Crib Notes - Calgary Flames

Calgary Flames
Finished 2nd in the Northwest. Lost to Chicago in 6 games in first round of the playoffs.
Traded Jordan Leopold and change for Jay Bouwmeester
Acquired former Ranger forwards Nigel Dawes and Freddy Sjostrom
Lost Mike Cammalleri and Tito Bertuzzi to free agency
Let Adrian Aucoin fly to Phoenix

Questions going into 2009-2010:
Remember when Mikka Kiprusoff was a monster?
Can Kiprusoff get back on track and dominate?
Will the addition of Jay Bouw on D make up for losing Mike Cammalleri's goal scoring?
How successful will Brent Sutter be in his first season?
Which Canadien athlete will Elisha Cuthbert shack up with next?

Players who need to step up now that Mike Cammalleri is a Canadien:
Olli Jokinen and Jarome Iginla

Watch this guy have a resurgence out of nowhere just because:
Craig Conroy. Who knows.

If you had to buy one Calgary sweater:
I have a red Dougie Gilmour in my closet somewhere. It's as bright as the new throwback 3rds the team will be wearing this season.

Sneaky fantasy LW:
Rene Bourque when healthy was great value

Old guys:
Craig Conroy is 38

Young guys:
John Armstrong is the youngest guy on the roster at 21

Tough guys:
Phaneuf already KO'd Kyle Okposo. (KOed Kyle Okposo, ladies and gentleman. I'm so talented.)
Brian McGrattan is the heavyweight and Brandon Prust is going for the middleweight title.

Favorite old Flamer:
(Tie) Joel Otto and Charles Nelson Reilly

Nostalgia:
Theo Fluery was invited to training camp. He was recently released from the team.

A rare miss:



Goaltending coach:
Jamie McLennan is an assistant so I assume he's coaching the tenders.

Best thing about watching Flames games on tv:
The Saddledome has (in my opinion) the best camera angles on tv and the best collection of talent in the stands. There's always really hot chicks in cowboy hats and red sweaters.

Interesting?:
I see that they have an application to be a part of the Big Country Ice Crew on the team website. I think that's new because the ice girls were called the Fire and Ice chicks or something like that.

NHL 94 players:
Theoren Fleury, Gary Roberts and Joe Nieuwendyk up front.
Gary Suter and Al MacInnis on D with Mike Vernon in net.
Gary Suter was ranked higher than Al MacInnis thart season.

Prediction?:
I don't know if there's enough secondary scoring for this team to really make noise. There's a big drop off after the second line.

YouTube:
You've seen this before and don't even try to watch this again because the song will get stuck in your head for week.


- Nemmy

The weekend and the playoffs

So this past weekend...passover night actually, I went out to a club on Long Island with my good friend Aaron and my cousin Brittany. Brittany works for a liquor distributor in the marketing division so she gets to go to clubs and bars and drink free bottles in an attempt to rep the brand of liquor. Its a great gig for now but she says she doesn't want to do it for too much longer, obvious reasons, there's just so much drinking and partying on the week nights you can do.

So they were out of tables so we set up at the end of the bar with 4 bottles of this crazy Tequila and a SUPRA bottle of Goose. After about an hour Carnage started to come out (featured above) and Nemy wasn't there to put him away so me and Aaron started walkin' around the club. We stopped by the main entrance and started to chat while observing shorties in da club (don't worry I won't type like this the whole time) and noticed a bunch of dudes walking in. Scruffy guys and one of them had no front teeth. I looked at Aaron and I'm like these guys have to be hockey players. Oh wait maybe they're the Soundtigers who are up with the Islanders and I don't recognize them but than I did recognize Jeff Carter and Mike Knuble. Yes the Flyers got out of the garden as fast as possible that night and Aaron Asham was apparently showing them a pre-playoff night.

I spoke with Knuble for a few seconds because well you just have to talk to Mikey Knuble. He wished me luck with the show and I ditto'd with luck for him in the playoffs. A genuine man if I may say so. Hartnell kinda snubbed me as i said in passing at one point in the night, "Hey Scott good luck in the playoffs man!" He kinda snubbed me just reiterating Nemy's intitial take on him. Nemy's grudge with him lies with his impulsive need to start shit after the whistle with people. It's his game and I understand that and he has had a phenomenal year but it's the way that he does it. And the hair and negative 1000. Nobody but me knows who the hell you are in that club that you have to throw a snub. I have a hockey show...thats one in a million dude. Again negative 1000.At another point in the evening, I saw Danny Carcillo in the bathroom. There were like 50 dudes in there and I remember saying to myself drunk, does anybody know that there is a professional maniac in the bathroom with all of us right now. As we were washing our hands, I said to him, "If you don't absoultely rip someones head off in the playoffs!" He laughed and we parted ways. Good kid. That could mean strong things for the Flyers in the playoffs that I saw them there. I saw McCabe pre-season one time at IceWorks and he had his best season ever. I know that all means nothing but I don't have the Flyers winning it. Speaking of winning it. Lets here who you guys have taking it. Here is my playoff tree for the first round.

East

NJ - Car: NJ

Bos - Mon: Bos

Phi - Pitt: Phi

NYR - Was: Was

West

Anh - San: San Jose

Van - St.Louis: St. Louis

Det - Cob: Det

Cgy - Chi: Cgy

I think Detroit will win it all. Don't know why. Buying a top...I know...been doing it all day.

- Barbone
Artem's jib arm.
P.s. If any of you have any youtube clips of great goals, hits, saves, passes funny things related to hockey...quick clips...not long put the link in the comments, thanks!

Pixalated Images of Leonard the Cat and his travels to the South Seas

Leonard was a businessman. Not a family man. He spent a good portion of his life on the road...selling. Clearly a true and devout champion of his time, Leonard finished atop his class at Cambridge where he dabbled in the likes of complacency studies and the art of wine tasting. Truly a man's man with a keen sense of things.

Don't kid yourself though, despite listening to Lionel Richie a little to often in the bath, he has a way in situations. Look at him for a second. High, thick collar with a squint that could kill a man, literally. Like Michael Green atop the powerplay point in W d.c. sensing Ovy is creeping back-door for the drop shot.

The reason I ran off about Leonard Skrastins the III making negative sense to you all is that I am currently watching the Senators play the Lightning in which used to not be bottom racing.com of the east but just a few years back. It conjured up old thoughts about Leonard and his frequent domination over my mind.

Off of Leonard for a second and onto the 11:30 men's league we have in a few hours. Somebody end my life. I have no excuse not to be there so I will cowboy up or Nemy might break into my apartment and make me listen to The DropKick Murphy's or even Beck. I had like 5 albums from Beck and deleted all but 4 songs tonight after finally listening to them. Really? Does anyone listen to Phil Collins anymore. Throw Duke on while watching the Hurricane Hawks game and see how you respond and no jacket is required people.

What are your top songs to throw on while sifting through fantasy sports or playing NHL 09?
What gets you ready to play the game? What did you like listening to before a college game? What can you throw on to go skate by yourself, ipod under the shirt and just let it out?

My top 10, in no particular order:
(1) Barry White - Let The Music Play
(2) Bob Marley - Satisfy My Soul
(3) Pearl Jam - Oceans
(4) Hall & Oates - Private Eyes
(5) Ludacris - One More Drink
(6) Jack Johnson - Holes To Heaven
(7) MegaMan 2 - BubbleMan Level (For those whose Head just exploded)


That level is so soothing with the music and the water.

(8) Phil Collins - Don't Lose My Number
(9) The Pretenders - Don't Get Me Wrong
(10) Stone Temple Pilots - Wicked Garden

Excuse me while I suck my girlfriends face off for a second!

And we're back. Have you ever just felt like you haven't done anything at work for a REALLY LONG TIME? Wow. I mean...seriously at this point. If Tony Tanti doesn't come into my office and slap the shit out of me soon, I may defect to the Czech Republic with Petr Klima.

Tony Tanti of the foreground.

What does everyone think of Anti Niemi? Just gonna leave that one on the table.

Devils - Flames Stanley Cup Finals?

This is my good friend Santa Barbaris. Leader of the Malignant Fools.

Is anyone a big Scottie Hartnell Fan? Nemy just can't stand his after the whistle antics. So much L'Oreal flow going on and alot of snot to boot. Could be best point/pim man this year. Has anyone seen any of my fantasy teams this year? I think they were lost in the swamps of Sadness. Gmork got to them like he always does. To whomever has the courage and the balls to go back 20 years.

And if you really wanna get some.


And to those who have simply had enough of this mid-week rant about absolutely nothing. I commend for getting this far. Have a good rest of the week and walk as tall as possible over the weekend with a swagger resembling that of only Jeff Wechsler.

- Barnapolis

Kevin Lalande (to CBJ) for 4th round pick (to CGY)

And thats the bottom story of the day....