CanadianGuitarist

To kickstart the thread after a head-scratching weekend: What's the most important story so far this year? Chicago's return to prominence? The return to the top of the East for the Broons? The Ovechkin-Malkin rivalry? Burke as the new Leafs GM? The Avery saga? The Sundin flip-floppery? The downfall of the Senators? The Lecavalier talks? The troubles of the Coyotes?

Pretty tough for me to go against the Steelers. I just don't see Arizona winning.

Oh, on that note, I've also made a pledge to start drinking more of that V8 fusion stuff. Tomato juice, clamato, and other similar products have long disgusted me, but this Fusion is really good, and two servings of veggies a glass? That's key.

That's an awful lot of orange juice in a week, isn't it?

I realise my mistake. As the Rocket correctly guessed, I was KoaBoarding hard Friday night.

Cut and pasted from NHB, but it's still valid: Hey, that reminds me - Is the revamping of the wrestling folder a subtle shot at the General Wrestling regulars? It just seems so lumped together. Navigation is easier, but there's a lot of GWR's, even if none of us want anything to do with the WWE folder. Something doesn't sit right with me. I stand by previous "CTDWAT" for site feedback. It'd be a shame if this, or something like it, was thread 100k.

What replaced it?

Why do we hope the feud between Mysterio and Knox is ending?

Every news report on it reminded me of the Def Leppard song "Hysteria".

I'm intrigued by this trade. Edmonton had one too many goalies, but I doubt there was a clear number one between Roloson and Garon. Garon was even dubbed as "maybe even better than Theodore" by THN in 2001. I kind of like that. So that makes the order in Edmonton 1) Roloson 2) Sabourin 3) Drouin-Deslauriers? That's asking alot out of Roloson, who had a vastly different team in front of him three years ago. Also, is there a better name in the NHL right now than Cal Clutterbuck? Verne Fiddler has to be close.

All other wrestling folders = good. WWE folder = bad. Lumped together, the badness of the WWE folder brings down the relative quality of the other wrestling folders.

Hey, that reminds me - Is the revamping of the wrestling folder a subtle shot at the General Wrestling regulars? It just seems so lumped together. Navigation is easier, but there's a lot of GWR's, even if none of us want anything to do with the WWE folder. Something doesn't sit right with me.

So, this Birdman (who's banning was rightful) didn't really know what he was up against, did he? "Hey, new friends at TSM, come to my new forum - it's like the WWE folder times a million!"

While most can't really tell the difference between native 1080 broadcasts and rendered 1080 broadcasts, I believe that spending the extra on a 1080p set is definitely worth it, in the sense that it's 'future-proofed'. Obviously, there's going to be advances down the road, but there's already more 1080 broadcasts than 720. You're not likely to get 120hz for under 1000 bucks, but I would say those are the two biggest factors in tv price. Apart from that, refer to my LCD-plasma comparison above, and go with your guts. Decide which looks best, or which brand name you prefer, and run with it. If your budget is 1000 bucks, you've got lots of options, especially with CC's clearance.

And yes, that can work - Where else would Clowe or Pavelski score 20 goals?

I think it's pretty obvious I do not!

I have no problem with Thornton getting the nod as the Sharks MVP, but your argument is about three years too late. The shelf life of "look how good they were before he got there, compared to after" has expired; it's the same case I made here for him winning the Hart in 05-06. That said, Patrick Marleau's renaissance, along with the rise to prominence of (on pace for) 20-goal scorers Devon Setoguchi, Joe Pavelski, Milan Michalek, and Ryan Clowe - that's enough for me to name Thornton the Sharks MVP. Hart Trophy: Ovechkin, Parise, Getzlaf/Luongo (Put Luongo in if Vancouver makes the playoffs, thanks to Sundin's sudden penchant for late-game idiocy). Norris Trophy: Lidstrom, Chara, Markov Vezina: Kiprusoff, Thomas, Mason/Luongo (See above). Calder: Mason, Wheeler, Versteeg Jack Adams: Julien, Sutter, McLellan

It wouldn't have destroyed his credibility, but it was a very tough thing to pull off. "Hey, I just lost to a guy with broken ribs, a rookie, or a guy who weighs 80 pounds less than I do. If anyone can win the world title, it's me!" As I said, it wouldn't have killed him, but it would have been a little tough. On the other hand, if anyone could get away with it, it would have been RVD.

Price is Right lose theme?

I've been eating cheese and crackers as a simple snack alot lately. Despite my general stance as a Triscuit Purist, Cracked Pepper and Olive Oil Triscuits are fanfreakintastic.

I can't really bring anything to the table that wasn't already said, so I'll comment on a few, well, comments: * The Hammerstein bit with Cyrus and Rhino and then everyone is probably my first thought of ECW today - it really kind of summed it all up, didn't it? Lots going on at a time, overbooking, but fantastic characters, Heyman taking a bump for his company, and everyone kind of pitching in. * While the Dudleys leaving probably hurt more directly than did Taz's departure, I think Taz leaving created a huge booking hole in the world title. Credible and Rhino weren't ready in the summer of '99, RVD couldn't lose the TV title but retain credibility. Sandman just didn't quite fit as a legitimate world champ, Sabu was too iffy, and Crazy and Tajiri wouldn't work - it was really down to Awesome and Tanaka, who, at the very least, had some phenomenal matches to help the title out. Conversely, the Impact Players was a perfect vehicle to get Credible pushed for the following spring, while keeping the tag division propped. Couple that with formed tandems of (take your pick of) Balls, Axl, Spike, and New Jack, along with the FBI, Nova/Chetti, and Doring/Roadkill, and the tag division was kept credible. * On that, the three-team angle of Awesome/Raven, Impact Players, and Tanaka/Dreamer, I though, was phenomenal, and really helped establish Mike Awesome, who may go down as one of the most underrated wrestlers ever. Sadly, he'll probably be remembered for his midnight departure to WCW and the sad circumstances of his death, as opposed to some of the best matches in ECW history. * It's kind of unfortunate that an angle based so much on reality, essentially foreshadowing ECW's demise, was one of its best - it led to the launch of Rhino and Steve Corino, and Cyrus is still one of my favourite heels ever. Moreover, it helped re-establish one of the unique aspects made ECW a household name in the first place - fan loyalty to the company instead of a specific wrestler. That was potentially going to be lost when ECW began reaching a new audience. * RollerJam kicked ass. * I know this is kind of contradictory, but even though mid-90's ECW was better wrestling, TNN holds up a lot better today. It can't all be the production values, can it? * Ultimately, TNN's decisions didn't make a whole of sense from a business standpoint (at least, knowing what we know), but I think it's unfair to blame them entirely. TNN didn't kill ECW, but it did run over it.

I see that frame of mind, but I disagree. Buffalo, Chicago, and Edmonton are bonafide hockey markets, with hardcore fans.

I had no problem with the preseason game in Vegas in what, 92? 93? But, that was in September, and it wasn't titled "The Winter Classic". The Rose Bowl? Nothing says hockey heritage like Pasadena! What the fucking fuck? Off the top of my head....Yankee Staidum, U of M, Coors Field, Fenway. But, two of the three front runners are Vegas and Pasadena? Fuck Gary Bettman in the ear.

Agreed. While it's not as nice as Blu Ray, it's a definite medium ground to stand on, especially when there's a three-figure difference in price between the two. I'd love a Blu Ray player, but my 360 upscales to 1080 with HDMI - that's ideal. Ten bucks for the HDMI cable, compared to 200 or so for a BR player. I'm still holding out for a BR add-on for my 360, like they had with HD DVD a few years ago.

It's a dead-heat between Wheeler, Versteeg, and Mason at this point. As I mentioned last weekend, I don't see Columbus getting into the playoffs. I know that's easy to say now that Nash is on the IR, and they are a better team on paper than the other bubble teams, but there's still some fairly good teams in that neighbourhood in Edmonton, Minnesota, and Colorado. Nashville's still within striking distance. Los Angeles is probably not going to get in, but they're only six back. I know they sandwich the Kings in the standings, but I'm going to write-off Dallas and St. Louis already. Hey, who knows what's going to happen in Glendale? I bet the last thing on the minds of Coyotes players over the next few weeks will be hockey.