HarleyQuinn

Oof... my team on paper should be much better than it is but I have absolutely no consistency at all. One night, I'll get 3-4 guys with 15+ points and the next, I'll be lucky if Duncan can crack 15. Prime Example - Emeka Okafor: 5 points, 8 boards, 3 blocks - Emeka Okafor: 27 points, 17 boards, 3 blocks His stat line yesterday and tonight. I'm getting enigmatic performances from everybody outside of Tim Duncan, my only stable player.

1. MVP/OROY/DROY/COTY. Who you got in the discussion? MVP: Eli Manning OROY: Matt Ryan DROY: Jerod Mayo COTY: Tony Sporano in Miami. Took a 1-15 team and has them on the outside of the playoff race & AFC East. 2. What is the most disappointing team in the league? Seattle Seahawks who are 2-11 after 10-6 and 9-7 the previous 2 seasons. 3. Many teams are already thinking about the offseason. The Seahawks, Niners, Rams, Raiders, Chiefs, Lions, Browns, Bengals, and Browns are all hopeless. Pick a team or two (or all of them) and turn them into winners this offseason. Detroit Lions: Hire a competent GM preferably from a winning organization like the Patriots, Colts, or Chargers. Maybe look at what Atlanta did and hire a strong head of scouting, hire a defensive minded coach who will run the ball, and the owner should just back off. Also focus on players who fit specific roles rather than trying to get that rookie MLB who can tackle like a truck but can't play pass coverage for his life or that free agent OT who can run block but can't do anything else. St. Louis Rams: Dismantle the scouting staff and hire scouts who are willing to work for low pay and understand 100% what the coach wants in a player. Also build from the inside out (O-Line, D-Line) and gamble on overachievers in the 5th, 6th, and 7th round. Those are the guys who have high motors but may not be flashy. What they can do is play hard and play smart more often than not. Build a team concept from the GM on down to the interns. IMO, too many teams focus on getting that "one piece" in the front office/sidelines. It rarely works getting that one player on the field to bring a team over the hump, so why would it work in the front office? 4. How have you felt about the officiating this season? Honestly, the officiating has gotten killed more often than not but for the most part, they have been competent and even good throughout the season. It's just that the negative aspects have been blown up (as per usual) and the positives have been ignored. 5. Kick someone in the NFL right in the dick. Who are you picking and why? In the past it would've been Peyton Manning but now it's Bill Parcells. Bolts the Patriots, basically ignites the Pats/Jets rivalry, gets draft picks to hand over Belichick to us, then after some mediocre years with Dallas he returns as Miami GM and has them as a threat.

PM people... it takes 5 seconds off your life, jeez! /RANT Leon from Leon: The Professional

Agreed... it almost seemed like they took this game for granted as the Capitals were constantly pushing the puck into the Bruins' end (usually the RW with two teammates trailing to set up the offense) whereas the Bruins were trying to maintain a hit & grind approach but were unable to turn the puck over enough to be a serious threat in attacking Johnson, who played really well. I also think the really good teams don't "look past" their opponents and in this game, it seemed like the Bruins hit cruise control and expected another 5-2 or 4-1 victory.

New England: 24 Chicago (3.5) Tampa Bay Pittsburgh Carolina (7.5) (7.5) Washington (3.5) Tennessee Indianapolis (17.5) Jacksonville (5.5) San Diego Miami (6.5) N.Y. Jets (7.5) (3.5) Seattle Minnesota (7.5) New England N.Y. Giants Philadelphia (14.5)

Huh... Top 5 Things I Didn't Know Until Now 1: The Minnesota Wild have allowed 56 goals in 26 games (2.15 PG) but have only scored 72 on the year. 2: The Carolina Hurricanes are 13-12-3 (OTL) despite scoring 71 goals and allowing 83. 3: The Minnesota Wild have scored 29 goals on the PP, good for 3rd in the league. That number makes up 40% of their total goals scored. 4: The New York Rangers have the top PK (89.38%) while playing in the most NHL games - 30 - to date. 5: The Philadelphia Flyers have 12 SH goals and are only 1 of 5 teams in the NHL to have not allowed at least one.

I almost upset the #1 NC State, choked, and landed in the Bailout Bowl... sounds about right.

I'm barely behind USC in the PF lead. The only good thing is that my Pythagorean record comes out to 8-5 anyway. Of Note: Starvenger's Pythagorean record also gives him an 8-5 record based on PF and PA.

You asshole And you couldn't even get a proper image up either. Ass! *Sigh*

Meh on Gary Pinkel... He actually coached at Toledo first (went 10-1 in 2000 then jumped to Missouri). Tom Amstutz took that team to 10-2 the next year and won the MAC Championship & Motor City Bowl... hah. Although Toledo didn't make a bowl game in 2000 either, jeez. What's with 10-1 and 10-2 mid majors getting jobbed on the bowl invites early in the decade?!?

As Max said, the Bruins tapered off a bit in the 2nd and 3rd periods. Tim Thomas really bailed them out and even then, Tampa was getting good opportunities until the final seconds of the game. The offense continues to remain solid but my worries over the amount of good shots that TT and Manny face in every game is still there as the goaltending can only be superb for so long before chinks start to appear in the armor. I was hoping in the few one on one situations the Bruins had they would try and beat their respective defender and at least take the shot on net. At worst, they miss and the rest of the team catches up or is far back enough to still play good enough defense. Many of the players have the capability to dangle around a defender but seem to prefer to slow down and wait to set up the pass, which is great, but it also allows the opposition to get back and limit any potential opportunities. As an aside: I LOVED the two line passing going on in the 3rd period and that partly tied into the last comment. Sifting the puck up over the blue lines to a waiting Kessel (or whomever) is a great idea but it seemed like once that happened, the "attack" of the pass stopped and the individual waited rather than just crashing to the net.

*Sigh*... this completely baffles me but Verizon FIOS gets the NHL Network and guess what? It's part of their Extreme Sports HD Package. Well, that makes sense, you say because after all the games are in HD, etc. The NFL Network and now... the MLB Network are part of the basic Essentials Package. So why doesn't the NHL Network just become part of the basic package? It'd allow them greater access to homes and let them compete with the already available NFL and MLB channels. Not sure how the NHL Network works with other cable packages (if at all) but I was annoyed that a common sense marketing strategy seemed oblivious to the NHL. Since they aren't on a national network ala NBC, etc. right now, one would think it'd be more important to get a channel devoted to the sport into as many households as possible through the most wide available package out there.

Fair enough but those SEC defenses proved they too can allow points in bunches to the opposition. Alabama when confronted with a decent offense allowed 30 to Georgia and 31 to Florida. Arkansas allowed 49 to Alabama and 52 to Texas. Auburn allowed 34 to West Virginia and 36 to Alabama. Georgia allowed 41 to Alabama, 38 to LSU, 38 to Kentucky, and 45 to Georgia Tech. LSU allowed Troy to 31 and Mississippi to 31. Mississippi allowed 30 to Wake Forest. Having a great defense is swell but doesn't matter much when you can barely score more than 20 points a game (Hi Tennessee (17), South Carolina (22), Auburn (17)). If you want to go the record route, the Big 12 was also much tougher with 6 teams finishing at 8-4 or better. Florida and Tebow can throw the ball, but partly 'cause of stout defenses, he's never been asked to utilize his arm to win a game against an opponent that can drop 50+ on you if they heat up quickly. They lost to Michigan after allowing 41 points last year and they weren't a powerhouse offensively (Tebow threw for only 154 yards but had 3 TD). Since 2005, Florida has gone 2-1 in Bowl Games: 31-24 win over Iowa, 41-14 win over Ohio State, and 41-35 loss to Michigan. Ohio State had averaged 36 points prior to the NC game. Oklahoma is averaging around 54... either way, this is gonna be a big test defensively for Florida and I honestly don't expect a 42-21 type win for Florida. If anything, I expect this to more resemble Oklahoma/Texas earlier in the year, a 35-32 finish or something similar.

Hmm... Something that struck me was the massive difference between the offenses/defenses of the Big 12 and SEC (in light of Tebow's comment). In the SEC, the top two offensive teams went 12-1 with PF/PA of: Florida - 587/167 and Alabama - 405/169. Only three other teams offensively topped 300 points scored on the season! In the Big 12: Oklahoma - 702/319 (Av. 54 PPG), Texas - 527/223, Texas Tech - 535/315, Oklahoma State - 499/323, and Missouri - 561/358. Of note, only one team (Colorado) scored fewer than 300 points on the season. Personally, I think part of the reason that SEC is so defensively dominant is because the opposing offenses straight up SUCK. In the SEC, it seems like scoring 20-21 points is something to be celebrated whereas in the Big 12, scoring 28-30 may not guarantee a victory. I'm with Dama that part of the "success" in the Big 12 is because the offenses are so explosive both passing and running. The one game that Florida lost? They allowed 31 points, their season high, to Mississippi. Mississippi also outscored Florida 24-13 in the 2nd half of that game. As dominant as Florida has been, they've NEVER faced an offense as explosive as the one posed by Oklahoma and I think if Oklahoma can score quickly and early, it'll force Florida on their heels rather than getting up 24-3 or 28-10 and being able to wind the game down.

I hope BYU beats up on Arizona in the Las Vegas Bowl while Hawaii thrashes Notre Dame. I also hope the following mid majors win... - Nevada vs. Maryland - Air Force vs. Houston - Utah vs. Alabama

Looks like I won this week (Chicago, Houston, Miami, and Kansas City)

Thanks for the PM, Fish... I need me an ass kicking, psychotic French Girl... Nikita from La Femme Nikita by Luc Besson

We're getting a new I-AA Champion this year as Richmond knocked off Appalachian State with authority, 33-13. Final 4: #1 James Madison, #4 Northern Iowa, #5 Montana, and #7 Richmond

Ouch, baby... ouch

I really love that the Bruins are attacking the Panthers' blue line and constantly pushing the puck ahead whenever Florida even threatens to get close. The Bruins are up 2-0 including a great Kessel goal charging forward and shooting through the grouping at the front. Also the Bruins aren't giving the Panthers "dumb" penalties and thus PP opportunities. My only concern over the past few games was the high number of shots by the opposition but the Bruins are doing a good job of attacking and keeping the "TOP" more in the Florida end then their own. Edit: Kobasew can be really good in a few years. He has a good ability to dangle around an individual defender (done a couple times) and I hope he starts doing it a bit more as the season goes on.

Scooby Doo

I only brought up the bigger nets because I've seen it listed elsewhere as a possible change (A dumb change IMO). As for the goalie equipment, the biggest thing I've seen over at the Hockey's Future Board in relation to goalie equipment discussion isn't so much the leg pads or blockers or gloves but the chest protectors themselves. It seems like (even with the games I've watched) that goalies don't need to rely on making true stick or leg saves as much because they can sit in the net, let the puck hit them somewhere on the chest, and cover it up/skitter it out of the area. The only thing I'd honestly change on a goalie would be the size of the chest protector to fit the individual. A guy who's 6'4" may need a larger chest protector than a guy at 6'0" or 6'1". Compare a picture of Andy Moog from Edmonton to Boston and you'll see that the Bruins protector is much larger. As for the 2-1 being drab hockey, I never said that just because it's a 2-1 score that it's drab hockey. What is drab hockey is when almost every single game is that 3-0, 3-2, 2-1 game where there isn't great goaltending but just clutching defense and shots missing wide of the net constantly. The Bruins 3-1 win last night was great and featured great saves and shot opportunities from both Boston and TB. I can also appreciate a 4-3 or 5-4 victory in that same light... more goals doesn't mean crappy play either. I was watching the 1988 Game 6 game between Boston and Montreal last night and one of the interesting things I noticed was that teams were a lot more up tempo too in terms of attitude (aside from fairly poor defensive positioning). It seemed like both teams were pushing the puck up ice more through passes/individually and less worried about waiting to set up the blue line pass/dump and chase the puck. As for the last comment, look at my attendance records. They're hitting the highest marks that they've hit in 6-7 years and you say that they're catering to fans that aren't interested? As much as you and Barron may dislike the idea of a higher scoring league, it is drawing in interest and adding more fans to the arenas, which is really what matters to the NHL. - Carey Price busted out the retro equipment look last night for the Montreal Canadiens and looked perfectly fine in net (and it looked cool honestly). Watch the highlights of the game and tell there isn't a dramatic difference between him and Lundqvist when they do close ups of each.

New England - 20 Baltimore (5.5) Chicago (6.5) (8.5) Minnesota Houston Indianapolis (13.5) Atlanta N.Y. Giants (7.5) Tennessee (13.5) Miami Kansas City (3.5) N.Y. Jets Arizona (14.5) Pittsburgh (3.5) (4.5) New England Tampa Bay

No, what I'm saying is that I like low scoring games, and I don't want the NHL to constantly change the rules so people can go 6-4 game? Awesome! No. 1: Fair enough and I'm not arguing every game should be an 8-6 slug fest either but one has to wonder how far into the 3-0, 2-1, 3-2 scores does it have to go (See the dead puck era of the mid to late 90's) before it just gets boring to watch? I love seeing low scoring games but I get just as much enjoyment seeing those 6-5 and 5-4 games. If you look at the 1990-1991 game results, many of those scores were in the 4-3, 3-2 range while still having a much higher goal per game for all teams involved. It's great to have that 2-1 defensive battle but it's not so great when it becomes every game not due to great goaltending but due to clutching/grabbing defense and really bad shooting. In terms of attendance (After all, that's what drives the NHL) here are the numbers... Credit ESPN 2001: Top team averaged 18,492 (Detroit) - Bottom was 14,026 (NY Islanders) 2002: Top team averaged 19,124 (Detroit) - Bottom was 14,523 (Anaheim) 2003: Top team averaged 19,083 (Detroit) - Bottom was 14,698 (Nashville) 2004: Top team averaged 19,018 (Montreal) - Bottom was 14,237 (Carolina) 2006: Top team averaged 19,352 (Montreal) - Bottom was 14,633 (NY Islanders) 2007: Top team averaged 19,107 (Montreal) - Bottom was 14,632 (St. Louis) 2008: Top team averaged 19,411 (Montreal) - Bottom was 15,643 (NY Islanders) As you can see, the success has helped the NHL quite a bit through the increased scoring and it's telling that last year was the first year where the lowest attended team broke the 15,500 mark. There's already 3 teams averaging over 19,000 this season with Columbus the worst but still over 15,000. 2: You're right, it was focused on the salary cap.

It's not disconcerting at all. The NHL should not do anything to increase scoring. Oh, please... last year only 2 players topped 100 points! Here's a comparison of the GAA numbers from 1990 and 2007. Goalie Comparison 1990-1991 - Ed Belfour - 2.47 GAA and faced 25.4 SPG - Don Beuapre - 2.64 GAA and faced 24.3 SPG - Patrick Roy - 2.71 GAA and faced 28.4 SPG - Andy Moog - 2.87 GAA and faced 25.6 SPG 2007-2008 (5 Goalies played 40+ games and had a GAA under 2.20) - Jonas Hiller - 2.06 GAA and faced 25.1 SPG - Chris Osgood - 2.09 GAA and faced 22.7 SPG - JS Giguere - 2.12 GAA and faced 26.0 SPG - Dominik Hasek - 2.14 GAA and faced 20.9 SPG You're telling me that the above GAA are perfectly fine and have had no benefit from the increase in goalie equipment size? Martin Brodeur's been complaining about implementing an "individual" based equipment size since around 2003. You're basically going from one extreme, mid to late 80's scoring, to the goalie extreme where they're putting up insane GAA partly due to equipment size. I'll definitely grant that they are possibly much more talented nowadays through training, etc. but do they really need to be wearing 37 and 38 inch pads if they're 5'11" or 6'0"? Patrick Roy was putting up insane GAA during the "high" scoring era (2.40-2.60 range) and at ages 35, 36, and 37 he put up GAA of 2.21, 1.94, and 2.18. Part of the reason behind the entire lockout of 2004 was the insanely low GAA and decreased scoring in the NHL.