Casey

Lacrosse. Vista or XP?

Nice backpedal. Still wrong, but nice backpedal.

Another forum I go on (the Snopes.com forum if there are any snopesters here) is working on building a fantasy hockey league. We still need 3 participants. Anyone want to play?

One thing really cracked me up in the third. Lidstrom laid a hit, and one of the Kings got a bit on the mouthy side, looked like he wanted to fight. Bertuzzi just skated over, and glared at the guy. I'm thinking Bert's fitting in just fine. I admit I was against the Bertuzzi signing, but so far, he's really impressed me. 2 penalty minutes in five games, 2 points. I'm not dumb enough to claim he'll score 35 points with 35 PIM, but who knows? He may be back.

Really, to be honest, Maltby and Draper have looked excellent with any of the new guys I've seen them with, particularly May. It's almost as if the Grind Line's coming back for one last blast.

1000 points in 1336 career games. 0.748 points per game, for a defenseman. Incredible.

I just made about a gallon of fresh apple cider. My apartment smells awesome.

http://www.canada.com/entertainment/Former...0774/story.html The mayor of Quebec and the former owner of the Nordiques met with Bettman last Friday. Rumors are cranking in Quebec about a new arena to be built, which seems to be the one thing holding back the city getting a new team. Should be interesting to watch develop. What do the Wingnuts say- move a team, or make team #31?

Keeping it strictly to currently playing... Quincey- he'd pair well with Ericsson, I think. Koslov- good enough puck sense, probably do great on the second line with Franzen. Conklin- backup or 1a/1b goaltending

Wonder what would happen if Holland basically flipped the league off and gave 99 to some low-level 4th liner.

Regular, heavy on the frosting. Buttercream frosting or sugar icing?

Lock to retire: 5. Could happen, given more stats or time: 30, 91. Should be "honored" but not retired: 4 (Red Kelly), 6 (Larry Aurie- specifically un-retired by Ilitch) and 16 for Konstantinov. I could easily argue 4 and 6 should be in the rafters. 24, 26? No.

I'm seeing Bertuzzi as a Holmstrom-like player. Hit, block, score every now and then. If I see 20 goals from him as well as the kind of defense he played last night and Thursday, the signing was a success.

From me, at least, May, Bertuzzi and Eaves are not listable. Not enough data to pull from to make an accurate assessment of value. My list assumes all players listed are healthy, skipping Eaves, May, Bertuzzi for lack of data. 1. Osgood- 2 Cups as a starter, 2 Jennings trophies, and pretty damn clutch in the playoffs. All for a mere $1.4 million cap hit, a value that no goalie I know can match. 2. Datsyuk- $6.7 million cap hit, 97 points last season. $69,072 a point, better than the 4 ahead of him in points. Malkin's at $76,911, Ovechkin, $86,709, Crosby $84,446. Defensive skill is a bonus- that puts him head and shoulders as best forward. 3. Lidstrom- At worst one of the top 10 defensemen in the game. Paid a ton, second highest for a defenseman, but one of the best on the ice and in the locker room. 4. Franzen- When healthy, just under $4 million for 59 points and the 13th-best +/- in the Conference last season is a steal. One knock is fragility, but the shot he took that blew his ACL was a bit freaky. 5. Zetterberg- valued for both his chemistry with Datsyuk, making them the best 1-2 punch in the game, as well as his own offensive and defensive skill. Defense gives Datsyuk the nod for now, but Z may catch up. 6. Ericsson- $900K, and he's already a very competent defenseman. Could be excellent given time to develop. 7. Cleary- really making strides the last few seasons. He's clutch in the postseason, and becoming a skilled power forward. 8. Kronwall- much maligned, but his skill is underrated. Hits, can score, and can make plays in the defensive zone. 9. Lilja- if healthy, he's a very solid second-line defenseman. He's underpaid in that role. 10. Filppula- gaining defensive ability at a surprising rate, developing a Datsyuk-like style. Cheap now, could be a real steal in a few seasons.

Mostly agree. He's meshing well on the fourth line, though. I think he and May are both good additions, though it weirds me out a bit seeing numbers 8, 17, and 24 out there without the player I'm used to in the sweater!

He'll be a pickpocket. So smooth with the takeaway...

It's almost a rebirth of the Grind Line. Maltby's been playing well, Draper has some swagger, and May's taken McCarty's place. Oz looked awesome last night- don't know how it looked on TV, but from section 208 it was clear he had no shot on goal 1 and minimal on goal 2.

Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Shanahan... WANT. OMFGWTFBBQWANT...

I'm looking for the big net presence in your list... Holmstrom is 6', 210#. The others on your list are 6'2" 203#, 6' 189#, 6' 182#, 6' 182, and 5'11" 186#, respectively. Abdelkader is 2 inches taller and 7 pounds lighter- not as strong a body for screening/taking shots. Close weight, spread over a good bit more height. Filppula is 21 pounds lighter, a lot of it muscle. Heck of a passer, not a net presence. Helm and Leino are both 28 pounds lighter. Both great shooters with speed, but not power forward types. Tatar. Shorter, lighter, less mature. Where's your replacement, again?

Lebda unabashedly sucks- his positioning is poor, and he can't move the puck worth a darn. I'd wager I could spraypaint a circle on the boards, and that I could nail the exact spot he uses to work the puck around the back of the net. If there's a defender there, there's a turnover, every time. He just doesn't look. Even with Cheli, you could tell that he knew where to be, just his age didn't let him have the speed needed to get there consistently. I question if Lebda could even say where to be, let alone get there. Meech is an upgrade, but not much. Combine Meech/Lebda with Howard, and the backend just got weak as paper.

Don't forget how many schools game count days. It was common amongst teacher friends of mine (and student teachers) to tell all students to report to first period, when they take attendance, even if sick. The sick ones could then leave. In some schools, parents get fined for their kid missing count day.

I'm in clinic until 5- can someone text me score updates? PM me for the number. Thanks!

Very soon I will- we're going to Disney World after my current rotation. TPBM has tickets to the home opener.

Homemade, don't care whose. Salmon or tuna?

Premium frozen yogurt beats cheap ice cream every time. Barbecue sauce or ranch dressing?