FINALLY!

Well, it has absolutely nothing to do with hockey, but I'm stoked about the news.  Diablo III is coming.

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/diablo3/news.html?sid=6193137

I can't begin to explain the amount of hours spent on this RPG. To me, it's the original and best. Others have come along with better graphics, story, and definitely more intricate. But it's the simpicity of Diablo that is it's draw. Hacking though legions of monsters, for hours on end and trying to find one-in-a-million super rare item drops. It sounds like no release date in the near future.  But I've all but abandoned the PC for gaming.  Something to look forward to. It's like Christmas.  The waiting is most of the fun...

Big Mac

Well, sad news in that the Senators have sent my favorite pugilist, Brian McGratton, to Phoenix for a late round 2009 draft pick.  He will be missed, but his playing time was down to an all time low last season.  He should get ice time with Gretzky's desert dogs. McGratton is a big dude with solid fighting skills; knows his role and does it well.  I think he has above average skating ability for an enforcer, but Ottawa just didn't use him anymore.  I wish him luck.

Mud Monster

Well, the pictures from the Mud Run finally came out.  There were TONS of photos to comb through, but I found one of myself and my team.  The team one has a huge watermark going through it, so it will have to be purchased.  I'll post it when it gets cleaned-up or purchased.  But here is me drinking mud in the final mud pit.  I am considering doing the next Mud Run, which is in October.  Will keep you posted.

Drafty in here...

Well, there was some Draft Day excitement as far as trades. The Coyotes get Olli Jokinen for Ballard and Boynton.  I think Gretzky is giving up too much for Jokinen.  Cammalleri goes to the Flames, he could be dangerous with Jarome.  Will be something to look for next year. Tanguay goes to Montreal.  Montreal also landed Mats Sundin if he will waive his no-trade clause.  Chris Mason is in St. Louis next year.  Manny isnt getting any younger and I can see Mason splitting time with him. R.J. Umberger in Columbus. I see Hitchcock finding an effective role for this guy and success with the Jackets.

 

Ottawa traded up a few spots to get Swedish defenseman Erik Karlsson in the first round. Projected to be an offensive defenseman to run the powerplay, but doesn't have an NHL body yet.  I'm not a huge fan of trading up, but it at least shows some confidence and conviction in your scouting, which is good; or at least gives a good impression that you know what you are doing.  We won't know for 2-3 years.

 

Ottawa also, re-signed UFA Chris Kelly, 4-years $8.5MM.  Kelly has superior hockey smarts, is great on the PK, solid work ethic but maybe lacks upper end finishing skill. So, $2-million/year is a lot for a role player, but the guy could only get better. He has worked hard just to make the NHL, that work ethic is what separates him from most players.  I'm glad to see him on the roster.  PK and checking line was horrible when late last season when he was out with an injury.

 

Kings got Drew Doughty with the second overall pick.  This draft featured a lot of high-end defensemen and Drew is supposed to be one of them.  I hope he turns out.  The Kings really need young defensive help.

 

Wings got a goalie, Thomas McCollum with the 30th pick.  I guess Jimmy Howard is NHL ready and should split time with Ozzie next year.  McCollum replenishes the farm team with a goalie.  BTW.  Keep note of Jesper Samuelsson.  Who's that? Detroit's 7th round pick. Even though he's the 211th pick, the Wings always have some late round guys that turn out to be diamonds.  You heard it here first.

Adios Razor

In the most un-surprising story of the day, Ray Emery and Dan Cloutier were waived from their respective teams.  Both moves were expected, at least by most people.  Cloutier is following Marc Crawford out the door of LA.  And I have to think it was partially the coaches downfall.  He clearly brought in Cloutier as his 'boy'.   And Cloutier never seemed to get over his knee injury of 2 years ago.

 

Emery is a cautionary tale.  He first caught a break, when the Dominator got injured and Ray Ray carried the load and showed solid skills.  The Sens acquired Gerber that summer, and Emery was probably put off by that.  In season #2 he proceeded to get attention to himself: by getting more tattoos, eating a cockroach to win a bet, and paint Mike Tyson on his mask.  I thought it was amusing and a clever distraction.  But it was really a warning sign.  Gerber faltered, and Razor lead the team to the Cup Finals. Doesn't get much better than that. Season #3 included wrist surgery over the summer and some late rehab.  Gerber took back his starting job.  Emery couldn't regain his form.  So, the fact that he mostly pouted, was late for practice, dogged it at practice, and road raged on old guys, instead of working hard did not impress the rest of the locker room or management.

 

I am not blaming Emery for the Senators implosion last year, but it didn't help things. I wish Emery luck.  Maybe he will wind up in LA for the time being.  They could use a Hollywood styled goalie, until one of their prospects matures; and he would come pretty cheap after the Senators buyout his contract.  Besides, the Kings haven't been much to watch the last few years and I would go to watch him fight. 

Draft '08

Well, the NHL draft is coming up this weekend.  Scouts are calling it one of the deepest drafts in recent history, especially defensemen.  Which is good news for the Kings, since they stockpiled something like 8 picks in the first 3 rounds and hold the #2 pick overall.  And the Kings desperately need young defensemen.  The bad news is that one or more teams always come out as huge losers.  They will look back and see how some poor 18 year old kid didn't pan out, that was chosen really high.  While another team got a Hall of Famer at #12.  I just hope the losing team isn't the Kings.

 

Unlike basketball, it is the exception to the rule for Entry Draft players to step into the lineup the next season.  I equate it to the NFL trying to run their draft based on 18 year old high school kids.  There's a ton of physical development that needs to go on before you take on men.  Could NFL franchises be successful picking kids that early, probably not.  Same for the NHL.  This is why I'm not too interested.  It's just too much of a crap shoot and you won't see if these guys turn out to be pros for several years.  Besides, the Red Wings will get some Swedish wonder kid in the 6th round that everyone else passed on.  They do it all the time.

Bum Knee

Well, it appears that Tiger is out for the season with impending knee surgery.  Apparently he was playing with a partial ACL tear and stress fractures in his tibia.  AM Sports Radio guys were wondering if he jeopardized his future, for the sake of winning this Major.  A good question.  But, a better one is what damage the PGA Tour will take without Tiger for the rest of the year.  I am a casual golf fan at best, but I do watch parts of the tournaments on weekends.  Do I watch it solely for Tiger?  Not really.  But do I have less incentive to watch if he isn't playing?  You bet.  Good luck with the ratings.

Mud Run

Well, hockey season is officially over.  My boycott of this blog is over, but now there's nothing to talk about.  So what would I do to have something to blog about???? 

 

OK.  So I've learned about this "Mud Run" that takes place at the Camp Pendleton Marine Base.  Apparently, it's a 10K run, but with obstacles such as: tires, river crossings, 460' hill, climbing walls, tunnel crawls & mud pits.  The highlight is the finishing mud pit, where contestants crawl in the mud under ropes for 30-feet.

 

Here's the link.

http://www.camppendletonraces.com/mud_extra.html

 

Course Map

http://www.camppendletonraces.com/mudmap.htm

 

So, I've known all year that this guy, Chad, from work was planning on doing this thing.  It has been sold out since the start of the year.  I guess it's pretty popular.  So, eight days before the competition, he tells me that he has an open spot on his 5-man team.  Damn, that would be cool to do; too bad I'm not in shape for something like that.  Then I had images of Makoto Nagano telling me, "It's a hardkore Ninja Warrior course, I would do it."  So, I alluded to being up for it and needed to consult the wife.  I'd officially confirm or bail on Monday.

 

Hmmm.  I've been "working-out" for about 8 months straight now.  But that consists of 10-15 minutes of cardio and mostly just lifting weights and eating a lot.  And my supposed cardio involves reading magazines while pretending to ride a stationary bike.  I've put on a solid 4 pounds of muscle and 8 pounds of fat.  My training was mostly tailored for competitive eating and least for distance training.  I was probably in much better shape when surfing 3-4 days a week; 15 pounds lighter if nothing else.  The last time I weighed this much, it put a lot of strain on my knees.  So, was running a 10K a very good idea?  I use the term "run" pretty liberally.  Could I finish jogging a 10K?  I needed a reality check.

 

So, Alisia was relatively supportive.  I expected an initial reaction of something like, "Are you crazy, fatass?"  But, she was concerned that I would obviously push myself too hard and finish the race, whether I was in shape to do it or not.  Yeah, that's about my assessment of the situation.  I can count on Alisia to be honest and accurate for the most part, but usually over-react at first.  She let me down by not over-reacting.  I was concerned about letting Chad's team, the Mud Monsters, down since you have to finish the race as a 5-man group.  So, obviously the slow guy determines your overall time.  I just made it clear with him that they had better not expect to be competitive, but it sounded like a casual competition.  I was 50% committed in my mind.

 

Then I took a closer look at that course map.  The obstacles by themselves looked pretty fun.  Who doesn't like being sprayed with a fire hose?  Or crawling in the mud?  Or crossing rivers?  But then there's the whole running part.  And the biggest obstacle was the 460' hill climb.  What am I saying, 460' is a small mountain.  50' is a hill.  Oh, there is a 50' hill, but its slippery and a guy at the top has a fire hose to push you back down.  This might just kill me....

 

So I did a few 'practice' jogs to check exactly how bad my fitness level was.  I jogged to Jamba Juice and that was pretty rough.  Then I played golf for 9-holes the next day.  I was talking-up the race to my golf buddies, so I pretty much had to do the race or face much shame.  I told Chad I was officially "in" the next day.  I tried running hills to prepare.  Hills are tough.  Which is obvious, but running downhill is not easy either; not so obvious. There's some technique involved to relax and get very close to out of control. 

 

Anyway I was pretty nervous.  We started pretty slow, because there was a mass of humanity in front of us.  Things got a little more spaced out in the monster hill climb.  The river crossing was probably my favorite part; kind of a half swim/wading action.  The final mud pit was a blast; drank a little brown water.  But it turns out that I didn't hold the group back (entirely) and we finished in the top half of the Mens Team group.  Pretty cool.  The bruised heel I got from the race, not so cool.  But I actually feel pretty good otherwise.  I am considering doing it again....

Coaches

Well, it looks like Hartsburg is the guy for Ottawa.  After rumors of De Boer getting the head coaching job, it was announced today that Hartsburg got a 3-year deal.  I am not sure if he was in Anaheim when Murray was there, but it wouldn't surprise me.  I am undecided about Hartsburg.  He reminds me of the Ducks.  The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, not the Anaheim Ducks.  Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne days.  Very entertaining, but not very successful.  I am hoping for the best, but am disappointed that Tortorella didn't get the job.  I don't even think he was interviewed.  To me, De Boer was a safer bet.  No one knows him, and he had nothing to lose.

 

Now it's time to focus on the draft, dumping Emery, and re-signing RFAs/UFAs. 

Finally!

YES.  The Winged Wheel finally polishes off the pesky Penguins.  I am happy for the team, but especially for Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Babcock and Osgood.  Zetterberg gets recognized with the Conn Smythe.  He can play in any situation the game throws at him and excel.  The guy always backchecks and has solid PK skills, while also being a short-handed scoring threat.  Datsyuk pretty much shed his "I disappear in the playoffs label" last year, but was a physical beast in the Final.  Wow.  I never thought I would see the day that Datsyuk is crushing people into the boards.  A new found respect for the slick Russian dangler.  Babcock is the Zen mastermind keeping these guys together as a team.  That has been the most impressive aspect of the Wings, steady and dominating team play.  Babcock is the guy making it happen, with his steady demeanor.  Congrats for keeping superstar egos in check and making it look easy.  He got the Ducks to the Final and lost, but took advantage of this opportunity.  Then there's Osgood.

 

Could there be a bigger story than Ozzie?  I most remember him for crying about being the playoff scapegoat while trying to supplant Vernon in his early days.  He seemed a little weak in-between the ears and was prone to the occasional bad goal, that usually killed the Wings.  But after stints with the Blues and Isles, he's back.  What a transformation.  He's a different guy.  His play seems a lot more technical now.  But an equally big change in his mental fortitude.  The guy seems calm and confident and unflappable.  Did this come out of no where?  Not exactly.  The guy had crazy solid numbers this season.  He patiently backed-up for Hasek, knowing he would get a fair share of starts since Hasek is fragile.  Or maybe he knew Hasek would eventually get injured.  So, stepping in during the Playoffs didn't phase him either.

 

Speaking of Hasek.  Does he get his name on the Cup?  The telecaster said something about playing in the Cup Final Series or at least 40 regular season games; otherwise the team has to petition.  I didn't think Dominator played 40 games.  But after check this morning, it appears he did.  Barely.

 

This topic was brought up because of Chelios.  He missed the Final Series with a leg injury.  I hope that's true, otherwise Cheli needs to retire.  He looked slow against Dallas.  I thought he was scratched from game 6 of that series and that the coaches made up the injury excuse out of veteran courtesy.  But later the leg injury was disclosed.  So, it makes sense that his mobility was hampered.  Otherwise, the modern day Gordie Howe plays on at 47 next year???

 

I have to give the Pens some credit for extending the series, in what seemed like a lop-sided affair.  I saw this series as a team with talented players, versus a talented team.  Individual players can steal you a few games, but a strong team wins in a 7 game series.  But, I have to admit that I underestimated Fleury.  The guy got outshot every game and stole a couple.  This from a guy that almost lost his job to Conky during the regular season.  I thought that maybe he was ruined and the Pens had rushed his development.  Turns out that he was playing injured?  Anyway, his play became stellar at the end of the season and he carried that into the playoffs.  Crosby won Game 3.  The guy's an amazing set-up man, competes harder than the role players, but asking him to single-handedly beat the Red Wings is a bit ridiculous.  And maybe that's the problem with Malkin too.  He can score, but when Sykora and Hossa become invisible, there's not a lot a playmaking center can do.

Mullet/Torts

Well, the rumors of Barry Melrose coaching the Lightning next year took one more step in the reality direction with the firing of John Tortorella.  Personally, I see Torts as the coach you don't want your team playing against.  He has a big mouth, speaks his mind a little too often, and can take verbal cheap shots in the Press when necessary.  Kind of like Roenick, if he were a coach.  But the guy runs a tight ship and doesn't hesitate to bench or criticize his star players, if necessary.  I admire that about him.  He's very no-nonsense and preaches an aggressive playing style.

 

This is the kind of guy the Sens need.  I heard rumors about Torts coming to Ottawa a few months back, but didn't put much stock in it.  Now that he's officially let go, it is more of a reality than ever.  The Sens need a taskmaster.  I see a parallel with the Red Wings and Bowman leaving the bench, to be replaced by nice guy Dave Lewis with the Senators giving the coaching clipboard to John Paddock.  Paddock was the player's coach behind Bryan Murray.  These type of guys have great familiarity with the players, but teams slowly lose their edge under the regime of a player's coach.  At least it seems that way to me.  Also, both of these teams had a season long goaltending drama, which usually destroys a team.

 

But on the Melrose angle of things.  I see him as mostly getting out of Gretzky's way and allowing 99 to do his magic.  The guy is pretty far removed from hockey.  I am not sure how much coaching skill he actually had/has.  If watching a lot of games and commenting on them makes you head coaching material, sign me up.  Plus, who will replace him as a self-deprecating but insightful analyst?  But if he rocks the mullet behind the bench again, its all good in my book. 

 

 

Amazing

Well, it's been a long time since the last posting.  But I've decided to continue on with the blog.  Last night's game #5 was awesome.  3OT thriller.  I thought the Wings came out pretty flat and looked nervous. It is interesting that Babcock said the same thing during an on-ice, in-game interview.  I was concerned about the 2 goal deficit, but figured there was a lot of game left and the Wings simply weren't playing their game.  An amazing comeback by the Wings to steal away the momentum and the lead; and even more interesting tie by the Pens with 35 seconds to go.  I thought the Wings were dominant in the first OT.  Then looked a little spent in the second OT.  But overall, were taking the play to the Pens.  Hudler's high stick double minor had to be called.  But a great, exciting game.  I was a little depressed after the game, since the Cup would not be awarded after such a long battle.

 

Unfortunately for the Wings, the team which loses the marathon OT game, generally loses the next game as well.  I've seen this happen more often than not.  If this is the case, the Wings are in trouble.  Because you don't want to have the Cup riding on a game #7 against the Pens.  So, the next game is pretty big.  The Wings also have age against them.  Older legs on the Wings roster and they have less than 48 hours to mourn game #5, travel, and recover.  But, I am still pretty confident in the Wings.  They have shown incredible poise throughout the Final and I don't expect anything less for Game #6.  A definite challenge for Babcock and Co. But, it is finally becoming the series that all the hockey sportscasters wanted.  I'm enjoying every minute.