups and won 401 games in his career, including 317 with the Wings.
Osgood will stay with Detroit as a goalie consultant.

Jagr Signs with Flyers

2011-07-01T13:26:00.002-04:00

Jaromir Jagr has signed a 1 year deal with the Philadelphia Flyers.

May he burn in hell.

Pens, Wings Both Out on Jagr

2011-07-01T13:16:00.004-04:00

If Jaromir Jagr was serious about a return to the NHL and trying to compete for a Stanley Cup, waiting it out until July 1st may have burned two of his best bridges to do so.

The Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Redwings have both pulled their offers, expected to be around $2M each for Jagr's services.

As we have stated often here, Jagr is just crazy enough that there is at least a 2% chance that he will do pretty much anything. Montreal has shown some interest, but it seems more and more like this 'comeback' was just a ruse to up his value to a Russian club. At 39, if he doesn't comeback this season, I don't forsee him ever getting another shot at playing in the NHL again.

Here are some links to prior Jagr stories we have covered here:

Jagr Comeback Watch: 6/29
Jagr Comeback Watch: 6/22
Jagr Comeback Watch: 6/21
Jagr Comeback Watch: 6/20
Jagr Comeback Watch: 5/12

Happy NHL UFA Day (Canada Day in Canada)

2011-07-01T10:24:00.002-04:00

This has already been an intriguing offseason for the NHL, and things can get even more interesting today.

Here are some notes I’ve collected on various teams, players, and situations:

*Brad Richards is interesting, but the real drama surrounds Steven Stamkos, the 21 year old restricted free agent from the Tampa Bay Lightning. After a surprise trip to the Conference Finals this year, Steve Yzerman is probably going to match any offer thrown Stamkos’ way, but it will be interesting to see at what price the market bears, and if there is any line that Yzerman will not cross to retain his young franchise Center. According to Capgeek.com, at least 19 teams have the available cap space to offer Stamkos a league maximum $12.86M contract.

*Speaking of all that cap space: some GMs are going to make utterly stupid, franchise soul crushing deals today. It’s just a given, with the weak crop of FAs and the amount of space created with the surprising increase in league revenues. Giving Glen Sather $25M of cap space on July 1^st is like putting Charlie Sheen in front of a small mountain of cocaine on his birthday. Come December there will already be hoards of fans looking back in regret at some dumb moves made today.

*Even some traditionally lower spending, less aggressive, teams have been throwing some weight around in the pre-July 1^st buildup. The Florida Panthers have taken on over $10M in salary from the Chicago Blackhawks in the form of Brian Campbell and Tomas Kopecky. The Buffalo Sabres traded for the rights to, and then inked Christian Ehrhoff to a 10 year deal and added tough blueliner Robyn Regeher to go with him. The Columbus Bluejackets dealt for Jeff Carter, formerly of the Philadelphia Flyers, and brought in James Wisniewski to sign for a big deal. And even the lowly New York Islanders have been making some noise about trying to bring some marquee talent back to Long Island.

*One of the reasons we have seen some trades, is that after the big guy (Brad Richards) at the top, there is not a lot of premium talent out there at the UFA level this year. Simon Gagne is intriguing, but a definite injury concern. Erik Cole might be able to help bolster some teams offense, but proved in his stint in Edmonton that he can’t carry a load himself and needs some good supporting guys on his line. After that it’s a bunch of mid-tier guys like Tyler Kennedy, Scottie Upshall, Tim Connolly, Ville Leino, Brenden Morrison, and Sergei Samsonov. Those are all guys who may have some potential, but none of them are elite game breaking talents. They are either really talented 3^rd liners or fill in quality top 6 forwards.

*Then you have the older guys looking for one last deal. For Mike Modano, Kris Draper, and Doug Weight that magic # of 40 may mean the end of the road. Teemu Selanne proved he still had it last year, but for him its supposedly the Ducks or nothing. Alexei Kovalev will probably find warmer welcome in the KHL than any North American rink this fall. John Madden, Andrew Brunette, Cory Stillman, and Jason Arnott are all in their late 30s and could fill in well in a role for a contending team, or chase the most money on a retirement deal in say, Long Island.

*On the Defensive side of the zone, Tomas Kaberle is the big “get.” Ask any Toronto fan how much they want him back. Ed Jovanovski could be an intriguing pickup for some teams looking for blueline help. I irrationally hate Roman Hamrlik. Ian White is versatile. Bryan McCabe and Sean O’Donnell are old, and play like it.

*If a team is looking for help between the pipes, some options are available. No big names are out there, but plenty of 1A type guys who will get you through. Tomas Vokoun and Brian Boucher are the most solid of the bunch. After that it is a mismash of former Senators, Redwings, Bluejackets, and Avs.

Jagr Comeback Percentage Breakdown

2011-06-29T14:11:00.004-04:00

Once and Future NHL Superstar Jaromir Jagr is on his way on a plane to New York to announce his return to play in North America.

Here is my percentage breakdown of chances Jagr says the following when stepping off the Plane in JFK this afternoon:

80% “I’m going back to my hockey roots and playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins. I’m honored to be working for my hockey idol Mario Lemieux and thrilled to be playing with great young talents such as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang. My one condition: the team goes back to its mid-90s odd colored alternate jerseys with the triangle pigeon logo so I can truly feel at home.”

11% “I’m looking forward for a new opportunity to play in Soff Euro-troit. Their non-physical, absolutely no fighting, puck possession, subtle interference running, skate all over the neutral zone style is exactly the kind of hockey my game is tailored for.”

5% “Je suis super a excité à être le prochain Européen énigmatique pour venir à Montréal être adoré comme un dieu bizarre. J'aimerais remercier mon google traduit application de téléphone pour ce texte prêt.”

1% “I’m taking my talents to South Beach and signing with the Florida Panthers. Like Lebron, I will demand a contract where I get to take off the final period of crucial playoff games.”

1% “I would like to come here to America to announce my retirement from pro-hockey to pursue a lifelong dream of chasing the lochness monster around the Scottish Highlands”

1% “I’m just here for a quick trip down to the Jersey City blackjack tables, what are all you media types doing here?”

1% Gets off plane, runs over to high-five Mario Lemieux, makes a sharp turn at the last second, from behind a pillar out jumps Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Chris Pronger. They beat down Lemieux unmercifully, Jagr rips off his Pens jersey to reveal a NWO/Flyer sweater underneath. Lays out the Big Guy with a stinky leg drop then hoists him back up in order to super kick him through a plate glass window. They spray paint the limp body of the Penguins owner while Brent Johnson glares down from the rafters dressed like Brandon Lee.

2012 GOP Nomination Standings, Week 5

2011-06-28T12:41:00.006-04:00

Click Here for Prior Weeks Standings:

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Michelle Bachmann has vaulted up from a strong showing on a national debate, some positive press, and a new Iowa poll showing her nipping at the heels of the Romney campaign. She will be listed as trending up, but really she has skyrocketed from potential tea party darkhorse to household name seemingly overnight. She has some serious, serious momentum behind her and if her fundraising numbers come up strong, she can easily overtake Romney for the #1 spot. But not quite yet. Let’s see where this all is heading before we start to do a state by state breakdown of her vs. Obama.

I know there is some Rudy Giulliani speculation out there. I don’t think he will run, and if he does run, I don’t think he’ll put in enough effort to win. Rudy is still a recognizable name-brand in some circles, but an empty and hollow one in proper context. He might have squeezed into the 11th spot on this list if I had one, but I feel that the 10 folks listed above are either more serious about running (Santorum and Pawlenty) or have a better chance to win the nomination if they do jump in (Palin and Perry), so the former NYC mayor remains outside my core group of candidates.

This is also the 1st time since I started these rankings that my list consists of the same 10 candidates as the last list, I think that is a sign that as we get into the summer that the field is solidifying. Anyone seriously thinking of getting involved, such as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, better start organizing teams quickly, before this train leaves the station, if they want to have a legitimate chance to win. History shows that late coming ‘saviors’ to the party get a quick boost media fueled spike, but fizzle out as the logistics of being months behind in fund raising and ground organization ultimately dooms them.

1) Mitt Romney Trending Steady(Last Week: 1) Lost in all the Bachmann hoopla is the fact that frontrunner Romney still won a plurality of the Iowa poll which vaulted her into the primetime conversation. His money numbers can be expected to blow smaller ships out of the water. He got to this point for a good reason, and he may be vulnerable, but that doesn’t mean he will be an easy knock off.
Current Headline: Mitt Romney, Boring Genius?

2) Michelle Bachmann Trending Up (Last Week: 6) Things sure are looking up for Bachmann. It was obvious that there was plenty of room at the top of the field, and she surged into the vacuum to challenge Romney, whom hardline conservatives see as weak and compromising. Can she unite and hold the ‘Anyone but Romney’ voters all under one tent?
Current Headline: Michele Bachmann's Moment: Can She Sustain It?

3) Herman Cain Trending Steady (Last Week: 3) Bachmann halted Cain’s advance to a dead stand still. He can really go either way from here, but the potential upswing has been blunted by the space that Bachmann now occupies. He has to be smart and prove his business sense can translate to political savvy to stay this high in the running.
Current Headline: Black GOP Candidate Missing Right Words

4) Sarah Palin Trending Down (Last Week: 2) I’m beginning to really believe Palin when she says that she isn’t sure if she is running for president or not. Everything seems to indicate to me that Palin is just winging and ad-libbing her way through this summer. She has proven to be a loose cannon in the past, so who really knows with the former Alaska Gov. But I don’t think you do as many bus tours as she is without at least making a run. With Palin though, anything is possible.
Current Headline: Not a Whisper From Palin

5) Ron Paul Trending Steady (Last Week: 5) Paul has become the dividing line between those in the hunt and those in trouble. If you are above Paul, you are in serious contention. Fall below and it may be time to rethink some strategies. Paul remains constant, the rest of the field shifts. What else would you expect from an old congressman who is more devoutly independent than 95% of his colleagues?
Current Headline: Ron Paul’s Anti-Fed Message Drives 2012 White House Bid Gaining Respect

6) Rick Perry Trending Up (Last Week: 8) If the Texas Governor wants to get into the field, he had better make his decision soon, but if he is in, he has a strong chance to make up ground quickly. He is not one to shy away from controversy or a political bout. He would at least make the debates very interesting if and when the gloves come off.
Current Headline: Rick Perry's "Tough-Talking" Texan Brand May Help Him In The Primaries

7) John Huntsman Trending Up (Last Week: 10) The good thing about being a candidate most voters have not heard of: you still have plenty of room and time to change their minds. Trying the John McCain model in 2012 though may be a tough, if not impossible, road to the nomination.
Current Headline: Selling John Huntsman, the Un-Republican

8) Tim Pawlenty Trending Down (Last Week: 4) If Iowa’s poll numbers were a boon for Bachmann, they were an absolute bust for Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. He has staked a lot in his neighbor state, and a poor showing there will all but doom his campaign. His constant focus on foreign policy in what looks to be a heavily domestic driven campaign is starting to seem bizarre as well.
Current Headling: Pawlenty Goes After "Isolationist" Republicans

9) Newt Gingrich Trending Down (Last Week: 7) Things just keep looking worse for Gingrich in 2012. His staff is abandoning him, his numbers are dropping, and the press and talk radio are killing him over attacking Paul Ryan’s fiscal plan. The end may be near for Newt.
Current Headline: Can Big Ideas Restart Newt's Engine?

10) Rick Santorum Trending Down (Last Week: 9) The unrepentant social conservative from PA keeps plugging away. It is a long, uphill climb for him to even seriously get into the conversation however. His best chance has been, and remains, to latch on as a potential VEEP.
Current Headline: Is Rick Santorum In Line For Vice President?

If you are interested in anything else in regards to these rankings, please leave a comment below or email me: zargoflaroche@yahoo.com

Pens take blueliner

2011-06-25T00:14:00.003-04:00

Pittsburgh drafted Joe Morrow, a 6-foot, 197-pound defenseman from the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League, with the 23rd pick in the NHL Draft Friday night in Minnesota.
I don't know too much on Morrow, except that he won't be laying out big hits any time soon.
The draft is different than football or basketball because it takes time for some of the guys to develop. Unless, of course, they are named Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin or Jordan Staal to name a few on the Penguins' roster.
I guess blueline depth is always needed. I'm sure they made the right choice.

NHL 2012 Division Realignment with Winnipeg

2011-06-24T14:23:00.006-04:00

The word out of some media outlets is that Gary Bettman has put forward a plan with the League’s Board of Governors, to return to a 4 division format, with divisional playoff play, for the 2012/2013 season.

This is something I would support, along with White Uniforms at home and a return to "Named" Divisions.

If the plan is implemented, there would be two conferences, each with 1 seven, and 1 eight team division. Each team would play home and away against every other team in the league for the first time in over a decade. The new divisions would be the Pacific, Midwest, East, and South.

Detroit and Columbus are both being promised moves East. That would mean another team besides Winnipeg would have to head West. My guess is Toronto, which will reunite with some of its old Norris Division Rivals in the "Midwest."

Here is my breakdown as to how that would shake out geographically:

East
Montreal
Ottawa
Buffalo
Boston
New York
New York
New Jersey
Philadelphia

South
Washington
Columbus
Detroit
Carolina
Tampa Bay
Florida
Pittsburgh

Midwest
St. Louis
Winnipeg
Minnesota
Chicago
Edmonton
Calgary
Toronto
Nashville

Pacific
Vancouver
Colorado
Phoenix
Los Angeles
San Jose
Anaheim
Dallas

Flyers Explode Roster; Shakeup Hockey World

2011-06-24T12:36:00.003-04:00

When the Flyers goalie situation imploded in the 2nd round of the Playoffs this spring and the team was swept by Tim Thomas and the eventual Cup winning Bruins, owner Ed Snider had finally seen enough. He ORDERED General Manager Paul Holmgren to rectify the situation in the Flyers net that had been left derelict since Ron Hextall skated away to Quebec in a fit of rage.
In following his bosses orders Holmgren brought in the hottest name available, trading for the rights to restricted free agent Ilya Bryzgalov from the Phoenix Coyotes. Holmgren only then faced one problem: he was up against the salary cap and would need to move some cash off his roster to free up room to sign the hottest goalie on the market. Rumors swirled around trade deadline addition Kris Versteeg and middle pairing defenseman Matt Carle. Absolutely nobody in the hockey world saw the combination of brazen moves that Holmgren was really cooking up coming down the pike.
Within an hour time span yesterday, instead of tinkering around the margins, Holmgren boldly blew up the very core of his roster, trading away Team Captain Mike Richards to the LA Kings and Assistant Captain and prime sniper Jeff Carter to the Columbus Blue Jackets. In doing so Holmgren cleared out a combined 20 years and $109.6 million off the team’s books through the 2021-2022 season.
In trading Richards to the Kings, the Flyers picked up versatile tough guy winger Wayne Simmonds and the Kings top prospect, 19 year old Brayden Schenn, and a 2nd round pick for the upcoming NHL entry draft.
In dealing Carter to Columbus, the Flyers acquired a former 1st round pick in Czech Winger Jakub Voracek, and two more picks for the current draft, the 1st round (8th overall) and 3rd round picks from the Jackets this year. Schenn is signed on an entry level contract for the next 3 seasons, and Simmonds and Voracek are both restricted free agents. Holmgren had better do his damndest to ink those guys by July 1, or he will have some major egg on his face. He did manage to bring Bryzgalov under wraps, signing him to a 10 year deal, with an annual Cap hit of $5.6 million dollars. That leaves his squad with $7.5 million in cap space, and sets them up nicely with a bunch of young assets to build around at forward. It does hurt them however in short term production up front, for a team who’s defense and goalie are signed to win RIGHT NOW.
There is rampant speculation that the other shoe is ready to drop, whether it be a UFA signing of Brad Richards from the Stars, or deal to bring in restricted Free Agent Steven Stamkos from the Tampa Bay Lightning, one hardly gets the feeling that things are completely settled in Flyerland. If they had simply traded Carter for Voracek and picks, that would have been an understandable salary dump to sign a goalie. But in moving their Captain in Mike Richards, the Flyers signaled a seismic shift in the way the organization will be structured going forward. And as the ground shifted under them, other teams felt some aftershocks as well.
The team setup to come out best immediately from this is the LA Kings. With Anze Kopitar already in the fold, Richards gives them an elite 1-2 punch at Center along the lines of Cup contenders like Detroit(Datsyuk/Zetterberg), Pittsburgh (Crosby/Malkin), and Chicago (Toews/Sharp). They have some good young goaltending in place, adequate role players at wing, and a solid defensive core. They will also be able to unload winger Ryan Smyth, whose numbers have been decreasing in production relative to his salary in recent years. Smyth wants to go home to Alberta, and the Kings will probably get something decent in return from either the Flames or the Oilers for the Canadian hero. The Flames already moved Robyn Regehr to the Buffalo Sabres in anticipation of bidding for Smyth.
The Columbus Blue Jackets are not as close to contention as the Kings, but they FINALLY have their legitimate #1 Center in Carter to play alongside their longtime standout Rick Nash. So the Flyers have a solid Goalie and the Jackets have an elite Center. This may be signs of a forthcoming hockey apocalypse. I like the Blue Jackets up front now, especially if they bring back Scottie Upshall, but on their blueline it’s a bad combination of too young, and too average. When Grant Clitsome and Fedor Tyutin are your ‘name’ guys on defense, that is never a good sign. They do have a massive $21 million in cap space however, and some key pieces in place to at least shape themselves into a playoff team, so lets wait and see how the situation unfolds for Ohio hockey.
Things got very interesting in the trade market yesterday, and with the draft taking place this weekend, Jagr still floating out there (although the league ruled he won’t be able to sign till July 1 now) and Ryan Smyth ready to move back home, don’t expect things to settle down from now through the start of free agency.

Defiance Yielding No Results

2011-06-24T11:59:00.005-04:00

Make no mistake that the economy of the US has been broken, in some sense, for a considerable amount of time. The unprecedented down turn that has transpired over the past few years seems as if it is never going away. I am just wondering if the GOP wants to keep it that way, at least through the 2012 elections, if not permanently.

John Boehner spoke about reducing debt by cutting spending and pleaded for tax cuts. Now, when given a chance to approve a tax cut that could help create jobs, Boehner wags his finger "No". I often wonder if that is the only word some on the far right know, "No". I don't recall Boehner ever mentioning any desire to pass bills to create jobs, just asking where they were. Over and over and over again. So in that respect, you can't say he hasn't kept up his word. He never promised to create jobs, just inquire as to their wherabouts. However, to see a republican refuse tax cuts is something on a parallel with Haley' Comet. Every hundred years or so.

Boehner doesn't want to support a bill that will give tax cuts to businesses for creating jobs because he only sees it as a short term solution. With the unemployment rate being what it is and the economy making no strides currently, any solution, short or long term, should be considered progress. But that isn't what Boehner and the GOP want to see. They don't want progress. They don't want jobs created. They don't the economy to recover. They want it to fail and pin it all on Obama.

Since taking over control of the House, there have been no jobs bills passed. There has been a bill delaying regulation on food and gas prices, but nothing to create jobs. Why would we expect Boehner and his constituents to create jobs? They already have them, funded by the tax payers with nice expense accounts and transportation and 5 star accommodations covered on our dime. I have yet to see any member of the GOP decry such spending as wasteful. That's because they don't really care about government spending as a whole( see Bush Adminsistration 2001-2009 for proof), they care about government spending when it doesn't benefit them and their backers. It's okay for John Q. Public to pay these folks salaries and benefits, but let's see to it they get nothing in return.

And that is where we stand: more elected officials talking a big game, getting a big tax payer subsidized salary and doing nothing in return. Now, if you consider blocking bills that could help stimulate the economy and job growth through obstructionism and child-like defiance a return, then you are getting your money's worth.

Bylsma wins Jack Adams

2011-06-23T20:53:00.003-04:00

Pittsburgh's Dan Bylsma won the Jack Adams award for being the most outstanding coach in the 2010-2011 regular season at the NHL awards Wednesday night in Las Vegas.
This is a great honor for Bylsma and well deserved. The Penguins recorded 106 points in a season that saw captain Sidney Crosby miss half of its games and Evgeni Malkin being out for an extended period of time.
Pittsburgh continued to battle without their two biggest guns, and won games in a grinding fashion. They battled hard and reached the playoffs as the No. 4 seed.
Even though the Penguins were ousted in the first round, Bylsma would have still gotten my vote if the results were decided upon after the playoffs.
Congratulations, Disco.

Jagr Comeback Watch, June 22

2011-06-22T16:21:00.003-04:00

The Jagr comeback is definitely boiling down to a choice between the Redwings "Style of Play" and the Penguins "Legacy and desire to Come Home" for #68.

The Devils had been identified by multiple reports as the 3rd "darkhorse" mystery team, but I don't think they are actually in serious consideration by Jagr's camp.

Jagr is also reported to be seeking a cap friendly amount, somewhere in the $2-3 million range. That contract will not break the bank for bringing in other crucial parts for either Pittsburgh or Detroit in their pursuit of a Title.

The word is that negotiations and talks are ongoing with both clubs, and a decision could come as soon as this weekend at the NHL entry draft.

Whichever of the two teams Jagr chooses, it will be a big boost for that franchise in trying to get back to the Stanley Cup Finals after two quasi-frustrating years of early round playoff exits. Neither team will be able to find a better offensive weapon on the open market for the discounted rate that Jagr is reported to be willing to come back to the NHL for this offseason.

Jagr Comeback Watch: 6/21

Jagr Comeback Watch: 6/20

Jagr Comeback Watch: 5/12

Bruins Celebrate Cup Win: $156,679.74 Bar Tab

2011-06-22T14:56:00.007-04:00

The Boston Bruins Celebrated their Stanley Cup victory in a HUGE way racking up a $150K+ bar tab in Connecticut Saturday night.

The majority of that astonishing total was spent on a $100,000 bottle listed on the bill as Ace MIDAS. What did they do make the bottle out of gold? Well yes, yes they did.

It’s a $100,000 30 liter bottle from the Champagne house Cattier. The Gold Metallic bottles are crafted entirely by hand, inspired by fashion designer Andre Courreges. There were 6 bottles in existence in the entire world. There are now 5 after the Bruins drank one out of the Cup. Here is a picture for a size comparison with the Cup. It may be $100k, but it is certainly a “Chara” sized bottle.

Our crack research staff here at Puck_and_Pols did some futher investigation into that crazy New England night and determined the following from the bill-

A) 'Creepy-Comic-Store-Clerk’ voiced Tim Thomas was on the 2 Coors Lights. Goalies are always the weird, non-conformist ones.

B) The ‘soff’ Euros on the team had to be the ones ordering Amstel, Blue Moon, and Heinikens.

C) 19 year old rookie winger Tyler Seguin underwent the hazing of a lifetime that night

D) Mark Recchi ordered the Corona in preparation for his well earned tour of the world’s greatest beaches next winter after grinding out a 20 year career.

E) 136 Bud Lights, at 20 players on the active roster + we’ll give them 10 guys who were injured and the minor league call-ups = 4.5 beers per player. And that is obviously just the tip of the iceberg, when you take into account all the shots and champagne it just gets nuts.
Crazy Canadians.

Finally: They obviously ordered the Kami Kazi because they were trying to drink the alphabet and needed a drink that started with “C”

NHL Award tonight in Vegas

2011-06-22T14:06:00.003-04:00

For those of you that haven't experienced Sin Las Vegas, you're missing out.
I believe that's why the NHL hosts its annual awards show in Sin City.
The show will air tonight on Versus at 7 p.m. and I'm here to offer my picks.
First off, congratulations to the Boston Bruins for their remarkable run in winning the Stanley Cup. What a finals it was between them and the Vancouver Canucks.
The Hart Memorial Trophy, given to the NHL MVP, will be won by the Canucks' Daniel Sedin. Sedin had 41 goals and 63 assists for 104 this past season. He was also a plus 30 for the Presidents' Trophy winners.
The other finalists are Tampa Bay's Martin St. Louis and Anaheim's Corey Perry. Perry led the league in goals with 50. St. Louis led the Lightning with 99 points.
I hate to be a homer, but it's a shame that Sidney Crosby missed all those games with a concussion. If Crosby had played a full season, he would have bettered his career-high of 120 points and may have scored over 50 goals.
The Vezina Trophy, which is awarded to the best goalie, will be won by Boston's Tim Thomas. Thomas won 35 games for the Stanley Cup champions and had a goals against average of 2.00 and a save percentage of .938.
The Canucks' Roberto Luongo and Nashville's Pekka Rinne are the other finalists.
Thomas was exceptional this season, and deserves the award. Keep in mind that the votes are in before the playoffs and I'm trying, even though it's hard, to judge my picks by the regular season. Thomas was the best, though.
The James Norris Trophy (best defensive player) will be won by Boston's Zdeno Chara. The Bruins' captain put up 44 points on 14 goals and 30 assists and was a plus 33. Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom is going for his seventh award, but I believe Chara was more important to his team, defensively. Nashville's Shea Weber, who has a wicked slap shot, is the other finalist. I believe Weber is a future winner of this award.
Carolina center Jeff Skinner will take home the hardware by winning the Calder Memorial Trophy. Skinner had 31 goals and 32 assists for 63 points. San Jose's Logan Couture and New York Islanders' Michael Grabner are the other finlists.
Lidstrom will take home the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy that is given for sportsmanship. Lidstrom is a class act, and so are Dallas' Loui Eriksson and St. Louis, the other finalists, but everyone respects the Red Wings' captain.
The Frank J. Selke Trophy, which is given to the best defensive forward, will be won by Vancouver's Ryan Kesler. Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk and Chicago's Jonathan Toews are the other finalists. Datsyuk is constantly mentioned as the best defensive forward in the game by the national media, however Kesler had a great season.
The Jack Adams Trophy is awarded to the league's best coach, and Pittsbugh's Dan Bylsma will get the honor. And no, I'm not being a homer. Bylsma did a tremendous job of guiding the Penguins to the playoffs with 106 points after losing stars Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
The Canucks' Alain Vigneault and the Predators' Barry Trotz are the other finalists. Trotz is a very close second in my book. Vigneault did lead Vancouver to the Presidents' Trophy, but he had a very talented team to work with. My opinion of the best coach is the guy that deals with the least amount of talent and has success.
The Bill Masterson Memorial Trophy is given to the player who exemplifies sportsmanship, preservance and dedication to hockey. The nominees this year are Anaheim's Ray Emery, Calgary's Daymond Langkow and Philadelphia's Ian Laperriere.
I don't know too much about these guys, so I'll go with Langkow. I don't believe a Flyer deserves this award and I'm not feeling Emery on this one, either.
The Ted Lindsay Award (formely Lester B. Pearson Award) is voted on by the National Hockey League Players' Association to the "most outstanding player."
Up this year for the award are Perry, Sedin and St. Louis.
Sedin will get the nod from his fellow players and I agree with that pick. Perry did score the most goals, but Sedien had the most points, and I believe the guys he plays against will agree.
The Mark Messier Leadership Award is picked by the man himself after suggestions for the nominees are taken from fans, clubs and personnel.
The three finalists are Chara, Phoenix's Shane Doan and Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom.
I believe Messier will pick Lidstrom. I would go with Chara, but what do I know.
The NHL Foundation Award, which is basically the community service award, will be won by Los Angeles' Dustin Brown, although all these guys deserve to be honored for the work they do. The other finalists are both Henrik and Daniel Sedin of the Canucks and Washington's Mike Green.
Daniel Sedin will grab some hardware for scoring the most points and Perry will be awarded his trophy for scoring the most goals in the season.
Awards shows stink, in my opinion, but at least look up the results.

Jagr Comeback Watch, June 21st

2011-06-21T15:04:00.005-04:00

It seems that Jaromir Jagr is quite serious about making a return to the NHL after playing 3 years in Russia's KHL. The 39 year old winger seems to be focused on Detroit, Pittsburgh (where he began his NHL career), and a third unnamed team (not Montreal or Washington )according to his agent. My best guess at mystery team #3 would be the New York Rangers.

He has spoken with Redwing's coach Mike Babcock about how he would fit into his teams system, and Penguins owner (and former teammate of Jagr) Mario Lemieux has also reached out to Jagr.

Both teams have been in contact with Jagr's agents in the past few days. As Jagr is currently not under a contract with a NHL club, he would be eligible to sign a deal before the July 1st date that current unrestricted free agents have to wait until. The NHL salary cap is going up to around $64 million this season, according to Capgeek.com, the Penguins have about $8 Million to work with under the Cap for the upcoming season and the Redwings have around $10 Million.

Jagr Comeback Watch: 6/20

Jagr Comeback Watch: 5/12

Hypocritical Hilarity

2011-06-21T09:17:00.001-04:00

The Republican Leadership Council had an event over the weekend that featured a man by the name of Reggie Brown impersonating President Obama. From the video I saw, he was excellent. He looked like the President, he sounded like the President, he had the same mannerisms. The audience also found him to be a riot ( not in the Vancouver sense), at least in the beginning of his set. Brown started off by making some racist jokes about the President's mixed heritage. He commented that while February was his favorite month, his wife celebrates the whole month and he only celebrates half. The audience laughed uncontrollably at this as well as his next joke where he noted that his mom was a white woman who loved a black man but she wasn't a Kardashian. However, when Brown joked about Mitt Romney having a first lady and a second lady and a third lady and so on, the crowd turned on him. When he was about to joke about Michele Bachmann, his mic was cut off and he was taken off stage to a chorus of boos.

Charlie Davis, head of the RLC, said that he was pulled off for the racial insensitivity of his jokes. Anybody who watched the video cannot possibly buy that explanation. The audience was rolling in the aisles when the Jim Crow jokes were flying around but when it was time to poke a little bit of fun at their own, they had none of it. I can't say this is surpring for the GOP, being that they are largely of the thin skinned and hypocritical nature. But I just wonder how many more of their blatant lies voters in the middle are willing to accept before they begin to sour?

Supreme Court Strikes Down Women of Walmart Class Action Suit

2011-06-20T17:50:00.001-04:00

The Supreme Court today struck down a massive class action lawsuit by women throughout the Country who were claiming discrimination in wages and promotion opportunities based upon their gender.
The Majority Opinion, written by Antoin Scalia and supported by Justices Thomas, Roberts, Alito, and Kennedy, claims that the lower court classification of the female employees as a discriminated against class was not legally viable under prior precedent. The women therefore can continue to press forward in their individual cases, at their own expense, but will not be eligible for a class action settlement.
That these women received less pay and a lack of promotion opportunities, under the unofficial policies of local management, when compared to men in the same jobs with less senority and lower performance ratings, is not statistically in question. And yet, with the fig leaf of an 'official' corporate non-discrimination policy, Walmart was able to escape liability in the class action venue of legal pursuit by the highest court in the land.
This will allow Walmart to avoid a mass settlement and use divide and conquer tactics to deal with each offended party individually, putting a greater burden and cost on these working class ladies to pursue their own suits agaisnt the corporate giant.
This is a big win for corporate interests, and gives credance to Robert Kennedy Junior's recent claims that this current Supreme Court favors Big Corporations First, Big Government next, and puts the rights and recourse of everyday people last.

Lidstrom won't retire

2011-06-20T13:26:00.003-04:00

Nicklas Lidstrom will return for his 20th season in the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings.
The 41-year-old defenseman and captain of Detroit signed a one-year deal worth $6.2 million Monday.
Lidstrom was second in the NHL in points last season with 62 and is a finalist for the Norris Trophy as the league's best defenseman. Norris is looking for his seventh Norris. He is also up for the Lady Byng Trophy and the Mark Messier Leadership Award. The awards show takes place Wednesday in Las Vegas.

Jaromir Jagr Comeback?

2011-06-20T13:08:00.004-04:00

As I've stated before once before on this blog, and many more times in different mediums, the Rule of Jagr is that he is just crazy enough that anything you hear about him and his future has a 2% chance of coming true.
The rumor mill surrounding Jagr has ramped up once again, with speculation being heavily focused recently on a possible return to the NHL with the Redwings. For those keeping track at home, he has also be linked in recent months to possible comebacks with the Montreal Canadians, Edmonton Oilers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and New York Rangers.
One of the more interesting aspects of the story that has been underreported is his purchase of his former Czech Elite Team, Kladno, which nurtured his talents as a young player. He has taken over the primary role as President of the Club from his father this February. The team is struggling financially and on the ice in recent seasons. I’m not an expert on the CBA, but would shoring up the finances of a European club with which Jagr has vested interests, or making a verbal commitment to do so upon his completion of service, be something that would be considered a violation of the established salary cap? I would think so, but it is such a unique circumstance that I doubt it is spelled out clearly, even in this league’s copious rulebooks.
I’m staying with my initial speculation that Jagr will stay in Russia, collect the largest amount of money he can there, and eventually retire home to Kladno and become the Czech Elite League version of Chris Chelios/Mark Recchi, playing there into his mid to late 40s. He has the talent and has been focused on conditioning long enough that he should be able to still contribute at that level for many more years. At what age will all the NHL return speculation cease to subsist? Damned if I know, but I’d say around 42.

The Buc and The Thrash: A Cautionary Tale

2011-06-17T12:44:00.005-04:00

(Please note, I am posting this in conjunction with a Baseball blog I contribute to as well)

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. After years and years of a sports team posting losing records, trading away superstars for questionable returns, dwindling away their credibility in the community with incompetent roster management by a much ridiculed GM, and piss poor ownership support in terms of payroll authorizations, the team has started to, at least on the surface, turn the corner. A young nucleus of blossoming stars is shaping itself together. Fans who had abandoned their support of the team are starting to come back on board. A few savvy offseason acquisitions are performing well above expectations. It seems that everything is in place for the team, which had bottomed out the previous season, to start to make a legitimate run, at least for respectability, if not for Titles and Championships quite yet. Approaching the halfway point of the season, the team seems to be gelling and moving in the right direction. There is buzz about who, and how many total players, will be representing the franchise in the All-Star game.

This is obviously a situation that the Pittsburgh Pirates currently find themselves in, and that is fantastic for baseball, for the city, and most of all for the long suffering fans of the beleaguered franchise. Not to throw a wet-blanket upon unbridled optimism that is now surrounding this current squad and its possible future incarnations, but I’d like to pull some posts from one of my favorite sports blogs that was centered upon a team that found itself in a similar situation 6 months ago: The Atlanta Thrashers.

To say the “wheels fell off” for the Thrashers would not do their fans justice. The wheels fell off, the floor of the car rusted out, the driver (fans) fell through the floor, was dragged through a bramble bush on the roadside after falling out, and was left barely conscious on side of the road, when a roving rouge biker gang drove up, smashed in his car with baseball bats, set it on fire, took his wallet, and spit upon him and kicked him a few times in the gut just for good measure.

Now I’m not suggesting that the Pirates are going to be pulled up by the roots and relocated to the Central Canadian Prairie anytime soon. There is a better chance of the Pope resigning from his post as head of the Church to take up a lifelong secret desire to become a Hula Dancer.

But when reading over these posts take note of how a situation for a sports team that looked so promising in the not-so-distant past went horribly bad, horribly quickly. The posts are from the Bird Watcher’s Anonymous blog, a group of well informed, well written dedicated fans of the now defunct hockey team.

***

11/26/2010 I'm Thankful the Thrashers are Playing Smarter Hockey

The Atlanta Thrashers are playing the most intelligent brand of hockey in team history. Hallelujah! When the team first arrived in 1999 I was extremely excited to have the NHL in the city I call home. I watched every game that was televised and attended nearly every home game in person after Season 2. I watched many defeats and many bad decisions over the last decade. Given that context, I keep pinching myself when I watch this version of the Atlanta Thrashers--because they're playing a smarter brand of hockey. Many of the things that I'm seeing are subtle. About two weeks ago, I was at the home game and the Thrashers had a power play. The puck came over to the right side point men. That point man noticed that the opposing PK unit was sagging off him to protect the passing lanes. Inside of just burying his head and blasting a long shot, the Thrashers defenseman moved in towards the top of the circle which caused the defending PK man to move towards him opening up the middle of the ice more. It was a very small thing, but it was an adjustment that elite players or elite teams make and bad teams don't. It was an adjustment previous Thrashers teams rarely made. On Wednesday, the Thrashers beat a very good Red Wings team. The Wings didn't bring their best effort after the 1st period and the Thrashers made them pay for that. In the past, the Thrashers probably would have found a way to let the Red Wings climb back into the game. What impressed me the most about the victory over the Wings was that the Thrashers forwards were consistently getting the step on the Wings defenders and creating 2 on 1 rushes. The Thrashers ability to get out wide on Detroit's defenders was obviously the result of a team strategy because more than one line was taking this approach. The coaching staff saw something they thought they could exploit on video and the team bought into the strategy and then they executed it. The Thrashers probably have the best coaching staff in the history of the franchise--and it shows in many little details. The Thrashers players are making little clever plays in each game. Those small improvements will not always produce a victory but over the long run they could add a couple of wins to the team's total. Remember how competitive the Eastern Conference playoff race usually is--stealing a few extra points here and there over 82 games could prove to be enormous. Credit also should go to GM Rick Dudley. Not only did he bring in this coaching staff, but he brought in many of the players who fill out the roster. Some of these guys are simply smarter hockey players than the guys they replaced. The players have embraced the team concept, they are listening to the coaching staff. The scoring by committee has been enough to keep the team in the hunt. Also the Thrashers PP unit has not allowed a shorthanded goal against--something the PP defense should get credit for. The on-ice direction of the team is very good right now. Certainly the players will make some boneheaded plays as we go along, but the ratio of stupid decisions to smart decisions has shifted in the correct direction--and I'm very thankful for that.

11/27/2010 Thrashers Blank Habs 3-0, That's Four & Counting

Yes, Thrashers fans, that's four wins in a row. Not just wins, but clear-cut, make-a-statement, we-can-hang-with-anybody kind of wins. I almost don't want to jinx it by talking about it. But I will. Hit the jump for more. Some particulars of note: - Atlanta put 47 shots on net to Montreal's 25. In the second, the Thrashers fired 23 shots to the Habs' 4. - I think the Thrashers may have found a goalie. Ondrej Pavelec has allowed just 4 goals in his last 5 starts, with a save percentage of .974 over that span. - Atlanta has now beaten three of the league's top five teams. They also have a plus-2 Goal Differential, which is a pretty good predictor of post-season eligibility.

12/05/2010 Five Game Report Card: Games Twenty-One through Twenty-Five

This Five Game Report Card covers the games beginning with the overtime win against the New York Islanders and ending with the overtime win against the Colorado Avalanche. The Thrashers won all five games in this series thanks to, in large part, the heroics of Dustin Byfuglien. Big Buff netted a team-leading 4 goals and team-leading 6 assists to go along with a team-leading +5 and team-leading 30 shots. Yeah, he was pretty awesome. Let's not forget the incredible play of Ondrej Pavelec. OP shut out the Montreal Canadians and gave up just one goal to the Detroit Red Wings, New York Islanders, and Boston Bruins. During this series, the Thrashers finally started looking like the team that was promised: a hard-working team that gets scoring from all players. Perhaps most promising? Not a single Thrasher was a minus-player over this series. Over This Five Game Period · Record: 5-0-0 (1.000 P%) · Goals Scored/Allowed: 17/4 (4.250) · PP%/PK%: 23.8%/89.5% · Goal Leaders: Byfuglien (4), Peverley (3), Stewart (2) · Assist Leaders: Byfuglien (6), Ladd, Enstrom (5) · Point Leaders: Byfuglien (10), Enstrom, Ladd (6) · +/- Leaders/Trailers: Byfuglien (+5), Oduya, Enstrom (+4), Hainsey, Burmistrov (+1 as trailers) · Team +/-: Plus-44

12/18/2010 Postgame: Thrashers/Devils - Wow. Just, wow.

Attention Thrashers' fans: I know your surroundings must be unfamiliar to you. Some of you have never been here before, thus leaving you confused and possibly frightened. Others of you have been here before, but it's been so long that you've forgotten. For your convenience, I have drawn up a map to help you better orientate yourselves:

Proceed with caution though, as the landscape may shift at any time. If you need me, I'll be over there. Being giddy.

***

As you can see, and as I'm sure you already know, sports teams go through wild and unpredictable swings all the time. 6 months after Atlanta Thrasher fans were wild and giddy with anticipation; their team was pulled right out from under their noses. There are many possible lessons here, but I will leave it up to your to draw your own conclusions.

I stand corrected

2011-06-16T21:01:00.003-04:00

I will be the first to admit, I was wrong with my pick for the Stanley Cup championship. I had Vancouver defeating Boston in five games, and obviously, I was wrong.
I also had some money on the Canucks because I really felt they were the best team left in the playoffs when I made a visit to Las Vegas. I could lie and say that a Canadian exotic dancer offered me something to pick her team, or an escort would pleasure me for free if I went with Vancouver, but that's not the case. I wasn't even drunk.
To backtrack, I felt the Canucks were the best team at the time. Which was May 5, 2011.
I still feel Vancouver is a better team, talent wise, but the Bruins wanted it more. They hit harder, chased after loose pucks with more desperation and showed a killer instinct that the Canucks lacked. Nothing against Canadian teams in the NHL or the Great White North, but it's almost as if they feel the Americans should lay down and hand over the Cup. Nothing is given to you in life, you have to earn it.
Vancouver didn't have Tim Thomas, either. I don't know what happens to Roberto Luongo when crunch time roles around in the NHL playoffs, but he failed again Wednesday night. For all of the Bobby Lu fans out there, I'm not saying he wasn't great for most of the series, although Thomas outplayed him.
Thomas definitely deserved to win the Conn Smythe Trophy. He would have been my choice even if Vancouver had won the series.
Just in case you didn't watch, what's wrong with you, the Bruins won, 4-0. Maybe I should have gotten to that earlier.
I still had faith the Canucks would get back into it when they were down, 2-0, but giving up another short-handed goal iced it for Boston. The empty netter was just salt in the wounds.
Kudos to Thomas and the rest of the Bruins. Congratulations. Your first title since 1972. As for Canada and Vancouver, I don't know. Maybe next year. As for the idiots in the streets. You should be ashamed of yourself.
As for me, I guess I was wrong and it cost me some money. That said, I bet, uh-oh, maybe I should stop it, that most people had Vancouver winning this series.

Bruins are Champs

2011-06-16T14:58:00.000-04:00

Congrats to the Bruins, their fans, Mark Recchi, Tim Thomas, Zdeno Chara, and the United States of America.

Shame on Vancouver, the ugly ugly riots, Roberto Luongo, The Sedins, Canada, and those who would trade in their Patriotism for a small wager in Sin City (just kidding buddy).

Bruins force Game 7

2011-06-13T23:12:00.002-04:00

On Wednesday night at the Rogers Center in Vancouver, Game 7 will be contested after Boston picked up a 5-2 victory over the Canucks in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals to tie the best-of-seven series at 3.
Both teams have won every home game, but the guys from the Great White North will be mighty nervous heading into the final game, as will their fans. A Canadian team hasn't won the Stanley Cup since Montreal hoisted the chalice in 1993.
The Bruins dominated the game from the start, taking a 4-0 lead within the first 10 minutes of the first period. Roberto Luongo was pulled and the Canucks had no answer for Boston's emotion.
I was mighty surprised that the Bruins were able to come out strong again in their own building.
Boston has been the better team in this series, and I really didn't think Vancouver would have won the 1-0 games. I thought the Bruins were more suited to win the close ones, while the Canucks had the edge in high-scoring affairs.
Tim Thomas is starting to look like Patrick Roy. Even if Vancouver wins, I would say Thomas deserves some votes for MVP.
It should be an exciting game Wednesday. If you're a Canucks fan, drink a few Molsons tonight, and get ready for the big one. You're team will need you.
If Vancouver can keep it scoreless in the first 30 minutes, or take an early lead, it will be fine, but if Boston takes an early lead, the Canucks could be in trouble.
I may have a few beers myself.

Bruins hold 4-0 lead after two

2011-06-13T22:27:00.001-04:00

Boston holds a 4-0 lead after two periods of play. That's all to report.

Boston comes out swinging

2011-06-13T21:20:00.002-04:00

After 20 minutes of play in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals, Boston holds a 4-0 lead over Vancouver.
The Canucks have pulled star goalie Roberto Luongo, who has struggled in Boston. Maybe he had too many Sam Adams last night.
It's hard for me to imagine the Bruins crumbling. It looks like we'll have a Game 7. They are always fun, but very nerve racking for the fans.
I'll update after the second, third and so on until the game ends.

Raising the Cup

2011-06-13T17:54:00.002-04:00

The greatest trophy in sports will be in the building in Boston tonight. And the hometeam fans want nothing more than to NOT see it carried out onto the ice, because that means their Bruins will have forced a game 7 in Vancouver on Wednesday.
Even if the worst does come about however, I would implore those in attendance to stick around to watch the presentation of the Cup to the Canucks.

It is, without a doubt, my favorite moment in all of sports. It is what I missed most when the league was locked out. It is like News Years Eve for my hockey fandom each year when a group of worn down bearded guys hoist the Holy Chalice toward the heavens, skating on air in a state of overjoyed mass hysteria.

The Winter Classic has turned into a great event, the Winter Olympics gives me goose bumps, the trade deadline and July 1st free agency are tense days of cyber squatting as the league morphs and transforms itself upon a blank canvas. But the ultimate moment for me is still seeing a team win Lord Stanley's Cup. Its what this sport is all about, the Alpha and Omega of Ice Hockey.

Do or die for Bruins

2011-06-13T14:05:00.002-04:00

The Stanley Cup finals return to the TD Garden tonight, and judging by the way the series has gone so far, Boston should beat Vancouver to force Game 7.
The home team has won all five games in this series, with the Canucks holding a 3-2 lead.
The Bruins destroyed Vancouver with 8-1 and 4-0 victories in Games 3 and 4 in the states, although the Canucks have eeked out two 1-0 and 1 3-2 victory in overtime, and have a chance to close it out if they can figure out how to win in Boston.
I'm going with Vancouver in a 2-1 triumph. The game will be tight checking and neither power play has been on fire. I predict a grinder will score the game-winning goal.
The Bruins' keys to victory will be to score on the PP when the opportunity arises. If Boston can't find the back of the net, it will be in trouble.
The Bruins were great at home, however they were playing with a great deal of fire following all the cheap shots by the Canucks. I believe some of that has worn off and the game won't be that chippy. Yes, it will be hard hitting, but I think the fighting has came and gone. Another advantage for Vancouver.
In terms of an MVP. I have no idea. I was going with Ryan Kesler before the series, but he hasn't done much. It is usually based on the whole playoffs, so Henrik Sedin could be a good choice. I'll go with him.
Roberto Luongo has been stellar in the games the Canucks have won, but he has been sub-par in more than one game in not just the finals, but the entire playoffs as well.
Tim Thomas has been the MVP in this series, however a loser hardly ever gets the nod, but it has happened. If Boston can win this thing, his is my definite pick.
Enjoy it folks.

Home-ice advantage key for Canucks in Game 5

2011-06-11T14:14:00.002-04:00

I don't know if it's home-ice advantage or not, but Vancouver has won three games at the Rogers Center, including Friday night's 1-0 triumph over Boston in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals.
The Canucks hold a 3-2 series lead, and can win their first Cup in franchise history with a victory in Boston Monday night.
Both Roberto Luongo and Tim Thomas played great in goal, although Vancouver scored its first goal since Game 3, and snapped Thomas' streak of 106 minutes and 7 seconds without allowing a goal, when Maxim Lapierre beat Thomas with a wrist shot at 4:35 of the third period.
Kevin Bieska took advantage of Thomas' aggresive style by directing a shot-pass from the right point that bounced off the boards and onto Lapierre's stick.
Thomas came out of his crease to challenge Bieska, and before he knew it, the puck was past him.
Raffi Torres picked up the other assist.
Luongo got his second shutout of these finals in stopping 31 shots, and said that Lapierre's shot would have been an easy save for him. Way to stoke the fire, Bobby Lu. Maybe he will get in a scrap with Thomas before this is all over.
Thomas stopped 24 of 25 shots, but his team will have to win another one at home to force Game 7. Thomas has been the MVP of these finals, in my opinion.
Yes, Luongo has two shutouts, the Bruins are down, but the Boston goalie has only allowed five goals. That's pretty impressive.
There were a great deal of hits in the game, and the Bruins had four power-play opportunities in the first and couldn't score. If Boston loses this series, it will look right to that stat.
Although the Canucks haven't been that strong on the PP, either. They were 0-for-4 with the man advantage. Also, were are the Sedin twins? I picked Ryan Kesler to be the MVP, but he hasn't done too much. Lapierre was defenitely the best skater on the ice last night.
Somtimes in the playoffs, it isn't the superstar that nets the big goal.
The Bruins will be ready to go at the TD Garden, but Vancouver wins another tight one, 2-1, to take home the Stanley Cup and end Canada's drought.
Thank God.

Why the NHL Needs to Keep its Edge

2011-06-10T17:08:00.007-04:00

As the 2010-2011 NHL season winds down with what now promises to be one of the nastiest and chippiest Stanley Cup Finals in recent memory, some folks in the general sports media, and within the Hockey World itself, are loudly proclaiming that something needs to be done to clean up this game.

While I agree that headshots and concussions are a problem the league has to deal with, I hope they can manage to achieve this much needed goal without blunting some of the edge off the game.

As the great John Buccigross has written, "Hockey is a blood sport. It is played with a searing emotion most people can't empathize with unless they have played and lived the sport. Hockey is mostly difficult and frustrating. Which is why there is such an explosion of excitement whenever someone scores. Just about every goal is well-earned in some way. In this game, nothing comes cheap."

When Bucci refers to the game of Hockey here as a "blood sport," he is certainly not taking the perspective of some neanderthal wishing to see gladiatorial style combat upon the ice. He is putting into words the raw emotion and fury that inherently part of a hard hitting, high speed game played by rugged men.

It is not about the blood spilling out onto the ice after Steven Stamkos takes a puck to the face in Game 7 against the Bruins that draws us to the sport. It is him waving off the trainer, racing into the locker room, and returning less than five minutes later with a full cage guarding his now exploded nose and continuing on in the game without a second thought.

My instant response: a moment you can only have in the NHL playoffs.

At one time concussions were viewed in many circles the same way Stamkos’ broken nose was. Get some smelling salts, clear your head and get back out there for the next shift. The sport has learned the hard way that such a policy is reckless and dangerous for the safety and long term health of its participants.

It is right and proper that the NHL address hits to the head that lead directly to these concussions as a serious and dire matter. I implore the league however to be careful not to totally take away the mentality, the unquestioned willingness to sacrifice limbs in order to lift the Stanley Cup with heart and heart alone. Planting the seeds of doubt within the players would cheapen the game, cheapen the Stanley Cup, and lessen the impact of the sacrifice guys have spoken about for ages that it takes to win the Hardest Trophy in Sports.

My suggestion: target specifically blindside and direct hits to the head with harsher and automatic suspensions of 10 games for a 1st offense and escalate a scale from there. Fine the team that employees the offender on sliding scale as well. Leave the periphery stuff go. Players will adapt quickly to launching shoulders into chests rather than elbows into craniums. Scrappy, dirty stuff, like Alex Burrows biting Patrice Bergeron? Leave that kind of decision to the referees on the ice. Keep a hands off approach and let the player’s police themselves and send their own messages. Tell me that incident did not add an element of drama and edge to these Stanley Cup Finals. Having that edge is a good thing for the sport. Hockey is a game that needs to be played on the edge.

The fans who get into the game buy into this and understand such things. And they are your target audience NHL.

One of my favorite fan stories of this post season came from the “non-traditional” hockey market of Tampa Bay (there have been more Cups there than Toronto has had since ’67, just sayin).

Steven Paul, a Bolts season ticket holder was told by his Home Owner’s Associaton that his “GO BOLTS” sign in his yard was violation of the mandate within the neighborhood that no signage was allowed with the exception of security company signs. His response was the same as Stamkos flying back onto the ice for game 7. He pressed on in the face of clear and present danger with an edge to his game and a thin shield to guard himself from further ‘harm’:

"Protected By:

GO BOLTS

Security"

My instant response: a moment you can only have in the NHL playoffs.

2012 GOP Nomination Standings, Week 4

2011-06-10T12:09:00.005-04:00

Click Here for Prior Weeks Standings:

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

1) Mitt Romney Trending Even (Last Week: 1)- While the field continues to morph below him, Romney maintains his numbers at the top in the polls and in fundraising. He has solid name recognition, the question is: are there enough moderate GOP primary voters out there to counteract the “anyone but Romney” hardline conservatives that will be organizing in force against him.
Current Headline: Mitt Romney: No Apologies on Climate Change Stance

2) Sarah Palin Trending Down (Last Week: 2)- A well publicized gaffe on colonial history sums up both how dedicated Palin’s core supporters are, and exactly why she will never garnish enough mainstream credentials for the nation’s highest office. Watch out for the emails being released soon in Alaska, it may sink her 2012 hopes once, and for all, if something earth-shattering comes out of those documents.
Current Headline: Sarah Palin and the Wikipedia War Over Paul Revere

3) Herman Cain Trending Up (Last Week: 10)- The former Pizza Exec skyrocketed up the polls and the rankings this week. He has stolen the tea party mantle right out of the hands of Paul and Bachman. Talk radio loves him, and he certainly qualifies for outsider status in the political game. The downside is any unknown quirks or scandals that have yet to come to the surface.
Current Headline: Herman Cain: A Longshot’s Steady Rise

4) Tim Pawlenty Trending Up (Last Week: 8)- With other candidates dropping out and blowing up, Pawlenty’s previous weakness, his steady, boring approach to the campaign, has come around to lift his ranking and status up. He could map out a path to the nomination with a strong showing in Iowa.
Current Headline: Pawlenty Bets Big on Reaganomics, but Some Economists Say It Won't Work

5) Ron Paul Trending Even (Last Week: 5)- Paul is who he is. He has a lockdown on this #5 spot because of his poll numbers, but the most authentically libertarian of the candidates will not be able to expand his base without compromising his values, something he will all but certainly refuse to do.
Current Headline: Candidate Ron Paul thinks GOP, Nation Moving Closer to His Libertarian Views

6) Michele Bachman Trending Up (Last Week: 7)- Bachman is looking more and more like she will make a serious run in 2012 as she organizes campaigns in Iowa and New Hampshire. She is now starting to go hard at the political figure who most mirrors her own style and following, trying to separate her image from that of Sarah Palin.
Current Headline: Palin, Bachmann Camps Feud Over Who Gets To Be Defined As A 'Serious' Candidate

7) Newt Gingrich Trending Down (Last Week: 4)- After a totally disastrous showing on Meet the Press where he bashed Paul Ryan’s budget plan as “Rightwing Social Engineering” and an ill-timed European Luxury Vacation, Gingrich’s staff has mutinied on him. The Gingrich campaign has blown up like a cartoon cigar, right in his face. He is down, is he on the verge of being out?
Current Headline: Will Gingrich’s Staff Exodus Kill His 2012 Chances?

8) Rick Perry Trending Up (Last Week: Unranked)- Rumblings are that Perry is serious about getting into this race. Gingrich going down in flames could be the best thing to ever happen for the Texas Governor. Perry is a proven and polished campaigner. It should be interesting to see if he gets his bid off the ground.
Current Headline: Perry Watch: Is Rick Perry Playing Games With the Date of the 2012 Texas Primary For His Own Gain?

9) Rick Santorum Trending Down (Last Week: 6)- Santorum has officially announced his bid, but continues to stay in the bottom half of the polls and the rankings. It seems like he doesn’t have a lot of room to gain any traction. The former Senator from a trending blue swing ~~State~~ Commonwealth may be able to, at best, position himself well on the VEEP list with a good showing in the debates.
Current Headline: Rick Santorum: The Hapless Holy Warrior Starts Another Crusade

10) John Huntsman Trending Up (Last Week: Unranked)- Zero name recognition, but there is plenty of time for Huntsman to close that gap. And with the field above him full of flawed candidates and gaffe potential, the former ambassador may be able to crawl through the early campaign minefield unscathed and become a player in this contest.
Current Headline: Huntsman Hones a Dovish Foreign Policy Pitch to Republicans

If you are interested in anything else in regards to these rankings, please leave a comment below or email me: zargoflaroche@yahoo.com

Bruins tie series in 4-0 victory

2011-06-09T14:18:00.002-04:00

Boston once again dominated Vancouver with a 4-0 victory in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals Wednesday at TD Garden in Boston.
The best-of-seven series is tied at 2-2 with Game 5 coming Friday night at Rogers Center in Vancouver.
Oh, how the Canucks will be glad to get out of the good ole' USA.
I don't know if it was coincidence, but I think Aaron Rome's hit on Nathan Horton lit a fire in the Bruins.
Since the hit, Boston has outscored Vancouver, 12-1, and made Roberto Luongo look very average. The Bruins chased Luongo Wednesday night.
I don't know if Claude Julien is using different versions of the win one for the Gipper speech or what, but Boston is sure drinking the Kool-Aid.
I don't see much difference in the Bruins' game. They are playing strong defense, going hard to the net and relying on Tim Thomas to be solid.
Boston has carried the play this whole series, however I'm not going to flip flop. I'm sticking with the Canucks.
Vancouver gives the hometown fans something to cheer about with a 4-2 victory in Game 5.

NHL suspends Canucks' Rome

2011-06-07T14:21:00.002-04:00

Vanouver defenseman Aaron Rome was suspended by the NHL Tuesday for his hit on Boston forward Nathan Horton in the Bruins' 8-1 victory Monday night in the Stanley Cup finals.
Rome will be gone for the next four games, and if the finals are completed in less than seven, he will finish his sentence next season.
Rome's hit on Horton left the Bruins winger on the ice for several minutes before being loaded into an ambulance and taken to Massachusetts General Hospital. It was reported during the game that Horton had feeling in his arms and legs, but he will be out for the remainder of the playoffs with a severe concussion.
I applaud the league for stepping up, but when will these acts of "goonism" end? Rome's hit will the big topic concerning the finals on all major sports networks. The NHL is No. 4 in terms of popularity and acceptance in the United States, and some would argue further down that list, and it can't afford to let this happen.
My solution would be stiffer penalties. Three strikes and your out. First offense: Half the season. Second offense: The whole season. Third offense: Find somewhere else to play hockey.
Maybe that's extreme, but something needs to be done.
Rome is no where near as important to the Canucks as Horton is to Boston. I'm not saying he was sent out to do damage, but it's something to ponder.
Vancouver's Alex Burrows started all this in Game 1 with his imfamous bite on the Bruins' Patrice Bergeron and it has escalated from there.
The third period of Monday's game resembled a bar-room brawl on ice than a hockey game. The officials did an excellent job of sending guys off, but it's hard to control that and it just takes one more hard shot before someone is severly injured. And what's not to say that Horton will play again?
Ask Sidney Crosby how tricky concussions are?

Bruins rout Canucks, 8-1

2011-06-07T14:01:00.002-04:00

Boston exploded for four goals each in the second and third periods to rout Vancouver, 8-1, Monday night in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals at TD Garden in Boston.
The Bruins trail the Canucks, 2-1, in the best-of-seven series with Game 4 scheduled for Wednesday night in Boston.
Tim Thomas stopped 40 shots, but was a bit overshadowed by the scraps and goals.
Following Aaron Rome's devastating hit on Nathan Horton, I will delve into that situation in another post, the Bruins took over with four goals in the second.
Boston's Andrew Ference opened the scoring 11 seconds into the second. Mark Recchi followed that up with a power-play goal at 4:22.
With Vancouver on a power play and a chance to get back in the game, Brad Marchand scored a short-handed goal to give Bruins a 3-0 lead at 11:30 of the second.
David Krejci capped of the second with a goal at 15:47 and Boston held a 4-0 lead at going into the third.
The third saw the Bruins add another short-handed goal before the Canucks' Jannik Hansen beat Thomas at 13:53 of the third and a 5-1 Boston lead.
The Bruins scored three more goals, however, and the game turned into a bar-room brawl on ice. Punches were thrown, Alex Burrows was taunted by Milan Lucic to take a bite out of him and scoring champ Daniel Sedin was sent to the showers early with a game misconduct. Ryan Kesler also had an early shower.
I'm sure I'm missing somebody, but there were about seven players left on the bench at game's end.
After playing stellar in the first two games, Vancouver looked vunerable. They committed stupid penalties, got beat to loose pucks and didn't show the determination it takes to win a Stanley Cup. I'm still going with the Canucks to win Games 4 and 5, but it won't be easy. Roberto Luongo was sub-par at best. He gave up some easy goals.
If Boston wins Game 4, who knows, but they were definitely the better team in Game 3. For what it's worth, the Bruins hold a 10-5 lead in aggregate scoring.
Vancouver and Luongo come back strong with a 2-1 victory in Game 4.

Canucks take 2-0 series lead

2011-06-05T15:29:00.002-04:00

Ironically, it was Vancouver's Alex Burrows that scored the game-winning goal 11 seconds to overtime for a 3-2 victory over Boston in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals Saturday night at Rogers Center in Vancouver.
Vancouver holds a 2-0 series lead. Game 3 is Monday in Boston at 8 p.m. EST.
The Bruins held a 2-1 lead before the Canucks' Daniel Sedin tied it midway through the third.
I will give the edge to Boston in Game 3. I like the Bruins in a 4-3 victory.

Game 2 is pivitol for Boston

2011-06-04T12:46:00.002-04:00

I won't say it's over if Boston loses Game 2, overcoming 0-2 deficits in the Stanley Cup playoffs aren't unheard of, however the Bruins need to beat Vancouver tonight if they want to win this series.
The Canucks are dangerous because they can win games in many different ways. For instance, they edged Boston, 1-0, in Game 1 after Raffi Torres scored with less than 20 seconds to go. Wednesday's game was the type of game the Bruins like to play and Vancouver still pulled it out.
The Canucks don't mind getting in a high scoring affair. They feature the better power play, even though they didn't score in Game 1 with the man advantage, and can play that finesse game. Boston can score, but it is more capable of scoring dirty goals.
Vancouver is not afraid to mix it up, either.
With all due respect to the Bruins, I don't think this will be a close finals. The Canucks are too good.
That said, if Tim Thomas can keep standing on his head, Boston might have a chance to make this series competitve.
Vancouver takes a 3-2 victory in Game 2 tonight.

No punishment for Canucks' Burrows

2011-06-02T19:02:00.002-04:00

Vancouver's Alex Burrows will not be disciplined by the NHL for allegedly biting the gloved hand of Boston's Patrice Bergeron Wednesday during Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals.
The two were in a scuffle at the end of the first period, when, according to Burrows, Bergeron put his fingers in his mouth.
Bergeron said he isn't worried about the decision, and Burrows claims he didn't bite him, even though Bergeron had two get his fingers looked at.
I said it in a previous post and I'll say it again. Burrows should be suspended for one game. Biting, sucker punches and below the belt shots are out of line.
The NHL once again shows its inconsistency in regards to disciplining its players.
If I'm Bergeron, the best way to get back at Burrows is score a goal in Game 2 and lead his team to victory.

Vancouver wins Game 1 on Torres' late goal

2011-06-02T14:36:00.002-04:00

It took nearly 60 minutes, but Vancouver got the only goal it needed when Raffi Torres scored with 18.5 seconds remaining in the third period for a 1-0 victory Wednesday night in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals at Rogers Center in Vancouver.
Jannik Hansen took a pass from Ryan Kesler, who made Bruins goalie Tim Thomas challenge a would-be shot due to a 2-on-1 situation, and fired the puck to Torres for the easy one timer. Thomas had no chance on the play.
Kesler made an exceptional play to chip the puck past the Boston defense and stay onsides in the process.
Thomas was great, stopping 33 shots and was 18.5 seconds from posting 120 minutes of shutout goaltending, but Roberto Luongo was a tad better.
Luongo made 36 saves for his third shutout this postseason and was the game's No. 1 star. Thomas was No. 2 and Torres 3.
The game was a tight, defensive battle with some chippy moments. Vancouver's Alex Burrows appeared to bite the gloved finger of Boston's Patrice Bergeron during a scuffle after the first-period buzzer.
As of this writing, nothing has been addressed to whether Burrows will be punished. I believe a one-game suspension is warranted.
Failures on the power play were another story as neither team scored with the man advantage. Both teams were 0-for-6, and the Bruins failed to score on a lengthy 5-on-3 in the early stages of the second period.
This victory is very encouraging for the Canucks. A low-scoring, tight checking game is more suited for the Bruins. They score many goals by putting the puck on net with traffic. I don't think Boston needs to change anything for Game 2, however it has to score on the power play and keep Vancouver from scoring with the man advantage. They accomplished one part of that in Game 1.
Unfortunately for the Bruins, I don't see the Canucks' PP being held down again in this series.
Game 2 is Saturday and I give the edge to Vancouver, 3-2.

Stanley Cup Finals: Game One

2011-06-02T07:28:00.005-04:00

The NHL yesterday announced that Colin Campbell will be stepping down as the head of supplemental discipline. He will be replaced in that role to begin next season by former player Brenden Shanahan, but it is expected that some sort of committee, with Shanahan at its head, will be established to review incidents that take place during games and try to establish some consistency and order to what has been a murky and seemingly random process of fines and suspensions.

The 1st game of the Stanley Cup finals gave us another example of an event that will fall under Shanahan's jurisdiction next season, as the Vancouver Canucks Alex Burrows took a bite out of the Boston Bruins Patrice Bergeron at the end of a hard hitting 1st period. The decision if Burrows will face a suspension for this act will actually fall upon the desk of Mike Murphy. Campbell has recused himself from all incidents in the Finals as his son, Gregory, plays for the Bruins. I hope no emails leak out with Campbell trying to influence his underling.

Outside of the dental related controversies, Game One was a solid defensive struggle between two teams both trying to establish physical dominance while maintaining solid defensive systems. The game remained tied at 0-0 until Raffi Torres finally got the 1st and only goal of the game with 18 seconds left to play in the final period, cancelling out what seemed to be an inevitable overtime duel. It was the latest game winner in the Stanley Cup Finals since 1992, when Mario Lemieux scored with 13 seconds left in the 3rd to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 1-0 series lead against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Both goalies played fabulously, Roberto Luongo will get the shutout for the record books, but I would say that Tim Thomas actually played better and had to make some tougher saves through the course of the game. This is the 3rd time this postseason Luongo and his Canucks have launched a series with a game one shutout.

“I thought we were going to play all night the way it was going,” Luongo said. “It was an exciting way to start the series. It was such a close game. It could have gone either way, a flip of the coin.”

When Torres scored it was the first goal Tim Thomas had allowed in 128 minutes of play, having shutout the Tampa Lighting in game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Thomas and the Bruins got no help at all from their powerplay, going 0 for 5 with the man advantage, including a futile extended 5 on 3 in the 2nd period.

Last night was the kind of game Boston needs to win to have a chance in this series. Dropping a close game out of the gates like that hurts, and the game one winner has gone on to win the series 77% of the time in the Stanley Cup Finals. If Boston can steal one on the road Saturday night they will have a good chance going home. It will be a long cross-continent flight down in a 2-0 hole if they don't.

Cup finals begin Wednesday

2011-05-31T18:41:00.004-04:00

Boston will make the very long trip to Vancouver for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals that begin Wednesday at 8 p.m.
The Canucks will make a statement with a 4-2 victory. The Sedin twins will continue to dominate and Ryan Kesler will have a breakout game. Hernik and Daniel set up their teammates with such precision passing.
If Vancouver gets on the power play, look out. The Bruins have a solid penalty kill, but the Canucks' PP is too strong. Their unit is the best in the NHL.
Roberto Luongo is a much better goalie than Tim Thomas, and he's hungry to finally shut up his critics who keep reminding him about his past playoff failures.
Thomas is definitely an easy guy to root for, although Boston is likely to come down off its high after such a tough series with Tampa Bay.
After struggling in its first-round series against Chicago, Vancouver has looked mighty impressive in knocking off Nashville in six games and San Jose in five.
The key for the Bruins is to stay out of the penalty box, keep getting the puck on net and creating traffic. Nathan Horton has been outstanding in these playoffs. Thomas needs to play out of his mind for Boston to succeed.
The frequent-flier miles will add up in this series as the teams and media members will travel roughly 2,000 miles each trip.
It's probably best to follow it on TV, unless you're rich. I'm not, so I'll be parked in front of the tube Wednesday at 8 p.m. EST.
Enjoy.

RIP Atlanta Thrashers 1999-2011

2011-05-31T09:31:00.003-04:00

We were holding out hope for a struggling American Hockey Market with a piss poor ownership situation, having lived through such times ourselves. But it is now official; the Atlanta Thrashers will be bought by True North Sports and Entertainment with the intention of relocating the Franchise to Winnipeg.

A press conference has been schedule for 11:00 AM today (Winnipeg Time), and reports are that Gary Bettman is flying out to Winnipeg for the announcement. Something tells me he wouldn’t be going out to the prairies of Central Canada on the precipice of the Stanley Cup finals for a social engagement.

The league owners will have to vote on June 21st to confirm the purchase by True North and approve the move, but that is just a formality at this point. My regards to the true Atlanta Hockey fans and congratulations to the folks in Winnipeg. Check this out for my take on what division realignment may look like.

My gut feeling

2011-05-28T13:37:00.003-04:00

I will delve more into this series next week, due to the fact that Game 1 won't be played until Wednesday.
I'm going with Vancouver over Boston in five games.
The Canucks' Ryan Kesler will win the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP.
Face-off for Game 1 is scheduled for 8 p.m. The game will be broadcast on NBC.

Boston to make first finals appearance since '90

2011-05-28T13:01:00.004-04:00

Boston edged Tampa Bay, 1-0, Friday night in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals in Boston.
The Bruins' will face Vancouver in the Stanley Cup finals. Game 1 is Wednesday in Vancouver at 8 p.m. on NBC for those of us in the states. CBC and RDS will also carry the game. Boston, winners of two Stanley Cups in 1970 and 1972, are heading to the finals for the first time since 1990, while the Canucks are in their third finals appearance, and first since 1994.
Boston's Nathan Horton scored the game's only goal at 12:27 of the third period on a tip-in off a David Krejci pass past the Lightning's Dwayne Roloson, who made 37 saves. Andrew Ference had the secondary assist. Ference said the Bruins' had used it as a set play to break Tampa Bay's 1-3-1 trap, and it worked.
Horton was tabbed the No. 1 star, while Boston goalie Tim Thomas was the No. 2 star with 24 saves in a shutout. Roloson was the third star, as voted on by the media.
Although only one goal was scored, the game was exciting from the first face-off. Pierre, Edzo and Doc repeatedly stated that it's a shame someone had to lose, and I'm inclined to agree with them.
Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos showed plenty of character after returning from a puck to the nose. Thank God he was wearing a visor. Stamkos will have some work done.
Stamkos had only one shot, was a minus-one, but was on the ice for 18:57 and showed how bad he wanted to help his team. Stamkos' effort is what playoff hockey is all about.
Referees Dan O'Halloran and Steven Walkom let the players decide the game as no penalties were called. Usually the refs get blamed, but I think they made the right decision. I did see some penalties occur, but nothing blatant, and the guys in the stripes deserve to be congratulated.
The Bruins outshot the Lightning 38-24, and had a 15-9 advantage in the first. They put 14 shots on Roloson in the second, compared to 8 for Tampa Bay and had a 9-7 edge in the third.
Roloson had the tougher task than Thomas, in my opinion. Thomas was the second star because he won, but Roloson was very good. He stopped a breakaway and made far more tough saves than Thomas.
Take nothing away from Thomas, he put himself in good position and made the routine stops.
Boston kept putting the pressure on and had the puck in Tampa Bay's zone for lengthy periods of time using a strong cycle.
The Lightning had some good opportunities and my gut feeling was their were going to score late on a fluky goal, but the Bruins got the late goal, however, it was not fluky.
NOTES: Boston captain Zdeno Chara didn't touch the Prince of Wales Trophy, but had all his teammates and coaches gather around for a picture. For what it's worth, the Bruins seemed to be more amped up than the Canucks. Martin St. Louis and Tim Thomas, former college teammates, shared an embrace.

Tampa Bay forces Game 7

2011-05-26T12:23:00.003-04:00

Although I didn't get to watch it, Tampa Bay beat Boston, 5-4, in Game 6 Wednesday night at the Saint Pete Times Forum to force Game 7.
The decisive game will be played Friday in Boston.
Since I wasn't able to see the game, I don't have too much to say about it, but I will make a few points regarding the Lightning.
They keep battling back, and I wouldn't be surprised if they won Game 7. Dwayne Roloson had a sup-par performance, although he picked up the victory. I had them losing in the first and second rounds, but they proved me wrong. I did say they would win this series, although I didn't think they would pull it out after falling behind 3-2.
I'm going to go back to my original pick. Tampa Bay wins 4-2 in Game 7 to make its second trip to the Stanley Cup finals.

NHL conference finals update

2011-05-24T18:18:00.003-04:00

Tim Thomas put his stick where his mouth was and led Boston to a 3-1 victory over Tampa Bay in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals Monday in Boston.
Thomas made the save of the playoffs with the Bruins up 2-1 when he was clearly beaten, but got back to stop Steve Downie with about 11 minutes left.
Thomas said he was a tad lucky, but I'll say it was skill.
The Bruins goalie stated to Pierre McGuire after the game that his words were taken out of context when he guarenteed Boston would win the series. I don't know about that. Just don't say things like that, and you won't have to worry about it. I can't find fault when members of the media print, tape or discuss certain things. The guarantee is getting old, though.
These guys are professionals, but so are the writers and announcers. A good journalist will use those quotes in his/her story, or hear from their editor. I'm speaking from experience. Maybe you look sleazy, but it's the nature of the business. That's just how it goes. Okay, I'll get off my soapbox. Back to the game.
I won't count out the Lightning just yet. I've predicted them to lose in the first two series, and they proved me wrong. I had them beating Boston, but I don't know now. We'll see.
I don't understand starting Mike Smith in favor of Dwayne Roloson. Maybe if Tampa Bay had lost Game 4. Smith played well, and I don't think he had much to do with the loss. The Bruins' goals were well placed and I doubt it would have made much difference if Roloson was in goal. I just don't get the change in Game 5 of the conference finals.
I will give the edge to Boston in Game 6. Thomas will make just enough saves for a 3-2 Bruins' win.
As for the Western Conference finals, Vancouver has been the better team all series long, and will win Game 5 tonight, 4-2.
The Sedin twins are playing great, Ryan Kesler is the best two-way center in the game, and Roberto Luongo is playing like a Vezina finalist.
San Jose has played beyond expectations in these playoffs for the first time in its existence, but the Sharks will be hitting the links tomorrow.
Enjoy the games.

No Debate on PATRIOT ACT in Senate

2011-05-24T12:07:00.003-04:00

The US Senate did something it rarely does today. Both parties agreed to swiftly end debate and bring a bill up for a yes/no vote without getting wrapped up in deliberation and amendments. Cloture was brought to end debate on a bill to extend provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act (including the portion that authorizes roaming wiretaps) that were set to expire if no action was taken by Friday.

In a 74-8 vote; with 18 being too afraid, lazy, or corrupt to participate, a bipartisan supermajority with the support of leadership in both parties voted to extend the all out assault on privacy and civil liberties that has been going on in this Country for nearly a decade.

I would like to take the time to personally extend my thanks and gratitude to the 8 brave Senators who stood up to power and party in boldly voting no, the rest of the lot today acted like traitors and cowards.

The 8 NO Votes:

Max Baucus and Jon Tester of Montana

Rand Paul of Kentucky

Mark Begich and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska

Dean Heller of Nevada

Jeff Merkley of Oregon

Bernie Sanders of Vermont

These men and women, 4 Democrats, 3 Republicans, and 1 Socialist deserve our support and admiration. And of course we must also take the time to remember former Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, who voted against the original heinous bill and no doubt would have once again authentically stood up for liberty if he hadn’t been so unfairly smeared and steamrolled out of the Senate in the 2010 Wave.

Realigned NHL Divisions with Winnipeg?

2011-05-23T14:04:00.001-04:00

Realigned NHL Divisions with Winnipeg?
As I said here, don’t throw assume Atlanta is done yet.
But let’s just say for a moment that the deal between Atlanta Spirit and True North Entertainment does whisk away hockey back to the Manitoban Plains, how would the NHL adjust its divisions to accommodate such a move? Chances are we will either get a lame duck team in Atlanta this year, or have the absurdity of City on the same longitude of Lincoln, Nebraska being in the Southeast.
But starting in the 2012-13 season you have to imagine the NHL would alter its divisions for reduced travel cost and more natural geographic rivalries. What will such a league look like? Let’s take a stab at a few options here, just for fun.

The “Easy” Path
The most simple way to handle realignment would be to move Winnipeg into the Central Division of the Western Conference and switch Nashville into the empty spot from the Southeast. That would be geographical, logical and create the least amount of waves.

The “Traditionalist” Path
There was a time in hockey where each division sent 4 teams into the playoffs and the first two rounds were heated inter-divisional play. How could that work with 30 teams? Here is how I would see it happening with one 7 and one 8 team division in each conference. Playoff teams based on last years point totals are in bold. This setup would leave room for two more expansion teams (Quebec and Seattle anyone?)to eventually round the league off at four 8-team division, with exactly half making the playoffs. While going back to the traditional Conference titles, the league should also return to the home teams wearing white.

Wales Conference

Patrick Division
Washington Capitals
Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins
Nashville Predators
New York Rangers
Carolina Hurricanes
New Jersey Devils
New York Islanders

Adams Division
Boston Bruins
Tampa Bay Lightning
Montreal Canadians
Buffalo Sabres
Toronto Maple Leafs
Ottawa Senators
Florida Panthers

Campbell Conference

Norris Division
Detroit Redwings
Chicago Blackhawks
Dallas Stars
St. Louis Blues
Minnesota Wild
Columbus Blue Jackets
Winnipeg Jets

Smythe Division
Vancouver Canucks
San Jose Sharks
Anaheim Ducks
Phoenix Coyotes
Los Angeles Kings
Calgary Flames
Colorado Avalanche
Edmonton Oilers

A Truly Radical Approach
This would really shake things up quite a bit. It would make no sense in terms of the history of the game and a lot of traditional rivalries and Conference affiliations would be broken up, but it would certainly be something new and exciting.

Eastern Conference

Northeast
Boston Bruins
Montreal Canadians
New York Rangers
New Jersey Devils
New York Islanders

Great Lakes
Detroit Redwings
Chicago Blackhawks
Ottawa Senators
Buffalo Sabres
Toronto Maple Leafs

Mid-Atlantic
Washington Capitals
Philadelphia Flyers
Tampa Bay Lightning
Carolina Hurricanes
Florida Panthers

Western Conference

Central Division
Pittsburgh Penguins
Nashville Predators
Dallas Stars
St. Louis Blues
Columbus Blue Jackets

Northwest
Phoenix Coyotes
Calgary Flames
Minnesota Wild
Winnipeg Jets
Edmonton Oilers

Pacific Division
Vancouver Canucks
San Jose Sharks
Anaheim Ducks
Los Angeles Kings
Colorado Avalanche

Down With the Sickness

2011-05-23T11:32:00.001-04:00

Anti-American sentiment is not a fictional occurrence. Many people in many nations throughout the world harbor ill-will towards the United States and it's citizens for any number of reasons. Last week, Dominique Strauss Kahn (DSK), a French politician and Director of the IMF was arrested in New York City on sexual assault allegations. The crime that is being attributed to DSK is one of a disgusting, humiliating, and degrading nature. This is also not his first time being accused of such a heinous crime, however guilt is hard to pin in he-said, she-said occurrences and that goes for both accuser and the accused. According the BBC and some French media outlets, the US media is the entity being put on trial, though. Apparently, the photos of Kahn's arrest do not sit well with the French and their Anti-American sentiments are awakening from a brief hibernation. They do not like photographing people who still await trial. They deem it to be brutal and inhumane.They have no problem photographing people who are famous, engaging them in a high speed car chase, putting them in extreme peril, and ultimately causing their death. But taking a picture of an alleged criminal after his booking before his official trial is taboo.

I don't know if it is merely their hate for all things American or the fact that sexual assault is merely a seduction tactic in France, but I think the Frenchmen denouncing the US media's tactics should take a look at their own pot before calling our kettle black. I will never deny that the American media is lacking in more ways than one. However, the overseas reaction to the DSK arrest seems to be spawned more from a sick sense of Nationalistic pride from a spineless nation of whiners who never hesitate to come knocking when their soil is endangered. America is not a perfect nation, not by the wildest stretch of the imagination, any American will tell you there are things they don't like about our fair nation. But hating just to hate is a whole other story.

The French are so quick to criticize every move made by the Americans because they have a preconceived notion that they are better than everyone else. Ironically, citizens of many other nations would say the same thing about Americans and wouldn't be too far off base. Nationalistic pride is nothing to be ashamed of. But when the line is blurred between right and wrong, when people are taking sides blindly based on your passport's origin, it may be time to take a step back and look at the facts.

In America, they say you are innocent until proven guilty. Most people know that the trial in the court of public opinion has it's verdict decided long before a prosecutor presents their opening arguments. The Italian media did it to Amanda Knox. The American media has done it to our own citizens countless times. Nobody is innocent of a little bit of dirty journalism thus nobody is fit to point their finger at somebody else for doing the same. Maybe it's the cultural differences, maybe the US and France will never see eye to eye. Everybody has their day in court and DSK will get his, too. The outcome of his trial should be an interesting one since he was believed by many to be a favorite in France's 2012 Presidential election and has already resigned his post as head of the IMF.

I will leave you with this: Imagine an American politician being accused of sexually assaulting a woman in France. Would the French media be as kind as they suggest?

Special teams carry Vancouver past San Jose for 4-2 win in Game 4

2011-05-22T18:22:00.003-04:00

Vancouver used three power-play goals on three 5-on-3 opportunities in Sunday's 4-2 victory over San Jose in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals at the HP Pavillion in San Jose.
Henrik Sedin scored on one of the 5-on-3's while Sami Salo had the other two goals. The Canucks went up 4-0 before the Sharks added two late tallies, but couldn't complete the comeback. Daniel Sedin had four assists.
San Jose didn't fare well on the power play as it was 0-for-5 midway through the second period when Vancouver took over.
Anttii Neimi had a poor game after playing decent in Game 3. I doubt the Sharks have anything left.
Special teams proved to be pretty important.

Should Tampa Bay stick with Roloson?

2011-05-21T22:07:00.003-04:00

After being pulled in Games 2 and 4, do you think Tampa Bay should start Dwayne Roloson in Game 5? I say yes. Stick with your starter, but keep him on a short leash. If he struggles early, go with Mike Smith.
Please give me your opinions.

Smith comes on in relief

2011-05-21T22:00:00.004-04:00

Mike Smith came out of the bullpen Saturday and led Tampa Bay to a 5-3 victory over Boston in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals at Tampa.
The series is tied at 2-2 with Game 5 coming in Boston, not that home-ice advantage has helped in these playoffs.
Although I missed the game, trying to apply for another job can be rough, I liked how Smith was able to come on and save the day for Tampa.
The Lightning have shown so much resiliency this postseason, it is hard to go against them. I believe they will win the next two and close out the series.
In the West finals, San Jose held off Vancouver for a 4-3 victory in Game 3. The Canucks are still my favorites to win the Cup. They will win Game 4 before closing out the series at home.
The Stanley Cup finals should be interesting. I guess it will not be a popular matchup if its Tampa Bay-Vancouver, but that looks like the case.
I think it would be an intriguing series. A young up-and-coming team, with the exception of the goalie, against a talented team that is notorious for choking in the playoffs.
Should be exciting.

Deal to Extend PATRIOT Act in Place

2011-05-20T23:45:00.000-04:00

A deal is supposedly in place between John Boehner in the House and Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell in the Senate to extend the provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act that allow for roving wiretaps, document seizures, and roaming surveillance of the American Public for another 4 years.

The Obama Administration has continued to ask for extension of the extraordinary powers that the Bush Administration got rammed through congress in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks on the United States.

Attorney General Eric Holder is actually on record as wanting to see these provisions become permanent: "We believe, I believe, it is absolutely essential that these expiring provisions be reauthorized. We never want to see these acts, these provisions, expire. The fact that they have sunset, period, and requiring us to come back periodically to get them reauthorized, is not helpful to us ... We need certainty. Our prosecutors, our investigators, need certainty in that regard ... So my hope is that these provisions are reauthorized for as long as we possibly can. If they were extended permanently, that is not something we would be opposed to."

If any Tea Party folks are out there reading this, please explain to me why this is overlooked as an acceptable intrusion into Liberty in the name of Security, but the Democratic Healthcare Bill is such a fundamental threat to your Freedom as an American that you need to take such drastic action?

I've read both bills all the way through, I can tell you that 'Obamacare' is not 1/100th times as onerous to me as the PATRIOT Act.

And for you folks on the Left: why was it only an intrusion on your privacy when it was the Bush Administration peeking in on your library records, but Obama gets a near universal pass for refusing to relinquish the same powers of surveillance?

There is almost total silence on this issue from both sides of the political noise factory. Why is this issue not at debate in a time when nearly all else is?

Don’t Throw Dirt on Atlanta Just Yet

2011-05-20T12:07:00.004-04:00

The reports of the demise of the Atlanta Thrasher’s hockey franchise may have been exaggerated. Upholding the always vigorous journalistic standards of Canadian sports media, Stephen Brunt of the Globe and Mail penned a piece of rubbish that sent jubilant Manitobans into the streets last night.

While the future of the Thrashers certainly does look bleak and full of questions, so did the long term survival of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Nashville Predators, and Phoenix Coyotes within the past few seasons. It may very well be true that this is the end for Atlanta hockey, but it is just as likely that somebody will come along and save this situation from ‘the brink’.

The Canadian sports media loves to pile on about attendance problems in Southern US markets and stoke the fires of possible relocation and Northward migration of any team that appears vulnerable at the moment. None of the underlying factors have changed however in the past few days. The NHL is dedicated as it ever has been to keep as large of a US footprint as possible for corporate support and TV money.

Here are the two ‘big picture’ numbers that matter most to the league:
US Gross GDP, 14.119 Trillion
Canadian Gross GDP, 1.336 Trillion

I don’t doubt Winnipeg’s passion for hockey, not one bit. But they would, by far, be the smallest market in the league in terms of population, corporate base to draw from, and media market size. It is certainly a possible move for the league, but it is one that they will think long and hard about, as they should. Careful deliberation and not rampant fanboy speculation is what is going to drive this process going forward.

I would like to take this chance to also give a shout-out to one of my all time favorite hockey bloggers, The Falconer at Bird Watchers Anonymous at this time of uncertainty about the future of his beloved team. Trust me, I’ve been there before, and it sucks. I don’t wish this situation of your team possibly moving on anybody.

Canucks take 2-0 series lead

2011-05-19T13:06:00.004-04:00

Vancouver exploded in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals with a 7-3 victory over San Jose Wednesday in Vancouver.
The Canucks hold a 2-0 series lead, and are looking very strong at this point.
The Sedin twins started to show just how good they are on a national stage. Ryan Keslar is also an impressive defensive foward, and has the ability to score big-time goals.
What impresses me the most about Vancouver is how its adjusts to any style. The Canucks can play a tight, defensive game and they can win a high-scoring game, too.
Roberto Luongo had a good, not great, game Wednesday, but you don't need to play lights out when your team scores a touchdown.
The Sharks have the ability to bounce back, and have shown resilience in these playoffs after winning Game 7 against Detroit and rallying from way down to beat Los Angeles in the first round.
Anttii Niemi has won a Cup and I believe he will play better in Game 3.
If San Jose can win Game 3, I believe this series could be competitive, but if Vancouver wins, it can sweep the series.
Enjoy Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals tonight. I like Tampa Bay, 5-3.

Bruins tie series

2011-05-18T16:11:00.003-04:00

Boston scored five goals in the second period en route to a 6-5 victory over Tampa Bay Tuesday in the Eastern Conference finals at Boston.
The Lightning jumped out to an early 1-0 lead before the Bruins tied the game at one. Tampa Bay scored in the last minute of the first to take a 2-1 lead into intermission.
The Bruins responded by scoring three goals in the early stage of the second for a 4-2 lead with two goals by Tyler Seguin and a goal by David Krejci.
Seguin wasn't even supposed to play in the this series, but a concussion to Patrice Bergeron has inserted the 19-year-old into the lineup.
Tampa Bay cut the lead to 4-3 on a goal by Vincent Lecavalier, but two goals by the Bruins' Michael Ryder put the home team up 6-3 heading into the third.
Dwayne Roloson was pulled after the second, which was his first bad game of the playoffs, and Steven Stamkos and Dominic Moore scored to cut the deficit to one, although Boston was able to hold off the Lightning.
Although he gave up five, Tim Thomas made 36 saves for Boston, including several breakaway chances in the second.
The Bruins also won the special teams battle by going 2-for-6 on the power play and allowing only one goal against Tampa Bay's vaunted PP.
That said, I still like the Lightning to win Games 3 and 4 at home before closing out the series in Boston.

Conference finals update

2011-05-17T14:18:00.006-04:00

I don't know if the Stanley Cup playoffs are lacking sizzle or what, but I don't hear too much about it. Maybe it's because the Penguins are out. Besides hardcore sports fans, most cities don't care once their team is eliminated from the playoffs. Just my opinion.
As of 2:18 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, May 17, 2011, Tampa Bay leads Boston 1-0 in a best-of-seven in the East finals and Vancouver holds a 1-0 series lead over San Jose.
Game 2 of the Lightning-Bruins series will be on tap tonight.
Tampa Bay easily dispatched Boston in the first game, but I believe the Bruins will rebound to win Game 2 if they stay out of the penalty box. In addition, Boston's power play is awful, so five-on-five play is where the Bruins will flourish. Tim Thomas needs to outplay Dwayne Roloson, too. I guess a bunch of things have to go right for Boston.
I can't believe how good the Lightning have been in these playoffs.
The Canucks-Sharks series is intriguing. Both teams have been notorious playoff chokers in the past, but one will be in the Stanley Cup finals. San Jose has never made it, while Vancouver lost in its only appearance to the New York Rangers in 1994.
I believe the Canucks are the best team left in these playoffs. They have the offense in the Sedin twins, who haven't played up to their potential, which is scary because they will. Ryan Keslar is a force at both ends of the ice, and will shut down the Sharks' offensive weapons. Roberto Luongo is the best goalie left, and even though he has never been to the Cup finals, he will finally get past his failures in the playoffs.
Anttii Neimi did win a title last year, so he knows what its all about, and Roloson led Edmonton to the finals, which I like for him to do again, but Luongo is going to be the man this year.
He had his rough stretch in the first round, but has rebounded from that, and will be good again Wednesday night in Vancouver.
It's just getting good.
If you so choose to, go out and vote. That's my one political order for the day.

2012 GOP Standings Update: Trump Drops Out

2011-05-16T15:47:00.003-04:00

Another potential leader has dropped out of the 2012 Republican horserace. Before I could finish proof-reading my updated standings from this morning, Donald Trump announced that he would follow Mike Huckabee as the second major candidate in a few days to publically drop out of consideration.
Alot of folks in the media and inside DC never really took Trump's noise about running all too seriously, and although early polling numbers indicated some name recognition advantage and support, Trump never really got serious about laying the groundwork for a grueling primary campaign. It seems like those trips up to New Hampshire and sounding off about Obama's birth certificate and Ivy League qualifications was nothing more then another publicity stunt by 'The Donald.'
I'm not going to re-rank the entire list again for the nomination, just assume everyone else below Trump has bumped up a spot, and slide former Ambassador to China John Huntsman into the 10 spot. The big 3 now consists of Romney, Palin, and Gingrich for those still in consideration. All three have major flaws though, so the door is now WIDE open for a darkhorse to grab the public (and Tea Party) imagination.

2012 GOP Nomination Standings, Week 3

2011-05-16T11:54:00.007-04:00

With potential unifying frontrunner, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee dropping out of consideration for the 2012 Republican Nomination for President of the United States, the race just got blown wide open. Who will benefit most from Huckabee dropping out? We have a new list of rankings and news stories below. Click here to view last week’s standings for comparison if you are interested in how this race has unfolded thus far.
I’ll be keeping the trend and the updated stories surrounding the candidates, if you are interested in anything else for these rankings please leave a comment below or email me: zargoflaroche@yahoo.com

1) Mitt Romney Trending Even (Last Week: 2)- With Huckabee dropping out, Romney reclaims his mantle as fatally flawed front runner. As Governor of Massachusetts, Romney signed a healthcare law similar to Obama’s with a mandate and voucher system. Evangelicals don’t trust Romney’s Mormon faith, and Fiscal Conservatives are skeptical as well. These are two crucial blocs that will be out in force in the 2012 primaries. He will not run well in Iowa or South Carolina in the early primaries, so he absolutely must win New Hampshire and try to parlay that into some sort of momentum. If Florida manages to get all its delegates seated due to its defiance of the established primary order, Romney has a chance to score a big victory there. It is a pretty tight needle for Romney to thread,and he is looking more and more like 2012's Rudy Giuliani
Headline: Why Romney's Authenticity Problem Won't Go Away

2) Sarah Palin Trending Up (Last Week: 3)- It is Palin who stands to benefit most from Huckabee’s exit, she now takes on the role of the candidate most likely to unite social and fiscal conservatives. If she is going to make a run, I feel she has wisely chosen to stay out of the headlines and in the background of this early speculation. When she is ready to jump in, she will do so headfirst and nobody in this field can move the needle as a fundraiser and garner as much media attention as Palin can.
Headline: Sarah Palin Supporters Dance On The Grave Of Mike Huckabee’s 2012 Presidential Run

3) Donald Trump Trending Down (Last Week: 4)- The initial buzz about the Real Estate Mogul and Reality TV star has died down, and I will continue to question his credentials and seriousness as a candidate until he does something to prove otherwise. His poll numbers move him up in the rankings by default, but I don’t think those polls will square with reality when, and if, the rubber ever really meets the road on a Trump candidacy.
Headline: Election 2012: Donald Trump Losing Favor Even Before He Enters the Race

4) Newt Gingrich Trending Up (Last Week: 6)- The former House Speaker rounds out the top 4, after which there is a serious drop off in the candidates below this spot. If he can grab the southern white males that Huckabee left behind, there is a chance for him to make a hard charge. His biggest liabilities are his temper and all the residual baggage that comes from his longtime stay in the media spotlight.
Headline: Newt Ditches Mandates Today After Defending Them ... Yesterday

5) Ron Paul Trending Even (Last Week: 5)- Paul will pretty much keep an even keel as an also run candidate. His core supporters are fiercely dedicated him, but he seems to lack the charisma and gumption to move up the ladder. He might be too honest of a man to get a nod at the Presidency. His best case scenario for this race is that his ideas transcend and go farther than his candidacy does.
Headline: Ron Paul: Why The Young Flock To An Old Idealist

6)Rick Santorum Trending Up (Last Week: 9)- If Huckabee’s socially conservative supporters are looking for a new standard bearer, the former Senator from Pennsylvania just might be their man. I’ll be watching closely to see if he scores an uptick in the polls and the underlying numbers as a result of Huck’s exit. If he doesn’t get a bounce, it may be time for him to seriously reconsider if he is a legitimate candidate.
Headline: Back Channels: A chat with Rick Santorum

7)Michelle Bachman Trending Up (Last Week: 8)- The firebrand congresswomen from suburban Minnesota is great at getting her name out there with soundbites. If the Tea Party momentum can swing behind her, she has a good chance to vault ahead into the top of the field at some point.
Headline: Minn. GOP Rep. Bachmann: From school board agitator to tea party hero unsettling 2012 campaign

8)Tim Pawlenty Trending Down (Last Week: 7)-Pawlenty needs to do some serious soul searching if he is to continue on toward the nomination. He needs some issue to rally around and take ownership of. Right now he is just treading water toward the bottom of the field, and is not even doing a good job of that.
Headline: A surprisingly early emphasis for Pawlenty campaign: foreign policy

9) Mitch Daniels Trending Even (Last Week: 10)-The Governor of Indiana is a smart man and good political operative, but can he get his name recognition up there and make enough of a splash to get into serious contention? As acting Governor he may end up taking a hard line on Labor issues in his State in order to garnish his reputation as a Conservative’s Conservative.
Headline: Daniels Vetoes Forfeiture Bill; Unconstitutional

10) Herman Cain Trending Up (Last Week: Unranked)- The conservative talk radio host and former pizza exec. is a Tea Party favorite and scored some strong points in an early Fox News debate, albeit with many of the major players still on the sidelines. He is gaining some momentum however, and it will be interesting to see how far his charge goes and if he registers any points in upcoming polls. Headline: Cain a smash at Georgia GOP convention

Lightning keep on rolling

2011-05-15T14:18:00.004-04:00

After falling behind Pittsburgh 3-1 in the first round, Tampa Bay has won eight straight games, including a 5-2 victory over Boston Saturday night in the Eastern Conference finals.
The Lightning scored three goals in 1:25 and added another power-play goal to surge past the Bruins.
Boston couldn't shut down Tampa Bay's high-powered offense, and it looks like the Lightning could have too much firepower for the Bruins to overcome.
With offensive stars like Steven Stamkos, Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay can defenitely put the puck in the net. Plus, it's 1-3-1 defensive scheme is working just fine and Dwayne Roloson is looking very good.
I believe the Lightning will win this series in five games.

Mike Huckabee is NOT Running

2011-05-15T10:32:00.002-04:00

In an announcement that just blew the 2012 GOP primary wide open, potential front runner, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee has announced that he will not seek the Republican nomination for President of the United States.
Huckabee was leading some early polls and appealed to both fiscal and social conservatives. This has a big impact on the early race and leaves the field wide open. Updated GOP nomination standings will be coming soon.

NHL Conference Finals

2011-05-14T19:28:00.005-04:00

The NHL conference finals are ready to get underway. Here are some previews and predictions.

Prince of Wales (Eastern Conference):
Boston (3) vs Tampa Bay (5)-
Overview: Tampa has answered all questions about their team this postseason and look like real contenders after defeating Pittsburgh in 7 and sweeping Washington. Boston was the best defensive team in the East this year, but does not have any breakout scoring threats. They vanquished their rival Montreal and benefitted from Philadelphia's annual spring goalie implosion to get to this point.
Goalies: All Star Tim Thomas is in net for the Bruins, while 41 year Dwyane Roloson has found a fountain of youth this spring for the Bolts. I'm giving the edge to Tampa in this matchup, I just don't trust Thomas and his unorthodox style to bring the Bruins to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Star Performers:
Boston: Patrice Bergeron leads the Bruins with 2 goals and 10 assists these playoffs. The story behind those numbers are even more impressive, as he has often been matched up against other teams top lines. His health will be a major question, as he is still suffering from a concussion he sustained from a hit by Claude Giroux in the Flyers series. The only skater more important for Boston is their mammoth Defenseman and Captain Zdeno Chara. He has 2 goals and is a team leading +11 in these playoffs. He averages around 28 minutes of ice per game and changes everything for Boston while he is out there.

Tampa: Martin St. Louis has been playing great as always for the Lightning. For a little dude out there, he can change the game just as much as Chara. He has 6 goals and 7 assists thus far in the postseason. His long time partner, Vinnie Lecaviler has been solid as well, with 5 and 7. Sean Bergenheim has netted a surprising 7 goals, playing on the best 3rd line in these playoffs with Dominic Moore. Eric Brewer has opened my eyes with some great two way play from the blueline.

Guys who need to step up:
Boston: Milan Lucic has had a very quiet playoffs. The Bruins are going to need the power forward to make a big impact if they want to halt the Bolts run
Tampa:Ryan Malone has been a solid player for Tampa, but his offensive numbers are lacking. He needs to rise up to lead the Lightning to their 2nd Finals apperance.

Campbell (Western Conference):
Vancouver (1) vs San Jose (2)
-
Overview: Both of these teams have overcome labels as not being able to perform in the playoffs and won game 7's at home after squandering 3 games to None series leads. Both had great regular seasons with talented rosters, and now one will move on to the Stanley Cup Finals, San Jose for the 1st time ever or Vancouver for their 2nd apperance after losing to the Rangers in 1994.

Goalies: Roberto Luongo overcame some shaky play and a surprise benching in the 1st round against Chicago and then outdueled Pikke Rinne against Nashville. He has had great regular seasons and won a gold medal last year, now he looks to complete Vancouver's quest for hockey's Holy Grail. The Sharks meanwhile have last years Cup winning Goalie, Annti Niemi. The Finn may be the difference maker this year between chokers and champs for the guys in teal.

Star Performers:
Vancouver: Ryan Kessler has been all everything for the Nucks so far and leads them with 5 goals and 10 assists. Alex Burrows has provided them with solid depth scoring and great two way play.

San Jose: The young trio of Logan Couture, Ryan Clowe, and Devin Setoguchi are leading the way in scoring for the Sharks. Joe Thorton and Danny Heatly have played better these playoffs then in prior dissapointing years.

Guys who need to step up:
Vancouver: The Sedin twins have been solid, but for the Canucks to get to the next level they really need to take over like they are capable of doing.

San Jose: Patrick Marleau has had a lackluster postseason, for the Sharks to win this he will need to contribute, and show Jeremy Roenick some heart.

Official Blog Predictions-
Lightning over Bruins in 6
Canucks over Sharks in 7

Series predictions so far:
East: 3-3
West: 5-1
Overall: 8-4

Ranking of finals league wants for US TV rating-
1. Boston / San Jose
2. Tampa / San Jose
3. Boston / Vancouver
4. Tampa / Vancouver

Hockey Notes (Crosby still not able to work out, Jagr Shines at Worlds, Red Wings/Sharks ready for game 7)

2011-05-12T14:52:00.002-04:00

*Shelly Anderson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting that Pittsburgh Penguin Captain Sidney Crosby has yet to resume workouts after suffering a setback in his recovery from a concussion suffered in early January. Crosby was skating and practicing with the team up until the reoccurrence of symptoms, which occurred on April 20th.
This is a major concern for both the Penguins, and the NHL as a whole, as the future of one of hockey’s greatest young stars, just coming into the prime of his career, is in serious peril, dealing with a brain injury that we are only beginning to fully understand the long term impact of now in the 21st Century sports world. Hopefully Crosby is able to make a full recovery with rest and begin next season at the same level he was at December 31st, 2010, but with brain matters like this, there are no guarantees.

*Jaromir Jagr’s contract status is unknown for the coming season. He made a statement yesterday at the Hockey World Championships to anyone who was wondering if he had enough left in the tank for a possible NHL return after 3 seasons in the Russian KHL. Jagr scored a hat trick for his Czech squad in eliminating the United States and NHL caliber goalie Ty Conklin 4-0.
One thing I will say for Jagr, he has always been a conditioning freak from when he first came to Pittsburgh in the early 90s and has been a pretty durable player throughout his career. I think even at age 39 he has some game left in the tank, and if rested strategically during some soft spots on the schedule, could really crank it up to another level for a team in the playoffs.
My guess is that it makes sense for #68 to stay in the KHL, the money over there is more than any NHL team would be willing to commit to under the Salary Cap, and is tax free to boot. Money can be a very important thing to the talented Czech winger, who has been verified to have run up at least $1 Million in gambling debts over the course of his career, and for all we it could very well be higher than that.
There is absolutely no logical reason why Jags should want to come back to the NHL for what would most likely be a highly publicized tryout, but the rule of Jagr states that he is just crazy enough that there is about a 2% chance that he will do pretty much anything. And his offensive talents and numbers alone will certainly draw interested suitors, should his whims take him back to North American soil this offseason. It will at least be something interesting to keep track of over the summer.

*Fans of the San Jose Sharks or Detroit Redwings will get an unwanted early start on such offseason speculation after tonight’s game 7 in San Jose. I never remember a series in my lifetime of watching hockey where the clearly better team went down 3 games to Nil in 3 consecutive one goal games, and then stormed back to even the series. I will chalk this one up to the experience and poise of the veteran Detroit squad, but anything can happen in game 7, and often does. Antti Niemi will have to be very good if the Sharks have any chance to pull through and shed the epic choke label that must feel like an anchor around their necks. San Jose has to feel pretty tight right now, and if the bounces don’t go their way early it could easily get out of hand. In any case, it should be a real fun game to watch starting at 9 PM tonight. We will check in tomorrow morning with reaction and hopefully some video highlights from NHL.com.

Heart of a champion

2011-05-11T14:52:00.001-04:00

Whether you love 'em or hate 'em, you have to respect the Detroit Red Wings.
Down 3-0 to San Jose in a best-of-seven, I figured the Red Wings were already on the embalming table.
How wrong I was.
Detroit has responded by winning the last three over the Sharks, the most recent being Tuesday's 3-1 victory, to set up a Game 7 Thursday at the Shark Tank.
The Red Wings were trailing 1-0 in the third period before Henrik Zetterberg and Valtteri Filppula scored two goals 1:54 apart to take a 2-1 lead. An empty netter sealed the win for Detroit.
Jimmy Howard made 24 saves, with only one being spectacular. Take nothing away from Howard, but I think any goalie could play in front of that defense.
The Red Wings' comeback shows their character, and is the complete opposite of the Capitals, who basically gave up after Tampa Bay won the first three.
The "experts" have said in the past the Red Wings are too old, but they don't seem to show it.
A great exampe would be when Detroit played Pittsburgh in the Stanley Cup finals. It defenitely wasn't too old the first time around, and even when the Penguins beat them in seven, it took everything Pittsburgh had.
I will go with the Red Wings in Game 7 with a 2-1 victory.

Canucks move on

2011-05-10T14:01:00.004-04:00

Vancouver is starting to look like the team that won the Presidents' Trophy after it topped Nashville 2-1 Monday night to advance to the Western Conference finals.
The Canucks have proven that they can score, play defense and have one of the best goalies in the league.
Roberto Luongo was sub-par against Chicago in the first round, but rebounded quite well against the Predators.
However, Nashville isn't an offensive machine, and whether it's San Jose or Detroit in the next round for Vancouver, both teams have more firepower than Nashville.
After falling behind the Sharks 3-0, the Red Wings have made it a series and Game 6 is tonight at Joe Louis Arena. If Detroit can pull off the second 3-0 comeback in as many years, it would be my favorite to win the whole thing.
I just don't see it happening. San Jose is too good to drop four in a row. It will win tonight, 4-3.
I did pick the Red Wings to go deep, but that shows my lack of knowledge on the whole thing. Then again, maybe I'll look like a genius.
I'm still going with the Sharks tonight. Then, the Canucks will get to the Stanley Cup finals and give Canada its first title since 1993.
Thank God.

The Weight

2011-05-10T09:19:00.001-04:00

Take a load off Corbett, and you can put that load right on me.

PA governor Tom Corbett has vowed not to raise state taxes, to reduce spending, eliminate a deficit, turn water into wine, lower corporate taxes, layoff employees, and yet somehow increase the commonwealth's tax revenues. Changing water into wine might actually be the most doable of the group after the layoffs.

Many level-headed people have noted that reducing the number of individuals employed while also reducing corporate taxes is probably NOT going to lead to an increase in tax revenue. Just doing a simple bit of associative math, it seems more than probable such a policy would fail. Less People paying Taxes + Plus less Tax Revenue from Corporations= More Tax Revenue? I don't need to be an accountant to tell you that kind of math simply doesn't add up.

So now, for at least the second time in less than 7 days, another Western PA municipality is announcing their plan to raise property taxes in order to offset the cut in state aid to their school districts. So while Corporate Corbett may be right that he personally did not raise state taxes, these local hikes are a not too distant product of his slash and burn education budget.

The same schools that were good enough for his own two children to attend are now left to be the bad guy while he bathes in gas drilling money at the gubernatorial mansion.

Redemption for Boston

2011-05-07T14:38:00.003-04:00

The Bruins didn't give Philadelphia any chance to come back in their Eastern Conference semifinals series Friday.
Boston beat the Flyers, 5-1, to sweep the series and move onto the conference finals against Tampa Bay.
The Bruins added two empty-net goals for good measure. Boston didn't want any miracle comeback.
It was just one year ago that Philadelphia came back from being down 3-0 to beat the Bruins in the a conference semifinals matchup. It didn't happen this year.
I did pick the Flyers to win this series before, although their lackluster goaltending proved costly.
The conference finals will feature Boston and Tampa Bay. I'm going to go with the Lightning in 6. They are playing really well, and should continue.
Tim Thomas and the Bruins' defense has been tremendous, but Tampa Bay has strong blue liners and Dwayne Roloson has taken an underdog to the finals before when he led Edmonton to the Stanley Cup finals.
The Lightning have won seven straight, however Boston will take Game 1.

AP IMPACT: CEO pay exceeds pre-recession level

2011-05-06T12:23:00.008-04:00

CEO's are now making more then they where in 2007, the year before the Great Recession hit. Unemployment however is still double what it was back then. And that is not including those Working Class Americans who took actual paycuts or found lesser work to keep feeding and housing their families while the richest of the rich climbed their way back comfortably, right back into their fatcat seats.

Stories like this can just make you sick with rage. Remember things like this when we hear talk about how 'raising taxes on the rich will only hurt the economy.' After all the misguided harm these bastards have done, they are making more, and not paying one red cent more in taxes, while the rest of the Country SUFFERS for their mistakes.

By RACHEL BECK, AP Business Writer Rachel Beck, Ap Business Writer – Fri May 6, 8:36 am ET
NEW YORK – In the boardroom, it's as if the Great Recession never happened.

CEOs at the nation's largest companies were paid better last year than they were in 2007, when the economy was booming, the stock market set a record high and unemployment was roughly half what it is today.

The typical pay package for the head of a company in the Standard & Poor's 500 was $9 million in 2010, according to an analysis by The Associated Press using data provided by Equilar, an executive compensation research firm. That was 24 percent higher than a year earlier, reversing two years of declines.

Executives were showered with more pay of all types — salaries, bonuses, stock, options and perks. The biggest gains came in cash bonuses: Two-thirds of executives got a bigger one than they had in 2009, some more than three times as big.

CEOs were rewarded because corporate profits soared in 2010 as the economy gradually got stronger and companies continued to cut costs. Profit for the companies in the AP analysis rose 41 percent last year.

More Details and Breakdown are available here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_ceo_pay

Our Country faces record deficits and huge questions about its future ability to provide a comfortable, middle class life style to its working peoples. When are some of these Tea Party folk going to get around to realizing that Government is not the only problem in town, and that these pigs on Wall Street are just as liable for the unenviable situation the vox populi find themselves in?

How has the outrage that has been centered on Barrack Obama's plan to contain healthcare costs and provide better coverage options to all Americans overshadowed the overwhelming question of what are we going to do about the out of control excesses of the Corporate Classes? Where are people in the streets protesting such a blatant economic injustice?

Will Huckabee Run in 2012?

2011-05-06T00:19:00.002-04:00

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is an early favorite, on top or near the top of almost every poll for the 2012 GOP nomination for President. The problem is, we are not so sure if he is actually running. According to ABC News Senior Political Correspondent Johnathan Karl, the inside the beltway whispers are saying that Huck won't be running in 2012 and he has released his campaign staff from 08 in the crucial early primary States of Iowa and South Carolina to work for other candidates.
Huckabee is currently employed by the Fox News Channel and they have reportedly given him a one month deadline from today to either make a decision to run, or to stay on-air with the network. FNC had previously suspended the media contributions of Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich as they became active in seeking the Republican nomination. Another potential runner, Sarah Palin still has maintained her on air work and has not been given any sort of deadline to decide on running that has been reported.

What has happened to the mighty Redwings?

2011-05-05T14:44:00.002-04:00

What in the world is going on up in Mo-town? If you can tell me, please let me know down in the comment section, cause I honestly don't understand how a team that looked so good coming into this series is down 3-0 to the San Jose Sharks.

I can explain the Flyers issues in a word (goaltending) and the Caps problems in a sentence ( A fundamental lack of leadership, chemistry, coaching, effort, and defense), but I cannot fathom how the Wings find themself in such a hole.

Like I said, if you have any ideas, let me know.

Thanks

2nd Round Lacks Sizzle

2011-05-05T09:43:00.002-04:00

The 1st round of the NHL was chalk full of intrigue and drama. It was packed full of controversial hits, overtime thrillers, epic combacks, and many tightly contested series. The 2nd round? Not so much. The dissapointing Washington Capitals have already been swept out by the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Philly Flyers and Detroit Redwings both find themselves down three games to none, facing down near insurmountable deficits. The closest series has been Vancouver and Nashville, but I fear an overtime victory for the Canucks in game three on a ridiculous penalty call will be too much for the already overmatched Predators to overcome.
The least surprising outcome of this round has been watching the Flyers goaltending implode once again. Has there ever been a team in sports that fails so spectacularly at the same position over and over again in the playoffs.
The biggest shock has been the Tampa Bay Lightning looking like a well tested playoff juggernaut. The 41 year old journeyman Dwayne Roloson is playing some of the best hockey of his life in net. Sean Bergenheim has been unreal good on a line with Dominic Moore. Ryan Malone has battled his way to the front of the net, stepping in for an again injured Simon Gagne. And Eric Brewer has been a dominate two way defensemen, especially with veteran Pavel Kubina going down. If the Bolts can keep this level of play up, they are going to be very hard for any team to knock off.

Meanwhile the Capitals showed a lack of heart, desire, and commitment that has become an unexplainable habit for them in the NHL playoffs. I really thought this would be their year to shine. Now Caps fans have to really wonder if it wouldn't be best to have some major changes down in DC. Alex Ovechkin deseves to have a better squad put around him. He is a force and Brooks Laich is a proven warrior. Everyone else on that team should be fair game for discussion about possible changes.

Some updates on Bin Laden, Afghan/Pakistan War Effort

2011-05-04T12:07:00.002-04:00

* In the wake of the finding and killing of the world’s most wanted terrorist, Osama Bin Laden, the biggest question that I see facing the United States going forward is our ongoing foreign relationship with Pakistan. Many expected that Bin Laden would be found in the rugged mountainous border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, where the rule of law is scarce and tribal warlords control the utmost impossible of terrains. Very few expected Bin Laden to be found in the heart of Pakistan, within two Kilometers of what has been called their Country’s equivalent of the West Point Military Academy, and less than 100 Kilometers from the Nation’s Capital. There will be great pressure within Congress to cut foreign aid to Pakistan in response to what will be described as either gross incompetence or implicit cooperation with Bin Laden and Al Qaeda. The truth is that we will never know who knew what and when in Pakistan, but that will not stop the drums of ignorance from continuing their steady crescendo.

To toss such a crucial relationship to the wind would be the apex of foolhardiness. Pakistan is by far the more important strategic interest in the region, not the Country we are actually occupying and propping up in Afghanistan. Pakistan is more populated, developed economically, inter-connected to the global community, and in a more significant location. Did I mention that they also have nuclear weapons? We must continue to do what we can to support stability and continuity in Pakistan. As House Leader John Boehner has suggested, the alternative of letting such a critical Country fall into utter chaos could very well be catastrophic on multiple levels.

This is not to suggest that we should not work to reform and improve our relationship with the Muslim majority State. Pakistan is far from the most reliable ally we have and is nothing close to a pure white dove on many, many issues. They are a country with their own demons to wrestle with, but they are a sovereign Nation that will chart their own course going forward. An unfortunate fact about foreign relations is that you don’t get to choose who the regional power brokers you are working with are. You have to do the best you can with the associations you have.

* A pre-recorded tape of Bin Laden is supposedly in the pipeline and ready to be released posthumously. Please do not be fooled into any screwball conspiracies about him actually still being alive. As for the question of whether pictures of the deceased terror mastermind should be released? For our collective security and the safety of our troops serving overseas, I wish that people would just be satisfied he is dead and gone. Other then satisfying some curiosity and giving people a lasting image of finality, the distribution of such photos will do more strategic harm than good. I fully expect the pressure will build until they are in fact released. And the vocal minority who are denying the official story will continue on in the face of all evidence to the contrary, so it won’t matter to them anyways.

* It does speak to our relationship with Pakistan that we did not even tip them off right before the operation to get Bin Laden began that we would be doing something in the area. I understand that we proceeded with an abundance of caution in taking out such an elusive and important figure, but the total lack of cooperation with the Country we were going after him in tells us that there are multitudes of reasons not to trust them completely. And that is not just Pakistan’s problem. It is ours as well. As I have implied here before, the war in Afghanistan is more about Pakistan than it is about Afghanistan. The US must set a course to find a delicate balance between withdrawing combat forces from the region, while continuing to promote stability and secular rule in the area. The madmen and the violent fundamentalists in the region are many and active. The cooler and more rational heads must prevail and rule effectively, strategically, and humanely or the consequences for the world will be dire indeed. Competence must be the Order of the Day.

* I am meeting the instantaneous claims that torture of Al Qaeda operatives held at the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp lead directly to finding Bin Laden with extreme skepticism. I think it is a blatant attempt by some on the Right to reclaim some moral and national security high ground in the wake of these momentous events. It can never be totally disproven, but I have my logical doubts over the oft-repeated and vehement claims of such convenient chain of intel that has been professed directly and in totality in the immediate aftermath of Bin Laden’s demise. If these guys were so smart and well clued in on the terror mastermind’s whereabouts, why did they not get him years ago? It seems to be a tactic I have noticed before where you float out such an opportune premise immediately as the story breaks and everyone is paying attention. As such, your spin becomes lodged into everyone’s conscious as established, legitimate, and historical. I guarantee you that no matter how Bin Laden met his end, it would have been tied back to Guantanamo and Torture, as an ex post facto justification for such.

Canadian Election Results

2011-05-03T18:00:00.003-04:00

While U.S. news coverage has been overwhelmed by wall to wall Osama Bin Laden coverage, the people of Canada had a Federal Parlimentary Election yesterday.
The clear overall winner was Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who had been governing the Parliment for years with a plurality of seats, depending on votes from other parties to pass his legislation. This election his party won a clear majority for the first time under his watch. This will give him legislative carte blanche in the new government.

This is far from the result the main opposition parties, The Liberal Party and the seperatist Bloc Quebecois wanted. Both of those parties pretty much got routed actually, with the surprise rise of the formerly minor New Democratic Party, led by quirky and charismatic Jack Layton. "Good Jack" had the most success of any NDP leader in history, and bouyed by his strong performance in the national leaders debate, his party moved into 2nd place as the Official Opposition in Parliment.

It is the first time in Canadian history that the Liberal Party is not in the Government lead or in Opposition. While these are dark days for the Liberals, they will certainly lick their wounds and regroup. The Bloc Quebecois may not get such a chance. In the 1990s the group came close to its goal of a making the French speaking Province of Quebec a seperate nation from the rest of Canada. Since then, Canada has further integrated and unified all its peoples and the movement lost its steam. The 2011 election may be the seismec shift that eliminates the Bloc as a major player on the national stage. It would seem that the people in the Province rejected the seperatists as an ineffective path moving forward and shifted in a major way to the NDP.

Plenty Of Praise To Go Around

2011-05-03T15:49:00.001-04:00

Nearly 10 years ago, the United States of America suffered a terrorist attack at the hands of a global terrorism group headed by Osama bin Laden. This heinous and cowardly act served as a rallying point for a nation divided after a heated election in which there were many accusations of fraud and cheating conducted by the victorious party. Americans bought up every patriotic item they could get their hands on. Democrats and Republicans stood together as representatives of a proud and vigilant nation who would stop at nothing to bring justice to those responsible for this act. The President saw his approval ratings skyrocket.

Now, nearly 10 years later, the person at the apex of responsibility for those attacks has been brought to justice.The President himself reported last evening that Osama bin Laden has indeed been killed by U.S. forces after nearly a year of detailed surveillance concentrating on the Pakistani compound that ultimately housed bin Laden. In his address to the nation, President Obama outlined the sequence of events leading to bin Laden's better-late-than-never termination which included several meetings with intelligence personnel and ranking military officers. Mr. Obama explained his role in the process and that he gave the go ahead to put the plan in motion to finally take out Osama bin Laden. This plan succeeded and did such with no loss of American lives during the operation.

This result, however, is not good enough for some people. Many posts I have seen on Twitter, facebook, and comments sections of news and political sites are all blasting Obama. People are accusing him of taking all the credit, laying praise on George Bush, and ultimately passing this off as a publicity stunt. Honestly, I am not sure exactly how many questions Obama has to answer before some people are satisfied but I am going to estimate that some people simply never will be satisfied. Merely days after Obama put to rest criticism that he was not born in the United States, he gave the green light to have Osama bin Laden killed. Not good enough, apparently.

The truth is that plenty of people deserve high praise for taking out a mad man who had zero regard for human life. First and foremost are the men and women of the USA's armed forces whose selfless sacrifices and willingness to put their lives on the line every minute of everyday to assure we never see another 9/11.
Those individuals, fighting together as one, deserve the largest pat on the back of anybody. We also have the intelligence experts who never gave up on finding bin Laden and used their innate skills to help finally bring him to justice. President Bush deserves some commendation for initiating the effort to find bin Laden, be it unsuccessful under his watch. Lastly, President Obama deserves his share of praise for his handling of the situation since he first received word that bin Laden's whereabouts had been located by US Forces. He was patient but prudent and was involved in the process throughout.

That same synergy that bonded Americans in the wake of 9-11 seems to be absent these last few days. Sure there were people in the streets of NYC and DC waving their flags and singing the "Star Spangled Banner" but that celebration has been shouted over by the screams of the Conservative movement looking for any excuse to denigrate Obama and his presidency. They had to make sure that little to no credit was awarded to the Commander-in-Chief they vehemently detest like a 5 year old jealous of his neighbor's Hot Wheels. Those same people were calling people like myself un-American, un-Patriotic, and instructing me to move to another country when I showed dissent towards President Bush's policies. Funny what life is like when the shoe is on the other foot.

Nearly 10 years later, that sense of unity felt in the days following the 9-11 attacks is but a whisper amongst screams. I just wonder if that sense of unity will ever find it's way back?

Time for Ovechkin to Put Up or Shut Up

2011-05-03T11:51:00.003-04:00

The Eastern Conference is the Capitals for the taking this offseason. They are the #1 seed, they have all the weapons, and there is an overwhelming sense that this is their time to shine. With Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin going down to injuries leaving the Pittsburgh Penguins punchless and out, and the Philadelphia Flyers goaltending exploding spectacularly (again), leaving them hanging on to Stanley Cup dreams by a faint thread of hope, the door is wide open for the Caps to storm through.

And yet the Caps seem to be inexplicably faltering to their division rival, the Tampa Bay Lightning, down two games to none in the 2nd round series. Even worse: those first two games were at home for Washington. They now face the daunting task of stealing some games back on unfriendly ice. If they are not up to the task, their season is over. Literally. With an unconventional playoff back to back tonight and tomorrow it is quite possible that within 48 hours they will be done.

The Capital’s Captain, Russian born snipe shooter Alex Ovechkin upped the ante with a bold prediction: "we're going there, and we're going to win two games."

Those are the kind of things a Captain of a favored team should say after a stunning OT loss that puts his team in such a hole. As Captain, Ovechkin must step up his game and make it happen to back up those words. The time for excuses is over. The stage is set for him. If AO is going to prove himself as one of the truly elite players in the history of the game, now is the time for him to do so. He has been good so far this playoffs. The Capitals need him to be Great.

Tonight especially, with the possibility of a three games to none deficit hanging over his squad like a hangman’s noose, Ovechkin must transcend the situation and play out of his mind. No doubt the team will be tight going into the game. They need a spark and a flash from their elitely talented Captain to shake off the doldrums.

Far too often this year we have seen a seemingly disinterested Alex Ovechkin out on the ice. The almost uncontrollable force of nature styled play that we have seen from him in prior seasons was there in flashes, but not with any level of consistency. He has still been very dangerous, but the Capitals really need him to kick things into another gear tonight. He needs to bring back the furious kinetic freight engine style of play that his team feeds off of. If Ovie brings that kind of energy, I am sure the Capitals can get back into this serious. If he doesn’t, I have my serious doubts that they will still be active Thursday morning.

Osama Bin Laden Killed by US Special Forces

2011-05-01T23:28:00.002-04:00

It has been reported across many news agencies that Osama Bin Laden has been killed in the tribal region between Afghanistan and Pakistan. His body has been recovered and it has been confirmed it is him. More details as they come in. President Obama has been scheduled to speak and will make a statement shortly.

Will Huckabee Run in 2012?

2011-05-01T12:05:00.000-04:00

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is an early favorite, on top or near the top of almost every poll for the 2012 GOP nomination for President. The problem is, we are not so sure if he is actually running. According to a ABC News Senior Political Corrospondent, the inside the beltway whispers are saying that Huck won't be running in 2012 and he has released his campaign staff from 08 in the crucial early primary States of Iowa and South Carolina to work for other candidates.
Huckabee is currently employed by the Fox News Channel and they have reportedly given him a one month deadline today to either make a decision to run, or to stay on-air with the network. FNC had previously suspened the active contributions of Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich as they became active in seeking the Republican nomination. Another potential runner, Sarah Palin still has maintained her on air work and has not been given any sort of decision deadline that has been reported.

Semifinal update

2011-04-30T13:26:00.003-04:00

The conference semifinals are in full force after two nights of action Thursday and Friday.
Vancouver opened up the second round Thursday with a 1-0 victory over Nashville. Roberto Luongo stymied the Predators' offense, and the Canucks are off to a decent start. I would like to see them score more, although this series doesn't have track-meet potential.
In Friday's action, Tampa Bay stunned Washington, 3-2, and San Jose edge Detroit, 2-1, in overtime.
Both of these results surprised me. I don't think either will be a sweep, but I see the Capitals and the Red Wings winning both series rather easily.
The Lightning came to play. They turned the game on Washington. It has always been a question of whether the Capitals can win these types of games. I still believe they will win the series in six. This served as a wake-up call.
I have been singing the praises of Detroit since the playoffs started. I still pick the Red Wings to go to the Cup. How they respond from this loss will tell the story.
Jimmy Howard was great. I question whether he can do it come playoff time, and he was fabulous Friday. Detroit gave up some uncharacteristic chances. Howard also took a dumb penalty after getting a snow shower from Joe Pavalski.
Jimmy, why do that? Let your teammates stick up for you.
Philadelphia and Boston open today in Philly, while Vancouver and Nashville will play Game 2. I'm going with the Flyers and the Canucks.
Enjoy.

This Flag Bows Before No Earthly King

2011-04-29T11:53:00.008-04:00

In case you didn’t hear, they had a little wedding over in England this morning.
If you are one of the millions in the States who are enthralled, enamored, and all wrapped up in this farcical fairy tale, you probably should bail out on this column right now.

You’re still with me? Good.

I do not understand why we in this Country are so smitten with a Monarchy we cast off over 200 years ago. It truly befuddles me. I take pride in our Flag, our Constitution, and our Democratic Republic. Not in some ancient regime which we discarded any allegiance to on the Concord Bridge and in the hallowed Halls of Independence.

This is nothing against the British people, but I despise the very concept of Monarchy, Nobility, and Royalty. The arcane and archaic espousal of power into a familial lineage regardless of their character or qualifications is no legitimate way to determine a Head of State. Who gives them this authority? Is it still some divine right?

At least in modern times they have had the good sense to put a limit upon the powers of this Aristocratic lunacy and the Monarchs whim is no longer the absolute law of the land. The real power is invested in their representative Parliament, and the Monarch in almost all circumstances performs only ceremonial power within the Realm. And if they choose to continue to prop up these antiquated institutions of heralded heredity, then I guess that is their endowed right to do so. Over there. Far away from me.

So why, oh why, do I ask, does the media from the United States cover this outlandish and garish event like it is our own crowning achievement? Are we so starved off from pomp, circumstance and glitterous, glorified extravagance that we need to somehow collectively tap into our obedient collective colonial roots to fixate our infatuation for foppish foolery? I, for one, am sick and tired of being bombastically bombarded with the Royal hullabaloo.

For on July 4th, 235 years gone by, we cast off these tired customs of rulership through arbitrary marriage, life, and death of far off Kings and Queens. We stood up as a nation of Free and Independent People declaring: “enough with your ancient and capricious lordship, our ennobled powers of State shall be invested in the Common Man!”

Our sacred artifacts are not those of Crowns, Carriages, and Trappings of Lordship. They are documents of ink and parchment declaring our Freedoms and Protections from obtrusive intervention by a whimsical Governing Authority. Why can we not celebrate these Freedoms, which are our sacred birthright, as extravagantly as we commemorate far-off nuptials betwixt those whom would station and allot themselves above us in life?

I say what makes our nation great is that we do not sit by and watch as subjects, but instead we take action as free and independent Citizens.

God Save the Common Man

A special birthday

2011-04-28T14:37:00.002-04:00

According to the guy that annoymous, Nicklas Lidstrom turned 41 today. Happy birthday, Nick!

My second-round picks

2011-04-28T14:17:00.004-04:00

The Penguins' season is over, but the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs live on. Here are my picks for the second round, or the conference semifinals if you want to get technical.

In the Eastern Conference, I pick Washington to upend Tampa Bay in six games. Dwayne Roloson played well in the first round against Pittsburgh, but the Capitals are a much better scoring team with a solid power play.

The Lightning can light the lamp, although it won't be enough against Washington. This could be the Capitals' year.

Philadelphia, yes I'm going with them, will top Boston in seven games. The Flyers were the top team in the league for a long time, and after surviving a scare against Buffalo, has a renewed focus.

The goalie situation is suspect in Philadelphia, although it will play tough defense in front of whoever the goalie is. This will be an exciting series.

For the Western Conference:

Vancouver takes care of Nashville in six games. The Canucks showed tremendous character against Chicago. Yes, the Blackhawks took them to a seventh game after trailing 3-0, but Chicago wasn't your average No. 8 seed.

The Predators have some tremendous players in Shea Weber, Mike Fisher and Pekka Rinne, but I believe the Canucks have too much fire power. Roberto Luongo will have a bounce back series. Nashville doesn't have the scoring punch.

Detroit has it all, and the Red Wings will fly past San Jose in six games.
The Sharks have some offensive firepower, although Los Angeles played them a little too tough for my liking.

I believe goaltending is a liability for San Jose. Although Antti Niemi won a Stanley Cup with Chicago last season, I doubt that he can lead the Sharks over the Red Wings.

I don't know if revenge is on the Red Wings' minds, but San Jose took them out of the playoffs in five games last year.

Once again, Washington over Tampa Bay (six games), Philadelphia over Boston (seven game), Vancouver over Nashville (six games) and Detroit over San Jose (six games).

Also, check out Pucks_and_Pols' picks. Feel free to respond to both.

NHL 2nd Round Predictions

2011-04-28T09:20:00.005-04:00

More detailed analysis to come, but since the Vancouver-Nashville Series starts tonight I wanted to get my official predictions in today.

Wales Conference

1)Washington Capitals vs. 5) Tampa Bay Lightning
Capitals in 7

2)Philadelphia Flyers vs. 3) Boston Bruins
Bruins in 6

Campbell Conference

1)Vancouver Canucks vs. 5)Nashville Predators
Canucks in 4

2)Detroit Redwings vs. 3)San Jose Sharks
Redwings in 6

Is Jordan Staal underrated?

2011-04-26T13:32:00.002-04:00

My question for today: Is Jordan Staal underrated?

I say, yes. Pierre McGuire said during a Penguins game on NBC in reference to Staal not putting up a ton of points that you can't always equate scoring with success.
I always use that example, but it's fitting for Staal. He was never supposed to be a 40-goal scorer. That's not his game.
He is one of the top defensive forwards in the NHL, a Selke finalist last year, kills penalties and he can put the puck in the net during key games.
Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals in 2009 would be a good example.
Please give me your opinions, gentlemen. Oh, and ladies are welcome, too.

2012 GOP Nomination Standings, Week 2

2011-04-26T12:10:00.003-04:00

Here is an update on the 2012 Republican Primary Horse Race, for last weeks rankings see the bottom of this post.
This week I also plan to start including trend indications and new headlines to go along with each candidate. If you guys have anything else you'd like to see included feel free to comment or email me about it.

1) Mike Huckabee Trending Up (Last Week: 2)- In a currently tight three way race, the Huckster edges just ahead of Mitt Romney and Donald Trump in the general poll. His underlying numbers among ardent conservatives secures his bump up to the one spot.
Current Headline: Huckabee tops South Carolina poll

2) Mitt Romney Trending Down (Last Week: 1)- His poll numbers show him in a tight race with Huckabee for the early lead, Romeny remains a polished and savvy pol, but minor gaffes like his 'peacetime' comment will be exploited and recycled by talk radio and the conservative web sphere, which are already philosophically against him.
Current Headline: Mitt Romney isn't at peace after his peacetime comment‎

3) Sarah Palin- Trending Steady (Last Week: 3)- The polarizing former Governor is struggling to maintain credibility, but her name recognition will keep her alive in this race if she does run. The best thing for her would be to stay in the background and bone up for the debates to show she is a ‘serious’ candidate.
Current Headline: Complaints aside, Sarah Palin dominates GOP media landscape

4)Donald Trump- Trending Up (Last Week: 4)- I still refuse to completely believe he is truly considering entering the race, but the polls have him practically tied for the lead with Huckabee. This doesn't quite square, because his rhetoric has been far right, while his support has come from the more moderate wings of the Party. His celebrity status will serve him well for now, but assuming this isn't just for publicity, I don't see him holding up to the actual rigors of a long campaign season.
Current Headline: Donald Trump moves on from birthers, now says President Obama wasn't qualified for Ivy League

5) Ron Paul- Trending Up (Last Week: 4)- The smart, anti-establishment choice will be a player in the debates, but don’t expect his final numbers to get much better then where they are at right now.
Current Headline: Ron Paul to Sean Hannity: Stop with Your Sharia!

6) Newt Gingrich Trending Down (Last Week: 7)- The former speakers numbers in the polls speak for themselves. His is a contender, but probably doesn’t have the stuff to be the champion and standard bearer for his party once again.
Current Headline: Newt Gingrich on why he became a Catholic

7) Tim Pawlenty Trending Down (Last Week: 6)- Poor Tim seems like a decent hardworking fellow, but even his home State press in Minnesota is coming to terms with his inability to excite on a national level.
Current Headline: Pawlenty campaign efforts not showing up in polling

8) Michelle Bachman- Trending Steady (Last Week: 8)- The Conservative Firebrand can stand to gain ground if Huckabee falters and/or Palin decides not to run. With Barbour dropping out, she becomes this blogs official darkhorse candidate. She will at least make a lot of noise before (and after) this race is over.
Current Headline: Bachmann worries about ability to block debt-ceiling increase

9) Rick Santorum Trending Up (Last Week: 10)- The favorite son of social conservatives is still in the background, but has a chance to vault up, especially if the economy improves and the GOP needs to tact a different course of attack on Obama to drum up the grassroots.
Current Headline: Santorum’s Frothy Fox News Sunday

10) Mitch Daniels Trending Up (Last Week: Unranked) With his close friend Haley Barbour officially dropping out, the former Indiana Gov sneaks into the top 10. His numbers on level with Santorum, but in his support among the grassroots there is some ground to make up.
Current Headline: Does Haley Barbour's opt out mean Mitch Daniels will opt in?

Norris finalists are in

2011-04-25T20:53:00.003-04:00

The Norris Trophy finalists are in for the top defensemen in the NHL.
And surprise, surprise; Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom is one of the three finalists for the 11th time in 13 seasons.
Boston's Zdeno Chara and Nashville's Shea Weber are the other two. Chara won the award in 2009, while Weber is in search of his first.
Lidstrom has been named the NHL's best blue liner six times, and he is still one of the premier defenders in the league, but I believe Chara should be the winner.
The Bruins' captain is a plus 33 and averages 25:26 of ice time. Chara is only 19th in the NHL among defensemen with 44 points (14 goals, 30 assists) but he is very important to Boston.
Lidstrom is one of the best of all time. He makes the little plays that don't show up on the stat sheet. His stick work is some of the best in the league, however he was a minus-two this season.
Lidstrom was second in the league among defensemen in scoring with 62 points on 16 goals and and 46 assists. I believe playing with the talented wingers in Detroit helps Lidstrom's point total.
Weber has a tremendous shot and scored 16 goals. He had 32 assists for 48 points. Weber was a plus-seven.
Is it a coincidence that all three of these guys are the captains of their respective teams?
Please feel free to respond.

Mike Richards and the Flyers Goalie-Go-Round

2011-04-25T17:58:00.009-04:00

Mike Richards is the Captain of the Philadelphia Flyers in the sense that he wears the letter 'C' upon his jersey. That is all. The real leader in that room, the one guys look to when the sailing get stormy, is Chris Pronger. For all of his badboy reputation Pronger is an Alpha Male's Alpha Male.

Richards comes off far too often as both a petulant brat with the media, and a guy whose play on the ice goes over the line and should not garner respect around the league. He makes too many borderline and dirty plays, then leaves his mates to clean up his mess and finish what he starts. He was also identified by his own team as part of a group of young players too focused on nightlife and not enough on gamenight.

On ice he has been involved in more than his share of questionable incidents, and yet he is never grouped in when 'dirty' plays are discussed. His hit on David Booth of the Florida Panthers was a carbon copy of Matt Cooke's infamous leveling of Marc Savard, both in intent, follow through, and results, yet nobody caused a fuss over it.

These playoffs Richards has been at it again, he was tossed from game four for throwing an elbow into the chin of an oncoming Patrick Kaleta of the Buffalo Sabres. An elbow to the head in "self defense" is still an elbow to the head. I don't know what Richards was "defending" himself from yesterday when he sent Sabres forward Tim Connolly face first into the boards. Another notch on Richards holster, and the league's overlords once again turn a blind eye toward the Flyer's head hunter.

The Flyers as a team meanwhile continue to hunt for a legitimate playoff goaltender. They started this series with the Sabres depending on rookie Sergei Bobrovsky, but after falling down 2 games to none have switched to some unholy combination of Michael Leighton and Brian Boucher. It has pulled them even with the Sabres at 3 games apiece, but it hasn't been pretty. Even if the Flyers do somehow survive this first round it is only a matter of time until this weakness in net comes back to bite them in the playoffs. Again.

The Flyers have invested way too much in Mike Richards to walk away from him, in contract term, length, and naming him Captain before he was ready to act like one. Where the Flyers have always short changed themselves is in net. And it continues to comeback to haunt them.

Canucks Pushed Back to the Brink of Madness

2011-04-25T07:35:00.002-04:00

Da-Da Daa, Da-Da Daa, Da-Da Da-Da-Da-Da Daa.
That Chelsea Dagger song the Chicago Blackhawks crank up after scoring goals at home has to be playing on repeat like a huge bass drum on overdrive in the heads of the Vancouver Canucks, their fans, and especially their all-world goaltender Roberto Luongo.
This was supposed to be the year things went differently in the CHI-VAN series that has seen the Blackhawks advancing and the Canucks skating home the past two seasons. The Hawks had gutted the role players from their Cup winning team of a year ago due to salary cap constraints, most notably gone was converted forward Dustin Byfuglien who notoriously created all kinds of chaos in front of the net. This year the defending champs snuck into the playoffs as an eight seed by default on the last day of the season after the Dallas Stars lost their game to the Minnesota Wild that would have vaulted them over Chicago in the standings.
Oh how the residents of the Canadian Pacific Northwest wished that the Stars had aligned themselves better at this point. Do you really think they would have blown a three games to none series lead against any other team but these Blackhawks? Only four times in NHL history has a playoff series even gotten to a seventh and ultimate game after a team went up 3-0. Chicago, and only Chicago, could have done this to the Canucks, who were universally regarded as the best team coming out of the regular season, and played like it in games one through three.
This is the team that haunts the Canucks as they lay awake at night. They are stuck in their collective psyche and driving them toward a calamitous breaking point. They are on the brink of stark raving madness. After game five and chasing Luongo from his crease for the second game in a row, Blackhawk forward Marian Hossa actually had some sly doubts about whether his team had gotten into Bobby Lu’s head. “I don’t know,” Hossa said. “I can’t see in his head.”
While Hossa was busy craftfully playing the literalist, the answer was made clear for us more speculative types by Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault’s stunning decision to start rookie backup Cory Schneider in net for game six. Some people are putting the crux of the blame for the Nucks recent torment solely upon Vigneault. I’d actually give the coach the benefit of the doubt here. Coaches are more in tune with their team and where their player’s heads are at then anybody in the media or those outside the organization. If he was going to bench a many times over all-star and gold medal winning hero at such a crucial moment, he did so with full and total knowledge of the circumstances which had presented themselves, and with his superiors tacit blessings.
As it turns out the cruel fates of the hockey gods would intervene and place Luongo back into game six anyways after Schneider injured himself getting twisted up in a futile attempt to stop a penalty shot by the Blackhawks Michael Frolik. So Luongo faced his tormentors again coming off the bench cold early in the third period with the game tied at three. He actually acquitted himself well through that frame and the first 15 minutes of a sudden death overtime. It actually seemed like the Canucks would exorcise the playoff demons of years past and escape the Windy City to the second round.
Then an unassuming point shot came flying in from Niklas Hjalmarsson which Luongo tried to bat away in a baffling fashion that left him splayed out on the ice belly down. Chicago rookie winger Ben Smith was there to flip the game winning rebound past the felled netminder. The horn blared and 20,000+ at the United Center roared as the all too familiar chorus rang out. Utter Madness.
Da-Da Daa, Da-Da Daa, Da-Da Da-Da-Da-Da Daa.

Penguins lay egg on Easter eve

2011-04-23T15:10:00.004-04:00

The NHL doesn't use aggregate scoring in the Stanley Cup playoffs, which is very fortunate for Pittsburgh.
The Penguins got blown out in Game 5 by Tampa Bay, 8-2, and have been outscored 13-3 in two losses to the Lightning.
On the other hand, their wins have been by scores of 3-0, 3-2 and 3-2 in double OT for a 17-9 advantage for Tampa Bay.
If you asked any Penguin player or coach, they would tell you none of that matters. All they are concerned with is going to the St. Petersburg Times Forum and closing it out Monday.
I would agree with that, and Pittsburgh is still in the driver's seat with a 3-2 lead, but Saturday's loss has to be a tad concerning.
For starters, why can't the Penguins close out playoff series on their home ice? I would say it's just coincidence, but not closing out a series is troubling. Cup-winning teams put series away when their opponents are down.
Also, they have to stay out of the box, or do a better job of killing penalties. The Lightning are very dangerous with the man advantage.
Pittsburgh's power play, on the other hand, has been on life support. I won't say dead because it scored in Game 4.
The Penguins have played great five-on-five, but in tight games, low-scoring games they need to take advantage of their PP opportunities.
Pittsburgh will not beat Tampa Bay in a track meet, or any team for that matter.
Not having Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin takes away a great deal of offense form the Penguins. Crosby and Malkin also play as decoys that allow players like Chris Kunitz and Jordan Staal to get more opportunities.
Malkin will not be back for the season and Crosby's return is in question, so they will have to win without the superstars.
Marc-Andre Fleury was pulled after the Lightning went up 4-0 in the second period. Brent Johnson relieved Fleury.
Fleury gave up four goals in a short period of time, but when Steven Stamkos and Vincent Lecavalier are getting point-blank shots from the slot, a few are bound to go in. Stamkos came to play. He had two goals and an assist. Good timing for him. The Penguins are hoping it was a one-game incident.
The defense can't give up chances like that. I believe Fleury will come back strong in Game 6. He always does.
Pittsburgh will win Game 6, and close out another series on the road. Penguins 4, Lightning 2.
NOTES: Youtube it, go on the Ducks' website or watch ESPN. Bobby Ryan's goal in the Anaheim's OT loss to Nashville was incredible. One of the tops of the year.

Stanley Cup playoff updates

2011-04-22T18:29:00.004-04:00

As of 6:29 p.m. EST on April 22, the Stanley Cup playoffs are playing out with some intriguing storylines.
In the West, Detroit dominated Phoenix in the 3-6 matchup, taking all four games. The Coyotes could very well play in another city next season.
The Red Wings, who will never leave the Motor City, look very strong. Winning early gives them the opportunity to sit back, have a mineral water and watch the rest of the teams knock each other senseless. A rested Detroit squad is very scary. I wouldn't want to play them.
Vancouver jumped all over Chicago in winning the first three games, but the defending champs have shown true character in responding in Games 4 and 5.
The Blackhawks won both games in routs, and chased Roberto Luongo in the process. Luongo receives all the accolades, although he is a career underachiever in the playoffs.
Game 6 will be in Chicago and the place will be jumping. I don't think Luongo will have three bad games in a row, and the Canucks will grind out a 3-2 victory to take the series.
The Anaheim-Nashville series has been quite intriguing. Chippy play, trash talk in the media and some good games have made this a series to watch. Not to mention it is tied at 2-2.
Unfortunately, I have yet to catch one of these games. That is going to change tonight. I will park myself in front of the tube at 10 p.m. and watch Game 5 in its entirety.
If the Ducks can stay out of the box and be disciplined in their own zone, they should be able to light the lamp just enough to win this one.
The Predators are strong defensively, have a great goalie and Shea Weber is a beast, although I give Anaheim the edge.
I will delve more into this series after tonight's game.
What Pittsburgh has done without Sidney Crosby is remarkable.
It has pushed Tampa Bay to the brink of elimination and won Game 4 without the services of Chris Kunitz.
Dan Bylsma should win the Jack Adams award for the coach of the year, although I'm sure he would rather raise the Stanley Cup for the second time in three years.
There is no timetable for Crosby's return, although Matt Cooke will be back if the Penguins can advance to the second round.
Game 5 will be tomorrow at noon in Pittsburgh. I believe the Lightning will win that game, 4-3. I like the Penguins to come back in Game 6 to take the series, 4-2.
Montreal and Boston are in a dogfight with the series tied at two. Neither team has won on home ice.
The Bruins will grab a win on home ice in Game 5 before taking the series in six games. These teams don't like each other, and they're not afraid to show it.
Tim Thomas has stepped up his play, and Carey Price can't take the Habs to the promised land, which is all Montreal fans want.
Washington is up 3-1 on the New York Rangers and will close it out at home in Game 5.
The Rangers showed some heart, but gave up a lead going into the third period for the first time all season, and doesn't have enough offense to get by the Capitals.
Washington has been playing well, but these aren't the Mark Messier-led Rangers.
Ryan Miller has had to stand on his head two times for Buffalo to salvage a 2-2 split with Philadelphia after two games.
They play tonight in Game 5 at Philadelphia.
I love Mr. USA and I would love him even more if the Flyers got bounced, although I don't think Miller can do it again.
Philadelphia wins tonight, 4-2, before taking Game 6 for a 4-2 series win.

A simple question

2011-04-21T21:20:00.003-04:00

I have a question for you all.

Is Martin St. Louis the best undrafted player of all time?
Feel free to respond.

Red Wings are on a mission

2011-04-21T13:39:00.003-04:00

Detroit knocked Phoenix out of the Stanley Cup playoffs, and possibly out of town with a 6-3 victory in Game 4 Wednesday night in Phoenix to take the series, 4-0.
The Red Wings overwhelemed the Coyotes with their typical puck-possession style of offense, great defense and good goaltending.
Detroit's one question mark could be goaltending. Jimmy Howard could be one of the best, although he is still young, and playing in "Hockeytown" can add some pressure. I just don't know if he could steal one.
New York's Henrik Lundqvist and Buffalo's Ryan Miller do that on a regular basis. Could Howard. I guess only time will tell.
That said, I would take Howard over any goalie in the West, with the exception of Roberto Loungo in Vancouver. I guess I had to find some fault with the Red Wings.
Detroit plays such a great defensive game, and with its puck possession, the goalie doesn't get as much work.
In the series with Phoenix, the third period of Game 2 was the only instance where the Red Wings looked average.
They gave up two PP goals in a matter of minutes, but hung on for a 4-3 win.
I give Detroit the edge over San Jose, Anaheim or Nashville. Technically, Chicago could come to Joe Louis Arena if it comes from 3-0 down, but I doubt it.
A Wings-Sharks matchup will most-likely occur in the second round. I give the edge to Detroit all the way. It will shut down San Jose's high-powered offense, score some goals and finish it off in five.

NHL Playoff Moments 2011.V2-4.20

2011-04-21T09:31:00.011-04:00

Another great night of NHL action last evening.
Here are video recaps of some of my favorite moments:

1) "Can you hear us?"
This one gave me goosebumps. The reason the hockey playoffs are such an epic event is because that Hockey fans are so tuned in with their teams and following so closely that it is like they are in the room with their team and along for the ride. Every win entices fans with visions of Lord Stanley’s Holy Chalice, any loss and it feels like your team will not be able to get up off the mat and never win a game again. Washington’s Coach Bruce Boudreau had taken a potshot at the Ranger fans, saying that he did not consider their home rink, Madison Square Garden, to be all that loud of a building. It was a ridiculous thing to say, but not surprising to anyone who watched Boudreau act like a total clown throughout the entire HBO 24/7 TV series. The Ranger’s fans response was just pure hockey fandom music to my ears.

2) Perry Eats Preds Souls Shorthanded:
The Anaheim Ducks tendency to play undisciplined and take untimely penalties is the key reason why the Nashville Predators were up on them two games to one. In a tie game last night the Ducks once again went down a man at a bad moment. It looked like Nashville could once again capitalize, but Corry Perry had other ideas and turned the tables on the Preds while his team was down a man. This is the kind of individual play that can really shift the momentum in a playoff round. Just awesome.

3) Marty and Vinny Hook Up:
The Tampa Bay Lightning are down 3 games to 1 in their series with the Pittsburgh Penguins, but it is certainly not from lack of effort from the smallest and most skilled player between the two teams, Martin St. Louis. After the Bolts were shutout in game one, Marty has 4 goals in 4 games and has almost single handedly kept Tampa close in this series. Don’t overlook the nice setup from his teammate Vincent Lecavalier with a tricky bank pass off the boards. The connection these two have may not be enough to get past the Pens, but it is still something special to watch.

4) Miller stones Briere, Flyers:
Last year in the Olympics Ryan Miller was the Great American Hero as a Goalie leading the underdog Americans to the brink of the Gold Medal. This year he has resumed his more unassuming role as Superman for the city of Buffalo. He was beyond spectacular in evening things with the Philadelphia Flyers at home last night with his 2nd 1-0 shutout victory of the series. He robs Daniel Briere here for one of about 3 or 4 stops that could have been shown here from the 3rd Period of that game. This save was the most impressive to me however for the mano-a-mano aspect of it.

5) Neal Finally Puts One In:
James Neal is one of those hockey forwards going through a stretch where he is snakebit. He does everything right but just can’t seem to finish the play by finding the back of the net. He finally got one to fall last night in the 2nd overtime, and there was much rejoicing.

6) Chimera Flips it Home to Close Things Out:

Alas for Ranger fans, the magic night at MSG did not have a happy ending for them. While Henrik Lundqvist and Marian Gaborik played a game of “You got it, I’ll take it” in the crease, Jason Chimera cooley swept in and banked it home for the OT winner and put the Blueshirts on the brink of elimination heading back to Washington.

7) Shane Doan Shakes Lidstrom's Hand:
Shane Doan has only played for one franchise in his entire career. He played his rookie year as a Winnipeg Jet. The next season that team packed up and moved South of the Border to Phoenix and was re-branded the Coyotes. Now the future of the team in Phoenix is in serious doubt. The Dessert Dogs have never been the most popular of tickets in the Valley of the Sun, but I do feel for the diehards who have been drawn in over the past decade and now look to have their team pulled out from under them, just as they are starting to gain some traction as a legitimate contender. I know a lot of hockey fans are pumped up to see the possibility of another team moving to back to the Great White North. I however hate to see any team relocate. It is not the fault of the dedicated fans that their fickle ‘casual’ counterparts are not coming out to support a team. They are there every game, watching road games on TV, buying jerseys, and doing all they can to support their club. It is much harder to be a fan in a market where hockey is not the most popular thing to follow, so I’d like to take this time to salute all Coyote fans, regardless of how this turns out who have been there through thick and, far too often, thin times. You did not fail hockey, hockey has failed you.

A royal collapse

2011-04-20T13:38:00.004-04:00

The Los Angeles Kings became just the fourth team in playoff history to blow a four-game lead in losing Game 3 to the San Jose Sharks, 6-5, in overtime.
The Kings jumped out with two goals, 13 seconds apart in the first period. They added another at 18:22 of the first to take a 3-0 lead.
When Brad Richardson scored for LA 44 seconds into the second, Antti Niemi gave way for Antero Nittymaki.
At that point, I was considering changing the channel and watching some NBA basketball. I'm glad I didn't.
The Sharks got on the board when Patrick Marleau scored on a tip-in at 3:08. I figured, no biggie, the Kings still have it.
Ryane Clowe and Logan Couture added goals at 6:53 and 13:32 to cut the lead to 4-3. Clowe's goal was on the power play.
Ryan Smith scored 15 second later for Los Angeles, but I knew that the game wasn't over.
However, being the dumby that I am, I flipped over to the NBA game. When I came back to it, I saw it was 5-4 LA. Clowe scored his second goal.
Joe Pavelski tied the game at 5 with 31 seconds remaining in the period. Remarkable.
The Sharks scored five goals in the second period.
Ironically, no goals were scored in the third, and the game went into overtime.
I was just settling in with my popcorn when Devin Setoguchi took a pass from Marleau and scored on a wrist shot off a 3-on-2 rush to finish a remarkable rally for the Sharks at 3:09 of overtime.
I really thought the game would last longer due to the conservative approach teams take in OT, however it was only fitting for San Jose.
I don't know what happened to the Kings. They didn't appear to take the foot off the gas. Or maybe they did. I believe psychology plays a big part in sports. Yes, they're amazing athletes, but they're also human. Whatever it was, LA will not recover. It's over.
For those of you who have jobs in the morning, the game was over around 1:30 EST, the NHL Network will replay it at 2 p.m., but you don't need that, just read this.

Penguins PP needs to improve

2011-04-19T19:05:00.004-04:00

Pittsburgh scored two goals in 45 second, survived a Tampa Bay rally, and held on for a 3-2 victory in Game 3 Monday in Tampa, Fla.
What the Penguins failed to do was score on two power play opportunities.
Pittsburgh is 0-for-15 on the PP, and gave up two more goals against a strong Lightning's PP.
For the Penguins to win in the playoffs, they need to start scoring on the PP, and have to be stronger on the PK.
Special teams play is imperative to suceed in the playoffs.
They were fortunate to win Monday's game.
I like them in Game 4. James Neal will finally get a goal after snapping the Penguins' goaless streak on the PP.
Marc-Andre Fleury will hold Tampa Bay to 3 goals for a 5-3 Pittsburgh victory. The Penguins will play inspired for teammate Chris Kunitz, who has been suspended.
Game 5 has been move to noon on Saturday. I give the edge to the Lightning in that one.
This series won't be easy for the Penguins.
NOTES: Tuesday's games will feature the Blackhawks-Canucks in the first game and the Kings-Sharks in the nightcap.
Vancouver will dethrone the champs and San Jose will go up 2-1 in its best-of-seven series.

The Ongoing NHL 1st Round Series + 2012 GOP Presidential Candidates

2011-04-19T13:12:00.002-04:00

As we wind on through the primary round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, we also are on course for the determination of the 2012 Republican Party nominee for President. Both races have frontrunners, darkhorses, underdogs, and those barely hanging onto hope.

*For some reason the Phoenix Coyotes remind me a lot of Rick Santorum. Both face remarkably daunting odds, mainstream media irrelevance, and too little support from their home base. Yet I get a feeling for some reason that we have not heard the last from either of them. They are both spunky and plucky, so I wouldn’t be surprised if either carries on the fight longer than anybody is anticipating before ultimately falling short. At least if Santorum doesn’t grab the nomination there is no threat of him being forced to permanently move himself and his family to Winnipeg, Manitoba.

*The Western Conference is pretty much setup for the next round, at least in my head. I think the Detroit Redwings will ultimately dispose of the Coyotes, there is no way the San Jose Sharks will lose to the LA Kings, and the Nashville Predators/Anaheim Duck series is a tossup, but the winner will end up trekking up to Vancouver for the first game of Round 2. That is because the Canucks have totally wiped the floor with the defending Champion Chicago Blackhawks. I expected this would finally be the year that Roberto Luongo and the Sedin twins would break the “Curse of Chelsea Dagger,” but I certainly didn’t think they would be up 3 games to none and poised to sweep the current Cup holders out of the 1st round. Regardless, the 2nd round is shaping up as Canucks vs. Ducks/Predators and Sharks vs. Redwings. Those should both involve some very good hockey, and take heart San Jose fans; if the Canucks can beat the Blackhawks maybe this is finally the year your team can get over its 2nd round jinx. I won’t make official predictions yet for a round that hasn’t even started, but I have a feeling the best Twin combination in the league will be scraping up Octopi off the ice as their opponents raise (skate away from) the Clarence Campbell Bowl.

*Is Donald Trump a for real candidate for the GOP presidential nomination, or is this just a publicity stunt? The poll numbers actually look good for him right now, but I can’t imagine that he will seriously delve into a run here. He has a more than a few skeletons in his closet, and much more to lose than to gain in what will inevitably be an unsuccessful bid. He came out firing with the “Birther” card, openly questioning President Obama’s citizenship. That has made him a polarizing figure among the Tea Party crowd, who appreciate that incredible message, but in the end I cannot see them getting behind the epitome of elaborately suited corporate executives as their standard bearer. Donald Trump is about as far from being Joe the Plumber as I am from being Bob Woodward

*Tim Thomas is not a playoff goalie. He’s just not. His unorthodox style suits him well in the regular season when you only play the Boston Bruins once or twice a month. When he gets into a playoff series however the opposing team will eventually figure him out and crack him. That is why the Montreal Canadiens will get by the Bru-Crew in the 1st round. That and because, well they are the Habs and will always come out on top over Boston. Also, how on this green earth did Zdeno Chara miss game two due to “dehydration?” It seems to me that the Bruins are either hiding an injury or he must have been ridiculously sick to have missed such a crucial playoff game. There is no way a professional training staff would let their Captain miss a game of that magnitude because of lack of fluids.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning has been a fascinating series because of the contrasting styles of play. Pittsburgh is a strong forechecking even strength team who plays best when the game rolls along for extended periods of five on five action. Tampa has been dominant on special teams, lighting up the scoreboard on their powerplay and completely shutting down the Pens turns with the man advantage, and setting up a stifling 1-3-1 trap when they get in front. The first goal is extra crucial in games for this series, because both teams play much better with the lead then coming from behind. It’s been pretty even hockey so far, and if Tampa can hold serve at home in game four it becomes a 3 game series where the Pens have the two home games. It should go right down to the wire.

*Finally, here are my initial top 10 rankings for the GOP nomination for 2012:
1) Mitt Romney- He’s the front runner for now, but I don’t think he will be there the winner in the end

2) Mike Huckabee- The former Gov of Arkansas is my pick from right here to take the nomination. Solid mix of tea party cred without seeming like a far right ideologue. He will get the crucial support of the Southern Evangelicals as well.

3) Sarah Palin- The most polarizing figure on the GOP landscape, but her supporters will be the most energetic of any candidates if she does end up running.

4) Ron/Rand Paul- Whichever one of them ends up seeking the platform will split the tea support with Palin. They don’t have her charisma, but have more intellectual credibility. Unfortunately that is not what you need to become President.

5) Donald Trump- I’m stunned he is even on this list, yet alone so high, but if he does run his name recognition alone will make him a force to be reckoned with.

6) Tim Pawlenty- Very non-controversial former Governor of Minnesota. Very vanilla and bland candidate.

7) Newt Gingrich- The former Majority Leader was the architect of the 1994 wave and revolution. The firebrand probably has too much negative baggage to be a serious contender for 2012.

8) Michelle Bachman- Is great for making outrageous statements for Cable clip shows, will carry some favor with Tea votes, but nothing close to enough to crack the top 5.

9) Haley Barbour- The Governor of Mississippi has been called one of the smartest pols in the Republican Party. It will take quite a bit of maneuvering for him to get up this list, but don’t write him off as a darkhorse.

10) Rick Santorum- The former Senator from Pennsylvania will carry some support among the religious right and is a tireless campainger. Is he angling for a VEEP nod coming from a crucial battle ground State?

Rangers back in series with Capitals

2011-04-17T22:51:00.004-04:00

The New York Rangers returned to the comfort of Madison Square Garden and pulled out a 3-2 victory over Washington Sunday.
The Rangers struggled to score in the first two games, but were able to get a few pucks past Michal Neuvirth. Erik Christensen scored on a funky shot.
Washington is one of the favorites and I still believe they will win the series in five, although New York will play them tough in Game 4. I predict a close win for the Capitals Wednesday, and they will close it out on home ice.
In other games, Vancouver beat Chicago, 3-2, to take a commanding 3-0 series lead. It looks like a new champion will be crowned this season.
Also, Nashville knocked off Anaheim, 4-3, to lead 2-1 in the 4-5 matchup in the West. This series is shaping up to be a good one. I picked the Ducks to win this one easy, but it is shaping up to being a solid series.

Stanley Cup playoffs update

2011-04-17T00:04:00.003-04:00

After four days of action in the Stanley Cup playoffs four teams have a 2-0 series lead and three series are tied at 1. One game is in progress.
In the Eastern Conference, the Washington Capitals and Montreal Canadiens have a 2-0 series lead, while the Pittsburgh-Tampa Bay and Philadelphia-Buffalo series is tied at 1-1.
In the West, the Vancouver Canucks and Detroit Red Wings hold 2-0 leads. The Anaheim-Nashville series is tied at 1-1.
With 12:20 and counting in the third period, the Los Angeles King are on the verge of tying their series with the San Jose Sharks, as they hold a 4-0 lead.
The Canucks look to be the strongest team in the West in terms of their play so far. Roberto Luongo has been stellar in goal, and the defense is playing well against a high octane offense in Chicago.
The Canadiens have played very well in their first two games against Boston, and are on a mission to get back to the Cup finals.
The next week should be exciting. I see a seven-game series between Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh. The others should go six or less.

Game 2 is key for Lightning

2011-04-15T13:22:00.003-04:00

For Tampa Bay to make this a series, it must win Game 2 tonight at the CONSOL Energy Center. Usually, the experts don't go for must wins until a team is down 0-2 heading into Game 3, but the Lightning need this game. They played a solid game Wednesday, but Marc-Andre Fleury was too good. The Penguins play very well on the road, and should have a majority of fans at the St. Pete Times Forum, so it is very important for Tampa Bay to steal this one. If they do, I see a seven-game series. If Pittsburgh wins, this one may only go five. For the Penguins to win the series early would be in its favor. I predict at least one of the other series will go six or seven games, and Matt Cooke could get on the ice for practice after his suspension. It is also possible that Sidney Crosby could return. Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay will come away with a 3-2 victory tonight. Steve Stamkos, who was basically nonexistant in Game 1 after Brook Oprik lit him up, will net the game winner. Enjoy the weekend.

Fleury steals the show

2011-04-14T14:11:00.003-04:00

Pittsburgh earned a 3-0 victory over Tampa Bay in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals Wednesday night at CONSOL Energy Center, although Marc-Andre Fleury probably stole it for the Penguins with 32 saves for his fifth career playoff shutout. From stopping former temmate Ryan Malone, to denying another former Penguin, Dominic Moore, who actually raised his hands in celebration, the "Flower" was the difference from the opening faceoff. Fleury also stopped Vincent Lecavalier on a shot by the forward between his legs early in the second period. Pittsburgh came out swinging when Brooks Oprik's hit on Steven Stamkos set the tone. The game was hard hitting and low scoring with good goalie play. It was the typical playoff game, and we could be in for possibly six more. Alex Kovalev scored the game winner. The playoffs are nothing new to Kovalev. The Lightning's Dwayne Roloson was impressive in goal, although the night belonged to Fleury. Fleury's greatest asset is his mental makeup. Nothing fazes him. Go back in time to Game 5 against Detroit in the Stanley Cup finals in 2009. He was chased after the Red Wings built a 5-0 lead in the second period. He licked his wounds, came back three nights later, and was the No. 1 star in a 2-1 Penguins' victory in Game 6. He was equally stellar in Game 7, and Pittsburgh won its third Stanley Cup. There is no questioning Fleury's ability, however Tampa Bay will come back. They didn't come this far to fold. The Lightning could very easily take Game 2 and head home with the momentum. That's what they're thinking. The objective for the road team is to split one of the first two, and then it becomes even. Fleury will give up a goal in this series, but I still believe he will be the difference. This all coming from a guy who was supposedly not good enough in October.