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"Beer Money" was an expression long before Bradshaw & Simmons started using it. I think it's a stretch to say that it should be identified, or exclusive, to them. Having said that, though, it's still a stupid name for a tag team.

I've been a proponent of that format for some North American Sports for a while now, but there are so many obstacles that it just couldn't work out. The biggest of which would be how unwilling teams would be to accept a demotion in a sport that didn't historically have them. Imagine telling, say, the Miami Heat that instead of playing the Lakers, Cavaliers & Celtics, they'll be playing Albany, Yakama, and the Atlanta Krunk in the CBA. How would the team ever draw any fans, get advertising, etc, playing against the lower level (and largely unknown) teams? It works in Europe & the UK because it's always been that way, but I think the push-back in the US would prevent it from happening. I recently jumped on the EPL bandwagon and had to pick an English football team to support. I actually did some research about the teams (their history, their fans, etc) and ended up going with Reading FC because it was their first year in the top division and I thought it'd be fun to support a major underdog. Of course, they got relegated after this season (their second year in the Prem) so now I have to follow a mid-level team instead of a team in the Prem. Just do some research on the teams and pick the most applicable.

Ken Hodge & Brian Rafalski were both on my wish-list, and I stupidly thought that they'd be available for another round or two ... in hindsight, I probably jumped the gun on Lindbergh and could have waited another round or 4 for him. Having said that, Peter Bondra, c'mon down, you're the next forward on the NL Five. - 500 career goals - led the league in scoring twice - scored 50+ goals twice, 40+ another two times, and 30+ another five times (including the strike-shortened season, when he did it in 47 games)

I think Jayson Stark made a good argument of why Schilling should be included; if you compare him to other pitchers of his era, he was definitely among the best. I went from being on the fence about it to being convinced. So while I think he's a clown, I think he's a HOF-caliber player as well. I also think his induction speech would last about eleven-teen hours and include the word "I" so often that no one else would be allowed to use it for 3 days.

I think the better question is "is this something that will start, or contribute to, a conversation?" ... and if the answer is "no", then the post should be modified to make it a conversation piece. I think a vast majority of what we all talk about would fail a "is this something that we need to share to the community at large?" test.

While I loathe to admit that I spent this much time thinking about it, I actually made a list of coaches that I'd be comfortable picking to lead the Five, and my list was long enough that I'd be able to get a coach that I was Ok with - and on top of that, a few coaches selected weren't on my list at all. If given the choice of selecting a player or a coach, I'd always take the player first, so I don't think I'll select a coach until my last pick of the draft. Then again, I had been thinking of holding out on selecting my #2 netminder up until just before I picked Lindbergh, so everything said above is subject to change.

I only read as far as the first entry ... while I'm admittedly a cynic, I really doubt that E-40 is the first person to call Bacardi 151 by the numbers. While I hate to speak disparigingly about someone as credible as E-40, I do believe he might be trying to take credit for some things that he didn't originate.

Hey, sorry I missed my pick, all ... up in New Hampshire enjoying a little bit of nature and a lot a bit of alcohol. Adding to Lafontaine & Neely on my "how good would they have been without injuries?" list, I'd like to select Pelle Lindbergh as my back-up goalie ... and potentially my starter. He, obviously, suffered the career-ending injury of "no longer breathing" after driving into an elementary school, but while he was still inhaling & exhaling, he was one of the best young goalies in the game, winning a Vezina in his first full season as a starter.

Holy shit I think I see one black guy in the way back of that crowd. There's also no women. I guess Boston is sexist as well as racist.

/note to self: don't be afraid to give Carnival a Huggalo

You do realize it's the basketball HOF and not just the NBA HOF, right? And you do realize that Maravich averaged like 44 points a game for his entire NCAA career, and led the nation in scoring all three years he was in school, right?. Even if Maravich had never played in the NBA, he would be worthy of enshrinement.

Makes no sense, Czech. He wasn't one before, but then led a team to a championship and was named MVP. So while I agree that he wasn't a HOF'er before, I don't see how that's relevant to him being one now. Lots of players "earn" their HOF-candidacy based on a single postseason. Having said that, I'd agree that he's borderline (at best) at this point - but the likelihood of going in increased a lot because of the last month or so of basketball. False, the Celtics were pitiful, amongst the worst in the league. "Mediocre" would be a stretch. Allen, Garnett, and who? And it's not like it's easy to pick up "mercenaries" - they gave up most of their young talent to acquire those players. They didn't just overpay for them, they traded assets for assets. "Expected to win"?!? They were underdogs going into the championship round, and in most (if not all) of the games. Doesn't sound like they were expected to win to me. I think a lot of people were expecting them to do what the Lakers did when they loaded up with Malone & Payton: get there and not win.

I really couldn't decide if this player was worth picking now, but I really need a 4th defensemen, and since we're going by "the player at his best & healthiest", I figure it's tough to pass on a defensemen that scored 34 goals in a season (and I think he added another 45 assists or so that year). The Northern Lights Five are proud to select Kevin Hatcher, defensemen, to the organization.

re: Hossa ... At least re-signing with Pittsburgh would keep him away from Montreal, which has been rumored as his landing spot much as (if not more than) Pittsburgh or Boston. The bad news, though, is that it means that Chia might go overboard in a bidding war to land him, and I wouldn't be thrilled at signing him for $8m (or more) per season). re: Wheeler ... I just want to echo what Max said, it feels good to see a player with options choose Boston as a destination. Seeing him and Lucic on the ice at the same time? It might be enough to make Bostonians care about hockey again.

Even though the well of great/very good defensemen is starting to run dry, I want to add one more forward before I go back to worrying about my blue line, and who better than a 70 goal scorer, a guy that averaged over 40 goals/season while with the Kings, a guy that whose run near the top could have lasted longer if LA didn't deal him to NYC ... the Northern Lights Five are proud to welcome Bernie Nicholls to the organization.

That's not really the point I was making, I was saying that I hate makeshift tag teams that are just two wrestlers thrown together for no reason other than they are both faces/heels. While it's painfully frustrating when it's two guys that were just in a blood feud, I think sometimes something as simple as a common goal (e.g. wanting to hurt a certain wrestler) or the proverbial "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" is enough. Whether either of those classify as "both are faces" or "both are heels", I'm not sure ... but it can be something as simple as "we both hate X, let's get together and take care of him".

Note to self: Pick a real, true enforcer to beat the living shit out of Ulfie when the Five play against UndertakerHart's team. Yes, Neely will want to do so himself - again - but I don't want my top-line RW spending 5 minutes in the box for fighting, or 5-10 in the house of corrections for aggravated assault. Let a 4th line goon go to jail.

I like how The Truthiness is completely without blame in it all.

In Dama's defense, Matt, the fact that you included "and I don't recall you ever publicly supporting them before this season" gave the impression that you were trying to call him out on bandwagon jumping. I don't think you were, but I can see why someone would interpret your question as more than a simple "why?"

If only Pierce was as stoic as Kobe Bryant ... that guy never whines or complains about calls.

Wait, Jingus: did you really try to compare the "violence" from movies or tv shows with the "violence" of pro wrestling? Shows like The Shield, or movies like the Bond flicks, don't even pretend to be real; it's 100% recognized as being fake, with actors participating in the violence. Wrestling, on the other hand, still pretends to be real. Yes, I know that 'kayfabe' is a grey area, and there are times that they acknowledge that it's not real ... but more often or not, they pretend that the punches are real, that moves actually hurt, etc. Most of us are smart enough to recognize that it's all a work, but they try to maintain a level of reality that you won't find in a TV show or a movie. Plus, it's an angle in pro wrestling ... why are you trying to point out the flaws in it? Why not focus on how stupid it is for someone to bounce back on an Irish Whip?

Unless I'm mistaken, Treble's 12 hours are up ... With the (whatever pick this is), the Northern Lights Five would like to welcome Howie Morenz, center, to the organization. Considered hockey's first true "superstar", he played a huge role in establishing the NHL in the US. Injuries shortened his career, but when he was healthy, he was one of the best point producers in a defense-first league. A couple of Harts, a couple of Art Ross's. Voted #15 in The Hockey News' 100 Greatest Players.

As much as saying this makes me throw up in my mouth ... he also had 90+ assists in the season that he was given away to SJ (the year he carried Cheechoo to the Richard) and then surpassed 90 the next year as well, his first full season with the Sharks. But, hey, the Bruins have a 2nd line winger (earning $3.5m with a no-trade clause), a checking line winger, and an (at best) number 4 d-man to show for that trade, so who am I to complain?

I wanted to grab another playmaker with this pick. And was hesitant to go with another active player, but this player's assists stats are just too good to pass up. (no pun intended) With my next pick, I'd like to welcome Joe Thornton to the Northern Lights Five. - Makes good players look great, so will hopefully make great players look, ummm, greater - Only the 3rd player to pick up 90+ assists in consecutive seasons (the other two are a pair of nobodies, Wayne Something-or-Other and a French guy named "Mario") - 1 time Hart winner, 1 time Art Ross winner - Not nearly as bad in the postseason as people like to pretend I'm content with Thornton anchoring my second line.

While I agree that it's a bit over the top to start talking about Divine Intervention or angels or anything, it's insane to say "he ended up not being hurt, so he's a pussy for erring on the side of caution". At the time of the injury, he thought that he was more injured than he was in reality. Happens all the time. Players lie on the floor, writhing in pain, and end up not even leaving the court or needing any real assistance. And the tears, in my biased Boston eyes, were more "I can't believe I finally got to the NBA Championship and I might be too hurt to even finish one game" ... not tears of pain. And not for nothing, the NBA is the league that had a player carried off the court with a broken nose a few years ago. And Dwayne Wade leaving the court in a wheelchair because of a shoulder injury. To have a player be treated with extra care isn't really new or shocking.