All-Star Draft

Hi, remember me? I used to write blog posts.

Here are some quick thoughts on last night's all-star draft:

1) It needs more booze. If I was producing the event I'd make sure that backstage area had an open bar. The event is new, guys are stiff, and guys need to loosen up a bit. Plus by the time Logan came out for his car he would have been pickled and throwing punches.

2) Change the venue - Again let's loosen it up a bit. No need for suits and jackets. Instead have the event with small tables instead of stands and let the guys lounge a bit. Have a few mics being passed so guys already picked can chirp those who are being chosen. Have Giroux's mic hot the entire show. Let's get running commentary going. The guys are shy as it is. I like the lively crowd but maybe take the crowd out so the guys get more comfortable in a dressing room or bar type situation.

3) I think James Duthie does a tremendous job - He handled the Timmy Thomas interview like a pro and was sharp throughout. BUT give him some help. It would be nice if Roenick and maybe Kevin Weekes worked some play by play during the event.

4) No knock on Igor larionov's daughter but that Twitter inclusion is dopey - She seems cool and should be backstage with interviews of guys who are sweating it out.

5) What exactly are the laptops for? - again the event is a little too formal. Have the captains sitting at a table with a list of players and instead of making the selections like its an entrance draft have them say why they are drafting these guys. For example a loose Lupul could say "I'm picking Tim Thomas because Chara threatened to Pacioretty my ass if I chose a goalie before him."

6) Lupul was excellent - He's sharp and had a few good lines (when Kessel was picked was great). I felt like he held back a bit because he didn't want to really engage the fans. A beer or two and permission to engage enemy targets from the higher ups would help make things more interesting.

7) That music was brutal.

8) For the 2nd year now someone watching with us is way too stoned and tries to say that the picks are preselected because they already have a white or dark sweater with the name on the back. Come on, Scotty. You're better than that.

9) Kane loved the blond sweater girl but the brunette was a lottery pick. Not too many guys said thanks when the ladies took their jackets.

10) Kane and Iginla didn't say hi to each other that whole time backstage? And how awkward was that handshake? That was terrible.

Skills comp tomorrow. Chara will have hardest shot, Seguin with hit all 4 targets and Soupy gets fastest skater.

Stay loose,

Nemmy

8 vs 9

A year ago at this time the Bruins were doing coke with natural-breasted rippers on speedboats. What a difference a year makes as tonight they play the post trade deadline Atlanta Thrashers in order to stay relevant. Shit happens. Instead of sitting around wondering how the hell the Coyotes are the team to beat in the West let's watch a few clips of guys ripping slappers on penalty shots.



Chara gets in so close before opening up. Scary. We all know his shot from the high slot is over 100 mph. How fast was this one travelling? It's like when ESPN shows us how hard the 12 year olds in the LLWS throw and then give us the equivalent from an MLB mound. Whatever.



Vanek is sick. He really makes it look so easy. He seems to freeze Huet (or whoever) on his back swing. Very Ernie Els-like.



Hossa rips top shelf. Sorry for the remix video but it's all I could find of this awesome clip. Dirtiness.

Thrashers host Bruins at 7.
Boola-Boola




- Nemmy

What you missed last night while you were charing your roomba (not a euphamism)

Red Wings beat the Flames, 2-1: The Wings goals were scored in the exact fashion that you would expect them to score. Datsyuk makes a move and with no release, snipes high blocker. Holmstrom in front, tip, goal.

Devils beat the Bruins, 3-2: Marty Brodeur caught the puck, made a sick saucer pass to Clarkson, who scored on Thomas. Was anyone else surprised that Chara made no play on Clarkson?

BJs beat the Oilers, 5-3: Why would I watch this game?

Life's Unfair

So Patty Berg came back from Vancouver with a nicked-up groin

and Marc Savard got decked by Matt Cooke

and now Chara is sitting with a "lower body injury"

and don't forget to check out the clown that Marisa Miller is banging.



waah waah.

Quit your crying and get back to work. We've got 19 games left to secure a playoff spot and we need all hands on deck.



Let's roll.



- Nemmy

Summer of Couch

Its been a tumultuous summer for me. I won't bore you with the details. Here we are about 2 weeks before the season is about to start. This post will not be a preview or a prediction, but a bunch of things (some crazy) that have been swirling around my head the past few months.

When hockey season ended, my broken leg did not heal magically. I was still all movement-inhibited, except there wasn't much on TV ... except for baseball. This was before the Mets epic injury mammoth (bug doesn't do it justice). Anyway, so I'm watching baseball a lot and just kept thinking, what if NHL players could only use wood bats..er sticks.
Stay with me for a sec - The reason that pro baseball only uses wood bats is a safety issue (they don't want pitchers getting killed by line drives). Granted, that logic doesn't work for the NHL. The only thing getting harmed by the one-piece wonder sticks are goalie GAAs. But wouldn't it be nice to see players battle for a puck and not see a stick break and then not see the expected slashing call? If the NHL went to wood sticks only, would we see a huge decline in scoring? Probably not, Jason Spezza does alright. I guess the trade off would be that no curve would be illegal. How about that? What if players could use either a wood stick or a composite, but the wood stick would have no limitations? Chara would have a 7 foot tall piece of lumber. Kovy might have a Sherwood Original that looked like a spoon. Its not logical and its unnecessary, but this is what you think about when you are couch-ridden with a broken leg for most of the summer.

Are you still reading? Ok, here's more

There will probably be another work stoppage/strike/lockout in 2012. Its not just because of the Paul Kelly firing. But once the Hossa deal was "investigated" by the NHL, you had to know something was up. Here's the thing: The NHL owners "won" the last CBA. They got their salary cap. They got players to roll back salaries (remember that 24%) and put 55% of their pay in escrow. The owners got a lot of stuff. They players didn't fare too badly. They still get paid damn well. And that should be enough. But owners are still losing money (I'm not going to comment on the Coyotes or the Islanders) and so the system still isn't good enough. Some GMs (with their owners blessing, I'm sure) found "loopholes" in cap system. Remember, a loophole is still legal. So, teams are locking up players for a longer deals in order to have a lower cap hit. I fail to see the problem. Its a good thing that fans get their favorite players on their team for long periods of time. Its something that fans can look forward to. It gives their team an identity. I get that front-loading contracts gives cash-heavy teams an advantage, but there will always be some advantage. In a nutshell, the reason there will be a work stoppage is because the players don't like the CBA because of the cap and the escrow and the owners don't like it because it wasn't airtight enough. Have fun watching the KHL in 2012. I know Ovy is sneaky happy.

There's more, but its only Monday. I need to spread myself out. I'm still on the DL, so I'm sure more crazy thoughts will come to me.

-Bress

The Final 4... series that is

Bruins vs Hurricanes:

• Besides the Rangers, this is the best match-up the Bruins could have asked for. Cam Ward might be able to steal a game, but Eric Staal is going to face Zdeno Chara every freaking game, so who knows how much Carolina will be able to score.
• Bruins in 6

Capitals vs Penguins:

• The only guarantee besides Pierre Maguire creaming himself while being between these benches is that you will see some great hockey.
• The key to this series is Simeon Varlamav - Is he to dumb to realize where he is or will the pressure get to him. Caps fans, if you see Theodore in net, the series is over.
• Penguins in 7

Red Wings vs Ducks

• This series has all the makings for an upset for the Wings
• Hot goalie, physical team, and superhot scoring line on the Ducks might chase Osgood.
• I'm going to follow Scotty's logic though (I know) - In seven games can anyone beat the best?
• Red Wings in 7

Canucks vs Blackhawks

• Probably the best goaltending match up of the 4 series
• I like the youth and scoring of the Hawks over the experience and grit of the Canucks
• Blackhawks in 7

Here is the leaderboard after the 1st round (put your 2nd round picks in the comments)

Bress – 28

Cornelius– 40

Nemmy – 24

Mr. W – 22

Moe -31

Heals – 27 (swept the east)

Brando – 17

Lars – 16

Alex – 51

Mac – 24

Hark -31

What you missed last night while taking the best naps ever on LIRR

As always on Wednesdays, I'll pick one thing from each game you needed not to miss.

Ducks beat the Oilers, 5-3: MacT's bonehead move - Taking a page from Ron Wilson's book, MacT tried to get a late power play by getting Teemu Selanne's stick measured. Yea, it was legal. MacT's move put the Oilers down a man, when they were already down a goal. Maybe Wilson will hire him as an assistant in Toronto.

Canucks beat the Wild in OT, 2-1: Henrik's GWG - Daniel led the rush and went parrallel to the blue line to make the drop pass to his brother. It seemed like the other two Canucks were crashing the net, so its a good thing the shot got through. I don't know where it beat Backstrom, but it did and the Nucks won.

Canadiens win over the Hawks, 4-1: Kovalev's first goal - It was an egregious give away by the Hawks d-man, but there was no hesitation from Kovalev when he put the puck in far side on the tight angle.

Panthers beat the Senators, 5-2: Cory Stillman's backhand sauce - It led to the first Florida goal, so its important. Stillman was on what appeared to be a solo rush down the wing, but with great vision comes great responsibility and when he saw Nathan Horton cruising the slot alone, he knew he need to get him the puck. And thats when the little flick of wrists caused the puck to jump and then land flatly for Horton.

Bruins beat the Lightning 4-1: Bergeron's pass to Chara - I know its a set play, but to find that seem so quickly is impressive. Also, Chara has to time it well. I also like how Chara has to get into a squat position to celebrate with Patrice.

BJs beat the Predators, 2-1: Nash's power move - He didn't score, but he consistently beats the d-man and gets a shot on net. Every d-man in the league thinks he has the angle on Nash, but then that big left leg comes about and you are done.

Stars beat the Kings, 3-2: No reason to watch this game.