the max

I don't know why Tampa made that move. Woof. I thought Carle was the centerpiece of the Boyle trade and they shipped him off for someone who might be a third line player in a few years. Eminger is a bottom pairing guy as well.

Blake Wheeler changed his number and got a hat trick. Yayyyyy.

I went to a stupid costume party with the girlfriend with a bunch of people she knows from work. About 70-80 heads there, I'd say at least 15 were either the Joker or clown masked henchmen. Sad, really. I was Earl Hickey.

I love the "if you don't know who this is, where have you been?!" The guy only died yesterday. And I'm pretty sure that everyone has heard of him. ER, Jurassic Park, etc. I'll never forgive him for Twister though. I hope he stays in purgatory for that hunk of shit.

Three. Studs Terkel died on halloween.

Michael Crichton: DEAD. Can science revive him?

I'm sure wherever he is Sean Avery is smiling. And looking behind his back for Milan Lucic.

So the Broons absolutely dominated Dallas. Steve Ott was trying to get them off their game, I can appreciate that. It's what he does, it's his game. But the low hits, post-whistle nonsense and turtling when approached got really old, really quick. Low bridged Yelle, Thornton stepped in, Ott backs off. Charged Stuart, Hnidy steps up, Ott turtles. Ference stepped up and smoked him, Ott runs Nokelainen, Avery had to fight for him and lost (IMO) to Ference. Seemed every penalty that Ott may have drawn was given right back because of his stupidity. He got a game misconduct once the Bruins got up by 2, seemingly knowing that he was going to get his ass handed to him. The Bruins have really come together as well. Lucic got hit from behind by Avery and SAVARD of all people jumped in immediately. Great to see that, they're fast becoming a team that nobody wants to play.

Steve Ott is going to die tonight.

This coaching philosophy is all over the NHL and has brought Claude success. He simply doesn't have enough talent to run a high-powered offense like Pittsburgh or Washington. The Bruins have Savard as an elite playmaker (and he is) but as good as Bergeron is, his game is far too well rounded to be a one-trick pony. Bergeron is one of the smartest two-way forwards in the game and to get him to abandon his playing style in favor of a more offensively minded one would be silly. They're paying him a lot of money and he's getting more and more comfortable now. Once he gets back in the groove he was in prior to his thugging, he will be a terrific 1A center behind Savard. Kessel is still growing, as I said in the NHL thread a few days ago, he's looking more and more like the player they wanted when they drafted him. He's playing with more chippiness and attitude, which will go a long way into him developing into the Lafontaine/Amonte hybrid he was billed as. Still, the "play to not lose the game" is the prevelant style in the NHL and until more teams play like the Lightning, Penguins or Capitals, you're going to see defense-first teams playing. If they play well, and the Bruins have the last two games with back-to-back 1-0 shutouts, the system stays. The issue with the Bruins powerplay isn't so much their risk assessment as it is their lack of a quality puck-moving defenseman. It's something Wideman can be, but they've smartly kept him more pinned down defensively as he's underrated defensively. It was something a majority of the fanbase wanted Chiarelli to address in the offseason but I think they were priced out because of their lack of cap space with Manny Fernandez and Glen Murray. A player like Mark Streit, Ron Hainsey or John-Michael Liles would have fit like a glove on Boston's powerplay. If you're looking for proof, their top unit usually consists of Ryder-Savard-Lucic/Krejci with Chara at one point and Bergeron manning the other. Again, Bergeron is a gifted offensive player but not a guy you would want running the point on the powerplay. As such, Savard has to run it along the wall, which is difficult because teams know this and block his passing lanes to Ryder in the slot and Chara on his point, leaving Savard with little but to go up and down the wall looking for something that isn't there. If they had a true #2 defenseman with offensive skills, Savard would have two targets up at the point and Lucic in front of the net. Matt Lashoff projects to be that offensive-minded defenseman but he's probably a year away from being NHL ready, having already been passed up by Matt Hunwick and Shane Hnidy. That will never happen. Julien employs a 1-2-2, tight checking system and only opened it last year in the playoffs when he was literally faced with must win games 5 and 6. It's just the style of the team now. At least they have an identity, they're one of the tougher teams to play against because of their physicality within their system.

I made a raspberry and blueberry one last year for thanksgiving. Twas fantastic.

1. How often do you visit TSM? How long are you here on a typical visit? How many minutes, or hours, do you spend here daily? It's #1 on speed dial. I probably spend too long here. 2. Which folders do you spend the most time in? Why? Which ones do you skip over? I spend the most time in sports. I like sports. I skip the wrestling folders since I'm not really into it anymore. I check them once in a dog's age or when there's a big story. I couldn't name 5 wrestlers anymore. I skip music because I don't have the same taste as most of you and don't like getting railed on for liking what I like. 3. Who are your favorite posters? What makes a poster "good"? I don't have favorites really. I like people who contribute to discussion without acting like a horse's ass. 4. Who are your least favorite? Why? Couldn't tell you, honestly. Half the time I don't even read who said what, just what they said. 5. Who is your favorite mod? Can you actually name the mods we have? Agent Tzar or whatever he's calling himself these days. Smues is one. Um, al is one. That's about all I got. 909 is one too I think. Oh, treble's a keen fellow too. 6. What brought you to TSM in the first place? Do you still come for the same reasons? Do you still watch wrestling? I stumbled across it from a link from another wrestling site. No, I stopped watching rasslin in 2003 or 2004. Somewhere around there. 7. When was the board at its best? Probably a few years ago. 8. What is the one thing, above all else, that keeps you coming back here? Habit, I think. I like it here though. 9. If you could change one thing about TSM, what would it be? You should win things by watching. I have no idea. Maybe a name change. Or a logo change. 10. How much longer will TSM be around? I think a few more years until we become that board that you find on a google search for something else, and it brings you to this board that has the last active discussion being, like, 4 months ago and it's like a ghost town.

I think they're only giving one away. Bartlett stole second in game 1, free tacos for all. But it's only on one day. I guess if you want more than one, get a fake mustache or go to a different Taco Bell.

Lucic with his first career hat trick. He added an assist as well. 5-4 Broons win. Defense needs to buckle down again. They're too hot/cold. They had two great games and have looked like shit the last two.

A water gun.

Up 2-0. Lose 4-2. Boourns. Thomas has been flopping a lot lately, it might be time to ride the ManFern wagon.

Two giant hits so far. Wideman smoked Stajan with his head down and Lucic put Van Ryn through the glass. Both will be on youtube before long. Wideman/Stajan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-nTG9BxefI Lucic/Van Ryn: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnXOLoOSbvc

Smarties are good. And I'll take those black/orange wrapped ones, soft peanut butter taffy. It's fantastic. I like it better than some stupid tootsie roll.

The soft peanut butter taffy? Those things are great. I always prefered Reese's Cups. Anything else I usually ate last or threw away. Nowadays, we still have our hurricane shutters up. Keeps the fuckers away. And I don't have to give candy to bratty kids.

They went to the finals. They've never won the cup.

Pettinger became Tampa's 29th forward. Ken Klee, Patrick Rissmiller and Jason Ward were all waived as well. Klee is odd since he's over 35 and his cap hit counts regardless of where he plays. Unless Burke has someone definitely picking him up. The Bruins are coming off two excellent games against Ottawa and Pittsburgh and storm into Buffalo tonight. Bergeron is about three games overdue for his first goal and Kessel (Phil Kessel what) looks like a completely different player. He was used on the PK last night, he's been much more aggressive and physical so far this season. I think Julien benching him in the playoffs last year flipped a switch or something, because he's been a different player since then. On the other side, the Bruins defense has been getting better and better as the games have gone. They were very good against Montreal except for about 10 minutes in the first period. They shined against Ottawa and were absolutely spiffing against the Pens last night. Julien has pinched them a lot more so far. Wideman and Ference were leading rushes last night, Chara was in the slot on a set play and hustled back. Once they get clicked, this team is going to be a very solid #4 seed or the scariest fucking #7 or #8 in a long, long time.

The Canucks have Matt Pettinger and Kyle Wellwood on re-entry waivers. And it's the Boston Bruins home opener tonight! Marvel at the flopping of Tim Thomas! Shriek in horror at the size of the ape-man, Zdeno Chara! And for the ladies, it's the return of Patrice Bergeron! Can the Bruins continue their strong physical game against the defending conference champions? CAN THEY?

Sauce, veg, meat (usually ground turkey), ricotta, parmesean, pasta. I put the meat and veg in with the sauce and go sauce, pasta, cheese mixture (ricotta, shredded mozzarella, parmesean) to hold the noodles together, repeat. Will have to try that cottage cheese version though. I hate cottage cheese but the gal loves it.

If Kurt Sauer played for the Boston Bruins, I would be cutting him a check right now. Great hit.