kipwinger

Based on our rousing Rousey discussion yesterday I hopped online and purchased my very own Ronda Rousey tshirt last night. I'll be rocking that s*** like a pro when Rousey smashes the living hell out of some weak ass Brazilian chick this weekend at UFC 190.

Like I said above, best pound for pound fighter in MMA? Probably.

Ronda Rousey would absolutely decimate any tough guy in the NHL. Abby wouldn't stand a chance. In 10 professional fights, including 6 title fights, she's needed exactly 24 minutes of fight time to remain undefeated. She's badder than bad.

Word on the street says Holland is bringing in a special adviser to toughen up the fourth line and add a little bit of the toughness the team's been lacking since Tootoo left. Who is this special adviser you ask? You guessed it. Slaughterhouse in a blouse herself, Ronda Rousey. Edit: This isn't a dig a girls, by the way. I legitimately think Ronda Rousey is the best pound for pound fighter in the world.

I don't hate Andersson. He's useful(ish) I guess. In the same way that Emmerton was. But he's no more physical, defensively responsible, or speedy than either of Callahan or Ferraro. Additionally, each of them have shown considerably more upside than Andersson offensively. His one big plus is that he can, in a pinch, center a line. But so can Dats, Z, Richards, Sheahan, Helm, Glendening, and Abby or Franzen (in a pinch). Plus we've got a couple real quality centers in GR who could fill in if need be. So Andersson's big plus doesn't really have as much utility as it might otherwise. Andersson's roster spot is not even close to guaranteed. The fact that he had one in the first place has to do with the fact that A) our centers have been banged up for the better part of two years, and B) Babcock's default preference is defensive responsibility over any other skillset when forced to choose (anybody remember Nestrasil making the opening day roster last season lol?).

The old eyeball test. Keeping the Earth flat and at the center of the solar system since the dawn of man. Gotta love it.

I agree completely. Screw the Rangers. As far as Stepan goes, it's really not too much of a gamble though. Even if he never improves, you're still getting a 50 point, top six center, who plays great defense, for the prime of his career. And you'd only be paying him about a million more than his actual value if he never improved at all. A 50 pt. guy, at Stepan's age, is generally worth 5.5 on today's market, so it's a mild overpayment if does doesn't improve, and a quality contract if he does. It's not like they're paying for potential here, he's already a very good player, they're just overpaying slightly under the assumption that he'll take the next step. I'm always happy to slightly overpay for a good player, rather than slightly overpay for an unproven guy. The risk seems less.

I think they're probably gambling on the fact that he's only going to get better. Which may or may not be true. He is only 25. It's not unrealistic to think he could get up in the 70 point range, which would make that contract about right.

U.S. Senator calls Pittsburgh "America's hockey capital". What a maroon! http://www.thehockeynews.com/blog/u-s-senator-wants-to-see-world-junior-championship-in-pittsburgh-calls-city-americas-hockey-capital/

I could have called him a Roman Reigns fan.

I'm only interested in another defenseman if he's a legit top pair guy. A game changer. A winner. The kind of guy who would throw some punk kid's track suit into the showers without batting an eye. But where would you find such a defenseman? Who could he be?

Also, Dallas will breeze into the playoffs this year. Their forward corps is awesome, and their defense is underrated. Their biggest weakness was in goal, and they addressed it with a perennial winner and Stanley Cup champion. Plus Seguin will be healthy. They'll be the sleeper in the Western Conference.

Oduya isn't better than Ericsson OR Quincey. He's very comparable to both though. Signing him and shipping one of those guys out is just shuffling deck chairs.

Prediction time: Over/under on Jurco scoring 15 goals this season?

I don't think his chances are "slim, to none". Blashill loves the guy. Called him "a player you win with". Used him on the top line in GR. He'll get every opportunity to break in with the big club.

I'd be sooooooo mad if someone wrecked my shop. I mean, it's not the "New Yankee Workshop" or "Monster Garage" or anything. But I still put a ton of money, time, and effort in to it. It would be a real shame if some pituitary mutant like McGrattan or Tootoo wrecked it just because they didn't learn not to hit as a child. I'd probably sue.

Hopefully this contract will help motivate Tatar as well. If Gus can cash in like this, Tatar is looking at a hefty raise if he keeps being the better player.

I think you mean, renegade hardass defenseman Kyle Quincey. Can baby-face Marchenko, or Le Francais, grow a beard like this? I don't think so. If Kyle Quincey didn't already rule too much to have a nickname, I'd call him "The Outlander". Just on the strength of that beard alone.

Buff Bagwell: Weirdly bad at wrestling, weirdly good at porn.

Pulkkinen does suck. He's got one-dimensional depth scorer written all over him. He'd be REALLY lucky to have a Mike Cammalleri type career, but he'll more realistically top out as a Michael Ryder, Brad Boyes, type guy. Trade him for Byfulgien before the rest of the league catches on to the fact that his AHL scoring won't translate into NHL success.

Indeed. It seems that saying stupid things for "publicity" is his mutant power.

And placed Damien the boa constrictor on his own chest?

I HAVE had a beer with him. He used to regularly come into the main bar I frequented in college. You'd be disappointed. He's a wastoid. It would be like having drinks with Jake "The Snake" Roberts (i.e. better in theory than in fact).

Meh. Lots of druggies sucker punch other guys. Go to any pool hall in Detroit. That game winning goal in overtime was pretty awesome though.

That was the point. Green isn't a druggie piece of crap, so I don't really care if he wears 25. It's not like the guy guy typically associated with it was a class act or anything.