Lou_Siffer

4 out of 10. The fact that im happy about this speaks volumes about how ive been doing!

Why would you pick Nash of all people? Just cause he fought once, doesnt mean its going to happen again. (i'd take Nash by the way...) Hopefully Downey and Shelley both continue their antics! And lets hope Boll doesnt decline another Lilja invite

Fedoruk was one of the best playing enforcers, my issue is with the guy saying Downey is the better hockey player. Im not saying i want Fedoruk over him, because he's way too much of an injury risk, but skill level sure as hell aint the reason why.

I think Oregon will definitely lose one of, if not both of their upcoming games against UCLA and Oregon St....putting USC once again in the Rose Bowl. Theres one more scenario for the Title game that didnt occur to me till now...Georgia. If they beat GTech, and then beat LSU (who could possibly still be reeling from yesterday), they'll get in if the Kansas/Missouri winner loses to Oklahoma. I definitely believe those 2 wins for Georgia would leapfrog them over idle Ohio St, even though they have one more loss. It will all depend on LSU's mindset and if they can recover in a week. Right now, the only thing i feel fairly confident in saying is that West Virginia will be in the title game. Hopefully Kansas beats Missouri, kicks Oklahoma's ass, and then stomps WVU. At least then we'll know who the true national champ is without any issue.

I dont think Hart or Henne will do anything at the NFL level...definitely not Henne. Jake Long, on other hand, will be really good. We're shaping up to have a really lackluster title game in Ohio St vs WVU. That would be AWFUL! Hopefully West Virginia drops another game. I have a strong feeling that whoever wins between Kansas and Missouri, is going to lose in the Big 12 title game. Im definitely rooting for Kansas to go unbeaten though.

Thats a very uninformed post. You must not know anything about Todd Fedoruk if you think Downey is the better hockey player. Fedoruk's injury problem is the ONLY reason Downey is the better option and why i'd rather have him. Fridge has always been the better fighter throughout his career and by far the better player.

Friday: NY Islanders @ Boston Washington @ Philadelphia Columbus @ Minnesota Phoenix @ Anaheim Tampa Bay @ Carolina Montreal @ Buffalo New Jersey @ Atlanta NY Rangers @ Florida Vancouver @ St Louis Toronto @ Dallas Saturday: Toronto @ Phoenix Calgary @ Colorado Buffalo @ Montreal Philadelphia @ Ottawa Boston @ NY Islanders Carolina @ Washington Detroit @ Columbus Atlanta @ Pittsburgh New Jersey @ Tampa Bay Minnesota @ Nashville Chicago @ Edmonton Los Angeles @ San Jose Sunday: Dallas @ NY Rangers Calgary @ St Louis Los Angeles @ Anaheim Chicago @ Vancouver

The only positive to take away from all this is after hearing Katharine McPhee's horrible, screachy anthem and the Goo Goo Dolls halftime show, Im thinking i might be good enough to launch a music career. Horrible game so far.

Those are really bad numbers for Howard. Could live with a high GAA if that SV% wasnt awful. What that tells me is he is a key reason WHY the team stinks. Its not the team around him making him look bad. The bad thing for Jimmy is if he doesnt have a big turnaround that there is no way the Wings will go into the offseason reserving him a spot on the big club. Which means theyre going to be forced to sign somebody, and if its someone like Bryzgalov for a multi-year deal....and they go with a Bryz/Osgood combo, Howard is pretty much done here.

In Downey's 9 games, he's arguably effected the outcome of the game in our favor twice. One is in the sig, and came from Zetterberg himself, so no one can disagree. The other was the Columbus game. No he wasnt in the shootout, but he did offer a major contribution by getting that 5 on 3. How many games has Drake been a key factor for us in so far? 2 out of 9 is pretty damn good ratio for a 4th liner! This is what we're dealing with...2 4th liners. Why not play the one that gives us more of a benefit? For the record, I do not hate Dallas Drake. Its just that his play standing alone (not being able to be physical and fight) has been nowhere near good enough to stay in the lineup. Its like Downey playing with a broken hand,...whats the point?

Tootoo/Drake (if he were healthy) would be entertaining, but in all honesty Tootoo probably pounds him. Downey would probably have to take the instigator to get Tootoo to go with him, but it'll be worth it.

Heart 34-27 Lions (realistic pick...) 31-16 Packers At this moment, i think we're going to lose...im pretty sure....but theres still that Lions part of me fhat is nagging me not to go against the 10-6! And if they lose this one....they are NOT going 10-6. So...ugh...i dont know! Im going to hold on to faith for this one last game...GO LIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If we win this game, no matter what happens the rest of the way this will make my year.

I love what Mickey said on the WRIF this morning, about how Tootoo was running people but when Downey came up to him and exchanged words...it stopped! Thats not to say Downey is the kingpin fighter of the league, i'd actuallly bet on Hordichuk to win over him, but for someone like Tootoo in his case, ...Downey could kick his ass! Thats neutralizing a potential big time agonizer by having Downey in there, and its costing you zero in terms of the scoreboard...as he'd be replacing a non-contributor anyway.

Well thank f*ckin god! At least that somewhat makes me feel better. Youre losing no offense, and youre gaining an enforcer...no harm.

Thats the exact stance i have. If Downey makes one big error...he's gone. Meanwhile Drake can go -6, playing the exact same role...and be just fine. Oh wait...it must be the 1 assist making the difference. Anybody who would take this injured version of Drake over Downey has screws loose. There is absolutely not one thing working in favor of that argument. Oh he plays PK...yeah that -6 just fuels your argument.

No way. Buffalo has a good local fan base, but that doesnt mean much nationally because theyre a small market team. Not many people outside of Buffalo, mainly talking about the more casual fans, care about the Sabres. If the NYR made the Finals, it would garner MUCH more national attention...just because they're the New York Rangers. Alot of it has to do with name value(which the Wings also possess), the Wings and Rangers could both come in as #8 seeds and it would more than double the viewership of Minnesota and Ottawa meeting up as #1's. Thats just how it goes.. To keep things in perspective though, even the Wings/NYR wouldnt exactly be huge. I still couldnt see it getting any more than a 3.0-3.5...which would still put it well below something like NASCAR. Huge for hockey yes, but not huge compared to other sports.

That doesnt matter though. The NHL desperately needs the viewership in the US more than Canada. In Canada, hockey is their sport so theyre always going to have a decent viewership no matter who's playing. But for the sake of tv deals and such in the States, 2 Canadian teams in the finals would be their worst nightmare. Det/NYR is unquestionably the matchup that would garner the most ratings.

Killer for ratings?? More like ratings killer! Any 2 Canadian teams pitted against each other would be disastrous for the U.S. market. Even just 1 is a big knock. I bet that series would BARELY manage to draw over a 1.0

In 05-06, Sutherby was well worth a 2nd rd pick easy. Guys who are tough and score 14 goals are a premium. Still young at 25 yrs old, this is one of those risk/reward moves. At worst, even if he just stays with what he did last season, you still only traded a pick about 1 rd too high. Didnt they get a bunch of picks from Edmonton too for Penner anyway? I dont remember what, but that would lesson the risk if they had extras. Could work out to be a really nice acquisition, we'll see.

In the paper today it mentioned the Tigers being one of the teams interested in some good Japanese pitcher. But it also said if we re-signed Rogers our interest would probably dwindle. I dont agree with this, if you're willing to dish out a ton of cash on position players, you better do the same for pitching. Given our massive holes in the pen,...i'd try to sign both and trade Nate Robertson for a relief pitcher. This way you're avoiding having to trade another good prospect....and you're still able to leave the 5th spot open for Miller or somebody else who has a strong spring. Nate could get us a pretty good bullpen arm i'd think, better than any middle - late reliever thats on the market anyway.

I havent changed my thoughts on the Giants...i also still believe theyre very overrated. I just said im hoping im wrong about them, cause if im not and this was as bad a loss as i think it is....we're DEAD and will get spanked by Green Bay.

You are correct! Downey is one of a kind on this team, so that makes him extra important. On some other teams, he probably doesnt have this much of an impact. When you look at a team like Columbus, on most nights you probably dont even notice Shelley not in the lineup because they have someone like Boll. I havent gotten a chance to watch much of him, but every time Boll was on the ice you noticed him as well. I really liked what i saw! I think the Wings players really do get a lift from Downey, i mean, if its half as much as what i feel watching him its gotta be good.

I dont know, something about this idea of massages rubs me the wrong way...

Even though it didnt happen, the whole tease was entertaining to me though. Every time Downey stepped on the ice i got amped up...that extra dimension really has an effect on the whole game. I'd rather that happen than to have a completely wussified (is that a word?) game with not even a hint of a fight. At one point, i seen some people on the crowd get on their feet after a Boll/Lilja collision. But im sure that bastard Boll declined

I dont think ive ever rooted for the team to score more in the regular season than that 5 on 3 powerplay At first i thought Downey was going to the box again because it looked like the ref pointed at him emphatically, but nope! I was worried there for a sec.