Darth Gerber

Well, I missed yet another pre-season game. I quickly figured-out that the one game I saw televised was a fluke. But there are 82 relatively meaningless games ahead, so missing a few pre-meaningless games don't bother me.  I do scan the write-ups, to see how guys are playing. I guess plugger/checker/fighter Chris Neil scored two powerplay goals last night; and also fought Aaron Asham. That's a pretty good night. Jesse Winchester got a lucky goal, but so far has not played himself off the top line with Spezza and Heatley. Winchester has been good along the boards and responsible defensively. Basically he can get the puck to Spezza and play defense for him. Marty Gerber debuted his new mask. It's sort of an inside joke. He thought he was going to be traded last year, so he never got his mask painted and was sporting an all black mask. Teammates eventually called him Darth Gerber. He ran with it and had this year's mask is painted with a Vader theme.  It's a pretty subtle design, but very fitting.

Pre-season

I usually don't get too excited about the pre-season. But, I usually don't get any game televised coverage either; for some reason the Sens/Rangers game was on MSG last Saturday. It was great! It's nice to see the prospect players play some-what regular shifts. And since the Sens have a new coach, that throws in another angle of interest. Alfredsson was a scratch for the game, but it was rumored that Jesse Winchester was getting a shot at playing with Heatley and Spezza. Well, he did and he looked good. Not great, but not out of place either. A few of the Sens new defensemen got burned and Schubert continued to be a literal "hit or miss" defenseman. Schubert will crush people with checks or gets caught flatfooted.

My boy Fisher scored a goal and he was paired with fellow wrecking balls Neil and newcomer Jarkko Ruutu. These guys looked like the best line on the team. Granted, it's not hard to have chemistry when the gameplan is to hit everyone and battle for the puck.

The game itself was penalty filled, as the refs looked to be re-enforcing the tight interpretation of obstruction calls. That was a bit of a downer, since most teams haven't focused on special teams play at this point in the pre-season.

Brian Elliott looked good in his 20 minutes of work. It was only one period, but even the Rangers telecaster were commenting on his ability to control/hold the puck. He was a Hoover vaccuum with rebounds. I think he deserves to start next game. We'll see what the coaches think.

Bottom line, I'm pretty excited about watching hockey again.

Training Camp

Training Camps are open in the NHL.  I've read that the Sens rookie prospects did well in a three team tournament over last weekend. Several players did well. So, most of those top guys will be invited to the main training camp. I kinda hoped/expected one guy to stand out above the rest. That would almost be better, but several of the forwards had good games. It is difficult to give several guys a shot, rather than testing one guy. I think there's room for one or two forwards to make the team and one defenseman. The defenseman is Brian Lee. He played well for a few games late last season and looked like he belonged. For him to not make the big club this year would be a disappointment.

 

The forwards are another story. There are several grinder-types, Winchester, Foligno, Bass; that got playing time last season and did well. But the Sens need a point producer for the top lines. There are a couple skilled Russians with an outside shot at it. I'm not holding my breath, but it would be great to discover a skill player that blossoms this year. I think that Winchester will get a chance at playing on one of the top lines. I hope he clicks.

 

The Sens have basically, two backup goalies. Well, Gerber is a second tier starter. He played very well for stretches last season. But the consistency just isn't there; and to be fair the team played horribly at times. I have to believe that his small size doesn't help. New to the team is Alex Auld, a journeyman.  At least he has a large frame. This is where Brian Elliott comes in. A bit of a draft gem, since they took a flier on him as the second to last draft pick in '03. He ended-up eventually taking Wisconsin to a NCAA championship. He's turning out to be a solid goaltender, played well in the AHL last year. I hope he impresses, but will probably only get a couple call-up during this season. Another year in the AHL would not be so bad. But should either goaltender falter, I say bring him up and see what he can do!

 

Transformers 2

While I wasn't exactly the biggest fan of Transformers the Movie, I did think it was fun with good visual effects. I do like Shia LeBeuf (sp?) and didn't mind Megan Fox. I've seen quite a bit about the vehicles that are supposed to be in the next movie: Corvette, Volt, split window Solstice coupe, etc.  But, this was the first time I saw this... Constructicons in the movie! Yeah, these guys were construction vehicles that formed the big Devastator bot, much like the Voltron & it's lions. It got me thinking that the Dinobots would be kewl to see, but maybe in the tired third installment.

 

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/09/12/transformers-2-to-feature-devastator-1-decepticon-made-of-5/

UFC 91

Big news in the MMA World.  Randy Couture ended his retirement/contract issues with the UFC and re-signed a 3 fight deal. I think the writing was on the wall for him, since his lawsuit against Zuffa was not going well. Both sides now seem satisfied, and so am I, as Couture is fighting in November to defend his title against Brock Lesnar.  That's a pretty big fight and is expected to rake in a ton of money. My work buddy is currently trying to work an angle to get tickets.  That would be cool.

I'm a little disappointed, because it also means the Couture vs Fedor fight is a long way off.  Dana White has vowed to not do a cross-promotion with Affliction and Fedor is signed-on for at least two more fights.  White has failed to sign Fedor before, so the guy must be making serious demands. After destroying Tim Sylvia, his stock is sky-high again.  I honestly don't think the Couture fight will ever happen.

It is also unfair for Check Congo. He was supposed to get the next shot at Lesnar.  Now, he won't fight Lesar or get a title shot anytime soon. Couture/Lesnar is title bout #1.  Nogueria vs Mir is the fight for the interim heavyweight title, #2.  The winner of each of those fights, will battle for the undisputed/unified heavyweight title, #3. That leaves Congo the odd man out until at least the middle of next year? To add insult to injury, Lesnar is getting a title shot after 2 UFC fights and a 1-1 professional record.  So, in theory Lesnar could be the UFC Heavyweight Title holder at 3-1 for his career. I will admit the guy is a unique, freak of nature with size, speed and athleticism.  But I don't like the unearned respect and status he's been given.

Buh-Bye Meszaros

I am pretty disappointed to see Meszaros get traded to Tampa Bay.  But good for him.  He wanted more money and got it. Tampa is quickly becoming the "Rangers of the Southeast" with their new ownership that is throwing money at any and all available talent this summer.  I'm glad that Murray ended the Meszaros drama sooner than later and got a solid, experienced (read: older) defenseman, prospect defenseman, and '09 first rounder in return.  Next year's draft is supposed to be deep and the Sens now have two first rounders.

Meszaros had an awesome rookie year, but has tailed-off the last two seasons.  Interesting, that Wade Redden also tailed off the last two years and he's gone to the Rangers. What happened two years ago?  The Sens dealt Chara, instead of Redden.  In hindsight, I think they chose wrong.

I am holding a cautious optomism about the Senators 'new look' defense. New to the team are Jason Smith, Filip Kuba, Alexandre Picard & Ryan Shannon.  Back from last year, Volchenkov and Phillips are studs. Jason Smith is a former captian and veteran warrior. Kuba is a big, veteran D-man with a heavy point shot. (Picard and Shannon are probably prospects.) Add-in youngster Brian Lee and Christoph Schubert and that's the top 6.

I'm glad that the Senators are re-tooling with solid, character guys. But I do miss Joe Corvo.  The guy was a turnover machine at times, but was a dynamic skater coming out of the zone. His spot was supposed to be filled by Meszaros. Now, there isn't anyone to fill that role. I'm hopeful that Brian Lee will be that guy, but that's a lot to be putting on a first year player....