The Czech Republic

Greg Maddux reminds me of Joel Hodgson in some photos.

I know, the North Stars were just before Bettman came in. But still, the league had an obligation to step in and say "no," and they didn't. Bettman takes all responsibility for fucking over Quebec City, Winnipeg, and Hartford, however. The only team that was worth it was the Avalanche, and the COMSAT people who first purchased the Nordiques were in line to get an expansion team very soon, anyway, so the Nords and Avs could have co-existed.

"Tom Brady" is to me watching Sportscenter as "cleaning woman" is to Steve Martin in Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid.

I'd rather the Bulls would suck lots with these guys than suck less with Kobe. Guess it works out perfectly.

Pedro's career will be ended by People Who Look Like Things.

bwahahahaha Does anyone find it ironic that Jeff Loria is about to fuck over another city? Maybe we should contract the Marlins too, or rather, merge them with the Devil Rays.

We saw Hawkins at closer. Nuff said. Fuck Mercker, okay? He ran Steve Stone out of town. I know we can't bring Stone back, but that doesn't make me feel any better about re-hiring Mercker. Len Kasper and Bob Brenly...this is gonna suck. Okay listen. If Kyle Farnsworth hasn't come together yet, he never will. Trade him away for Chee-tos.

Detroit in the East? Shit, I still want the Leafs back in the West. My Blackhawks need Original Six rivals, dammit. (oh who am I kidding: the once-hot Wings-Hawks rivalry is long dead, and Hawks-Blues is on its deathbed too. Face it, we're dukin' it out with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Where are you, Norris Division? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.) Redbaron: don't give Bettman too much credit for getting Minnesota in the NHL. Fun fact: from 1967-1993, there was a team in the league called the "Minnesota North Stars." Their logo was an N that pointed to a star, it was really sorta neat. There was NO excuse whatsoever for not having pro hockey in the Twin Cities for those seven seasons. (And guess what? Another very heated Chicago Blackhawks rivalry was killed off.) The move to Dallas should've been blocked from the get-go just on sheer principle alone. Sacrificing one of the biggest hockey hotbeds for Dallas was just STUPID! I don't care what happened with attendance, I'm sure they would've pulled it together. And just think: Minnesota could've brought home a Stanley Cup in '99 to go along with all the Golden Gophers' accolades. Removing Minnesota from the league set a bad precedent that the league never recovered from. In closing, saying "Wow, Bettman bringing hockey to St. Paul was GREAT!" is like praising a burglar for giving you some of your stereo system back.

The Los Angeles Lakers are the 2004 Western Conference Champions, not the T-Wolves.

The reason the Patriots aren't as respected as the Cowboys and Niners is just because they're more of a well-oiled machine across the board and don't really have the same kind of star power. You'd think that sort of thing would make a team more respected, but such is life. Tom Brady isn't Joe Montana. He wins games, but he's not a legendary quarterback by any means. I don't care how many rings he has/will get. I don't like Tom Brady.

Wow, let's play "Spot The Homer" in this thread!

I'll tolerate Tampa Bay or Miami but not both. Phoenix is stupid. Atlanta is stupid. Columbus is iffy. The Carolina Hurricanes are the biggest fucking embarrassment to hockey. I bet "Hockey 101" wasn't printed above the urinals in the Boston Garden. I know they didn't need big curtains to make the mostly-comped crowd of 2,000 look more impressive at The Chicago Stadium.

Mike Tice is a bumbling fuck but I still hate Mike Martz even more.

I think the Stanley Cup absolutely HAS to be awarded to make sure it stays continous. Or continual. I forget. Have the players invent their own teams and make a tournament. Give it to the college kids. ANYTHING!

Given that there are no good rotations in the East, I guess the Mets get it by default with Pedro-Glavine-Benson-Trachsel-whatever. I still have faith in Leo Mazzone throwing something together to usurp New York though. The Atlanta Braves are NL East champions until proven otherwise beyond reasonable doubt. "Closer" is reading this thread. PLEASE COME TO THE NORTH SIDE

Gary Bettman's idea of appealing to them is to expand (yup!) into Eastern Europe. Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Prague Springers? No!

The Mets honestly thought they could pass Florida, Philadelphia, and Atlanta to make the playoffs?!?!? Are you shitting me?

Oh yeah it's mostly because of the trap, clutch-n-grab, and overexpansion that allows these subpar players in, no doubt. But I'm wondering if maybe having shitty ice that's more conducive to a trap game is a minor factor as well.

I hope they finish 9th.

Also, my "Nunavut Minimalists" joke was no-sold. "Helmets? Pads? Gloves? We don't need Nunavut!"

I really don't know because I do not play on the ice there. I think Broduer hated it though and I know Mike Modano hates the ice American Airlines Arena. So you no-sold my point that the ice surface suffers with "it doesn't matter cuz they all play indoors," then you conceded that Brodeur didn't like the Anaheim rink, and Modano doesn't like the Dallas rink. I think you just proved my point for me. Also, Brett Hull bitched that the ice at Reunion Arena was bad when he was with the Stars, but honestly, Brett Hull bitches about everything, so that really doesn't count. Truth of the matter is, ice surface suffers in multi-purpose warm-weather arenas. It doesn't matter that it's indoors, it just doesn't hold up the same way. Be glad the Panthers and Heat don't share a building (though the fact that they don't seems rather wasteful given that they're the f'ing Panthers), or it would be bad. Does anyone else think ice surface might have an effect on the NHL game as a whole lately? I'm not sure, but it in the 80s, the game was undoubtedly faster and more speed/scoring oriented, and maybe that has to do with the Oilers and their fast ice being the standard at the time, because you didn't have Reunion Arenas or America West Centers in those days.

We already HAVE a hitter like Sosa: his name is Corey Patterson and he strikes out all the time. And there are more things to do than just lose Sosa and get Beltran. We have no bench: Goodwin, Martinez, Hollandsworth, and I believe Macias are not signed. There's a gaping hole in left field that needs more than just Jason Dubois to be filled for this to be a championship-caliber team. And again, the bullpen leaves a lot to be desired. There's no closer. Borowski couldn't cut it in Single-A last September, I'm skeptical as to what he can do this spring. LaTroy Hawkins can't work outs 25-27. Kyle Farnsworth is. Mike Remlinger isn't getting any younger.

Creating a team and its identity and then moving them before they play a single game? What is this, the WHA?

They modernized the maple leaf in the Harold Ballard days because the original detailed version with the veins of the leafs and curved letters and stuff was more expensive than a simple leaf with simple block letters.

New Toronto logo