Super Duper Ultra Weekend

True to form, the #LAKings wrapped-up the Stanley Cup Finals in 5-games last friday. It took overtime, of course. I have to crown this year's team as the Drama Kings. 3 OT games in the final series and 3 OT wins, which atones for the 3 OT losses by Gretzky and Co way back against the Canadiens. Martinez put back a fat rebound off of a Toffoli shot from the right wing. That's the second OT game winner for Martinez, only surpassing the drama of the Conference Final game 7 against the 'Hawks. I'm so happy for that guy. Nearly forgotten until earning ice time late in the season and not to be denied, has to feel great for that kind of redemption.

Father's Day weekend was great. I have to say that How to Train Your Dragon 2, might not have been an ideal movie for the weekend. *Spoiler. It's not the best thing to watch a movie where the main character's dad dies. But I did get plenty of residual appreciation none the less. Played the usual Men's rec league game at Toyota Center and got 2 assists, one on the OT game winner. Not too shabby for an old Dad. We hit Disneyland the next day, as our annual passes are running out next month. Got to build a car with Kalani. It's basically, Build a Bear, but with cars. He loved it. Dinner at House of Blues was all about Daddy though. They had Ballast Point on tap, and a 22oz Sculpin hit the spot. I didn't realize that the majority of the menu there pack some heat. So, it was the perfect spot for me. The Heat Seeker burger had pulled pork on top of a medium patty with jalapeños and hot wing sauce. It was tasty.

Today was the Stanley Cup Victory Parade. Very cool. This time around I did not have passes to see the ceremony inside Staples Center, but it was televised and I saw it later in the day. I did get to bring the family along, as school was out and I needed a work vacation anyway. The weather downtown was beautiful, cool breezes in the shade of the tall buildings off of Figueroa. Glad that the kids and wife got to see the parade up close this time. You never know when/if you will ever see something like that again.

Pretty much a perfect weekend. So thankful that the Kings won it all again. It has been a very therapeutic diversion from work. Not sure what I would have done without another game to look forward to, or another OT victory to talk about the last two months.

But, much like the Cup Finals, things at work have also come to a sort of resolution. Curious timing for sure. We'll see what the future holds...

Sweep

Well, it's no surprise to anyone that the #LAKings are on the verge of sweeping the Rangers from the 2013-14 NHL Stanley Cup Final. I think most of the pundits had Los Angeles is 5-games. The most optimistic Ranger believers had them in 7. I think that assumed Lundqvist would steal 3-games and a lucky bounce for the 4th win.

The surprise that is no surprise, is how it happened. The #LAKings were the Best of the West. The Western Conference had a huge advantage over the East all regular-season. This series was to be a formality. So, in a fashion that is typical of this Playoff year, the hardest path has been taken. Give up 2-goal leads multiple times in the games at home, only to win in OT and 2OT respectively. The heart attack Kings had not lead a game in over 240-minutes, (4-games worth), yet had a 3-0 game record in that span. Things only looked to get tougher as the series shifted to Madison Square Garden! Well, that turned out to be a 3-0 shutout for Quick, despite doubling up the #LAKings in shots. Most of the MSG faithful had left the building with 10-minutes left in the 3rd. At least that performance was directly reminiscent of 2012.

In keeping with the necessary symmetry of the 2012 Cup run, the #LAKings also went OT, OT and shutout against New Jersey. That series went 6-games. I'm not sure how to predict what's the opposite, yet similar path for the upcoming Game 4. I just want them to win the damn thing again. But if karma and drama continue to be themes for this year's team, it will be something to not miss.

You are my density! - George McFly

Been a LOOOONG time since my last post. But looking back, my last post was ironically the most critical time in the recent #LAKings history. Why so critical? Well, since then there has been one Stanley Cup, three consecutive Conference Finals appearances and currently another Cup Final. You can say I've been busy celebrating and watching the #LAKings play deep into June.

Well, the #LAKings did ultimately end-up firing Murray and hired Darryl Sutter and the rest is history. That very same year the Kings squeaked into the playoffs as the 8th seed and proceeded to dominate every series; building a 3-0 lead each time and walking away with a 16-4 record. The games were very tight. Timely scoring happened on a nightly basis and the #LAKings had boosted their offense +0.75 goals compared to the regular season rate, seemingly out of nowhere. Well, the mid-season trade of fan-favorite defenseman Jack Johnson for Jeff Carter, had something to do with the offense. Defenseman Slava Voynov matured enough to make Jack Johnson expendable in the first place. Other young call-ups Dwight King and Jordan Nolan made an impression. The run was as unbelievable as Quick's goaltending. Speaking of which, cemented the netminder as the best in the league and resulted in a gaudy 10-year contract (which is a topic for another day). I went to the Cup Parade downtown and it was awesome.

This year's run is completely different and totally similar. Once again, the #LAKings were great defensively and offensively challenged. (Winning the first Jennings Trophy for goaltenders/GAA.) They were not an 8th seed, but also wouldn't have home ice advantage. This year's late season offensive acquisition was Marion Gaborik. The young call-ups were Tanner Pearson and Tyler Toffoli this time around. Maturing defensemen are Jake Muzzzin and (Alec Martinez). Similar stories to 2012. But the path couldn't be more different. Let's start with all-world goalie Quick being lit up by San Jose for 13-goals in two games! It seemed like Quick gave up 13-goals all playoffs during the 2012 Cup run. San Jose jumped out to a 3-0 series lead. But the #LAKings overcame that in a flourish, blowing out the Sharks with 3-goal leads in the next 3 games. Winning game 7 on the road 2-1. Next up was the cross-town rival Ducks. The mallards lead the West in the regular season. After jumping out to a 2-0 series lead on the road, the #LAKings once again dropped 3-games in-a-row. They also once again came back and ultimately won game 7 on the road, again. It only got tougher from there facing the defending Champ 'Hawks.Split the series in Chicago, and had a 2 game series lead again 3-1. Proceeded to drop that lead, and once again win a game 7, in OT,  on the road. The weird subplot was having the #LAKings drop 2-goal leads in several games, only to battle back and win. The tight 1-0, 2-1 games of the 2012 run were gone in favor of 6-3, 4-1, 6-2, 6-2, 5-2, 5-4 scorefests.There couldn't be more drama or more scoring and lead changes.

Game 1 of the Final is more of the same. Drop a 2-goal lead only to battle back and win. At least the #LAKings have home ice advantage for a change.

So, GM Dean Lombardi looks like something of a genius, right now. He's signed the core of the #LAKings to long term deals. Call-ups from Manchester plug-in nicely and have contributed in the post season. (With Darryl Sutter rolling 4 lines, rookies have to be able to play.) Mid to late-season deals for Carter and Gaborik have come up aces. I had my own reservations about these two, respectively. Both players had baggage from being moved from a big market team, to NHL's equivalent of Siberia (Columbus). And both couldn't have fit in better. To me, this is the sort of thing that only happens within the Red Wings organization; groom draft picks in your minor league system that help immediately, and trade for key acquisitions that impact a Cup run. Lombardi also brought in Darryl Sutter.

I think a lot of the team's success is due to Darryl Sutter. He's a notoriously dry post-game interview. But the guy likes to stick to the big picture. Reporters ask leading questions, but he rebuffs them with facts. It can be hilarious, but most LA reporters have learned to not ask him stupid questions over the years. Sutter has even taught me to be more of an even keel fan. I do enjoy celebrating crazy-ass wins. Like that last-second game tying goal by Gaborik against the Quacks, which the #LAKings ultimately won in OT. But even against the Sharks, down 3-0 in the series, I didn't demand to switch out Quick and fire Sutter next season or any other drastic change. The players play, and get it done or don't. It's not magic. Trust the team. If it happens, it happens. This year it has happened, again. Well, so far it has. But you have to have consistency and confidence in your players and system. It's far too late to change things in the playoffs anyway. That being said, this is by far the most dramatic post-season the #LAKings have ever had, and yet I can't help but have the same sense of destiny that I had in 2012. So, this year's run has been completely different, but totally similar so far...

Why Terry Murray must be fired.

I guess it's no secret that most LAKings fans are frustrated by this year's team. The stat being thrown around the most right now is, 30th in the League for 5-on-5 scoring. There is 2/3rds of the season left, but this is a bad spot to be in right now. Bright side? At least the powerplay isn't at the bottom, too. The excuses are many: hangover from the trip to Europe, defensive "system", Drew Doughty missing training camp. I will counter with the argument that the Stanley Cup winners of the last few seasons, all started with games in Europe. The Minnesota Wild play a fairly defensive system and are leading the Western Conference. Doughty shouldn't be that much of a key to the team's offense.

What's with the forwards? Several of the verteran forwards have been injured or slumping. Williams and Stoll are slumping. Richards was carrying the load, but got injured. Kopitar and Gagne started fast, but haven't been scoring. Brown has elevated his game the last 5-6 contests, but isn't expected to be a pure goal scorer. Penner has finally shown flashes of offense, but he's a last resort as far as expectations, in my mind. Lewis and Richardson are young players that bring speed and grit, but have been scratched in favor of slower more defensive Hunter, Moreau, & Westgarth.

So you are left with the adage that you can't fire the players. I like Terry Murray for what be brings. He's a great coach for building a team. He brings structure. Murray has built one of the best defensive teams in the league. But I think the Kings are at the point where Murray has done what he was supposed to do, and the next step may or may not include him. Murray is also one of the oldest coaches in the league. He's an old dog and there are some new tricks in today's NHL. I would argue that some of the younger coaches, Glen Gulutzan comes to mind, have been successful. I point to a recent game against the Stars, where Dallas was clearly looking to make an aggressive forward faceoff draw after a timeout, with 40 seconds left. The Kings blew the coverage, and Dallas tied the game and won in OT. Out coached on that one? I was pretty sure Bruce Boudreau came to mind, when the Capitals fired him. He was even in the Kings organization at one point, coaching the Monarchs. But the Ducks swept him up in a matter of days/hours and that's history.

Maybe it shouldn't happen this season, but if there are strong signs now that the team is not responding to the coach, why not now? I honestly can't name any ideal replacements. But a have a strong feeling that a new voice behind the bench is needed, sooner than later.

UFC on Fox

So, I capped off an event filled week with the UFC on Fox fights at the Honda Center in Anaheim. I was surprised by the crowd. I've been to other fights where the undercard is not heavily attended. But with the pre-event festivities, there was quite a crowd before the whole thing started. There was a pretty good atmosphere for the event in general and there was a lot of energy for the main event. The crowd was heavily pro-Velasquez. So, I feared that there might be a riot when he lost. Maybe the quick finish was a good thing, since the crowd was stunned for the most part. Had it gone to a decision, the place might have gone crazy.

Similarly, the crowd was pro-Guida. So, even though he got handled IMO, the crowd disagreed with the decision. It's too bad that they didn't show the Henderson vs. Guida fight on Fox. It was great. A high energy, 3-round battle with kicks, cagework & submissions. I would have bet on the lightweights for a guaranteed, solid fight over a heavyweight contest. I understand that people want to see the heavyweights, but I blame Dana's love for boxing on that mistake.

I'd argue that it's easier to get into the sport of MMA by watching the lightweights. Case in point, myself. I followed the UFC to a point. But it wasn't until the WEC had a pretty good rotation on Versus, that I truly got into MMA.

Still, it was great to be a part of MMA history. I'm just not sure if it is the beginning or the end. In a lot of respects it is the end of meeting fighters in the local K-mart without a long line. The end of pay-per-view for FOX events. The end of having mostly local/US events. But this is all a good thing.

Sports Fan

I've had a good run of luck with getting LAKings tickets, recently. I was able to attend the last two home games. As a huge hockey fan and Kings fan, there is nothing that beats seeing a game live. I'm not sure if the speed, sounds and beauty of the game is fully shown on TV. No broadcast captures the energy in the crowd (or lack thereof). That being said, I can't see how the average person can afford season tickets. Yeah, yeah, yeah we're in a recession and everything feels expensive. But I didn't pay for these tickets, and after parking, food, and babysitter, I don't think I could afford to see the next game if tickets were given to me.

Fortunately, the local coverage on Fox Sports is great. I'm pretty spoiled with HD broadcasts and the best announcing team in the business. It's also nice to start watching the game via DVR after the kids are put in bed, and speed through all the commercials, icings, and intermissions.

I guess I'm not that much of a hardcore sports fan. Attending games will remain a treat for me and I don't mind that.

 

 

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Goaltending

What's with the state of NHL goaltending today? In my mind it's an alternate universe when, Brodeur and Ryan Miller are stinking-up the place. I would say it's a young man's game, but Khabibulin isn't a Spring chicken and has been very confident in the early season. Lehtonen and my boy Jon Quick have also been very solid.

Quick has the best/worst hockey name for a goaltender. Fortunately, he's lived up to it more often than not. But I still remember the facepalm moment when the Kings had a Quick and Fast on the prospect list.

I love the goaltender position. Rich Hammond, the LAKings blogger, did a great piece on Bill Ranford as the Kings goalie coach. I was a big fan of Ranford when he played for the Oil. The article details how the treatment and coaching of goaltenders has evolved over the years. It's interesting that Ron Hextall is also in the Kings organization and that goaltending is currently a strength. I guess it really helps to have a former goalie, coaching and mentoring your young goalies.

The Golden Era of Cinema

I've been thinking about my favorite movies lately. Part of the reason for that is having Netflix and the notion of rating each movie and figuring out which genre of movie I like to watch. The bottom line is that I prefer action, horror, martial arts, sci-fi monster movies. With Halloween coming up, several websites rated their favorite monster movies. I also recently saw The Thing, which took me back to the 1980's version.

I honestly feel that monster movies made during my childhood are the best ever. The Thing, Alien, Aliens, The Fly, Jaws, & American Werewolf in London come to mind. I think that the special effects were just good enough to be semi-realistic, while the limitation of the SFX limited the full viewing of any given monster. These movies build the tension by limiting the actual screen time of the monster. Also, the music in these pictures isn't matched today.

Don't get me wrong, there are many current monster flicks that I enjoy. In my mind, Jurassic Park is the predecessor for effects laden monster movies. Loved Jurassic Park, the sequels not so much. Peter Jackson's King Kong, Cloverfield, The Host all benefit from having great looking monsters that modern technology allows.

I also respect "the classics", which I consider 1950's. My fascination with monster flicks probably originates with Godzilla. I still love Godzilla to this day. Any Ray Harryhausen effects flicks are personal favorites. Harryhausen lasted well into my "Golden Era" with Clash of the Titans, another movie which I have strong emotional ties.

No helmet rule

For the life of me I can't figure out why any rec hockey player would not wear a face cage or at least a visor. At any level of play there's a possibility of injury to your eyes, whether it is an accidental high stick or re-directed puck. The recent Chris Pronger high sticking has brought up the issue at the NHL level. But, I had a personal account last night.

We were playing in a game that had playoff implications, so things were a little more serious than ususal. Mid-way through the 3rd period, our hardest shooting forward got a loose puck with the goalie out of position. He quickly fired a slap/snapshot toward the goal as an opposing defender was diving headfirst to blaock the shot. He blocked the shot alright, with his face. The problem is that he didn't have a face cage or visor. He was leaking oil pretty good from his right temple, and left a nice pool of blood on the ice. Apparently, he had an immediate black eye. I think the shot actually grazed his helmet so it could have been worse. But I'll be surprised if that guy is on the ice any time soon.

Last season, a slapshot was re-directed and nailed a guy in the face. Again, no cage or visor. In this case, a visor might not have helped as the puck went from knee height into his face with no time for reaction.

So, please wear some sort of face protection. I wouldn't want that on my conscience. Also, you really slow down the game when the refs have to stop and clean up your blood.

5 for Fighting

I've been a bit embarrassed by my rec hockey team's name. At best it's cliche. At worst it refers to a metro-band. But this last weekend, we lived up to the name. And I now consider that the worst aspect of "5 for Fighting".

I would consider only two players on the team to be legitimate hotheads, and would expect only one of them to actually fight. There was a dust-up in the third period and not one of our proudest moments. We controlled the game and scoreboard, so starting a fight was unnecessary. I would be lying to say I wasn't a little embarrassed.

At the end of the day, we have a player suspended for the playoff final. It's another matter to be sticking-up for a teammate, but I don't believe that was the circumstance. More than anything, it was a shortsighted and selfish move.

Bittersweet Playoff Update

One of my rec teams finally made the playoffs. Well, that's not an accomplishment at all, since all the teams play in the playoffs. But we finally started playing well together these last 4 games and made the playoff finals! We went 3-1-0 during playoff pool play and are +10 in those games. We have already beaten the team we face this Saturday. Unfortunately, I won't be there and it's killing me, too.

Several months ago, I signed-up to attend my high school reunion. To be fair, it was booked before I even started playing with this hockey team & the playoff schedule was not set. But as much as I want to be judged by my late childhood peers for my financial/career, marital and physical well being; I would rather eat the $70 event fee and play the hockey game.

On the bright side, I'm not a key cog in the playoff machine. I know my place and role on the team. I'm definitely more of any energy and forechecking guy, than skilled goal scorer. Having less of me and more of our top end guys will be a good thing. And getting to take my wife out to dinner without the kids as always a good thing.

 

Week 1

We're roughly a week into the NHL regular season. I've been watching NHL Network for my daily highlights. And I usually hit Sportsnet and TSN websites daily for scores and stories. I've decided to save the money and not renew my Center Ice package. I'm watching the Kings games on Fox Sports HD, that doesn't require four, extra monthly payments.

Last night was the North American opener for the Kings. They started well, but quickly played down to the Devils. This is similar to what happened against the Sabres. Start well, then go flat. More depressing was that Quick lost in the shootout. Damn. Quick and Stoll were an automatic extra point last season. That's not the way to start a new season.

Excuses are aplenty. Lots of travel, new faces, etc. But the main thing is that Kopitar looks to be back in form after a rather nasty ligament tear. I didn't expect any less, but losing Kopitar's production would have been a major issue. I'm pretty patient at this point. The lines will sort themselves out soon. Chemistry will develop. They just need to be ready for the home opener next Tuesday.

I've read that Jimmy Howard has two consecutive shutouts, Crosby and Malkin are currently out of the lineup, Bruins are 1-4-0.

 

100th Game

A bit of technical issues with the initial part of my last post. I meant to continue with the fact that it explains my various aches and pains. At first, I had chronic wrist pain from slamming into the boards and ice, due to my inability to stop. More recently, I've had low back, knee and ankle pain. While it is hardly an NHL schedule, playing multiple times per week tends to add-up, at least from an injury standpoint. I would like to not have something hurting all the time, but if the consequence is not playing anymore, I'll just play through it as I have been. I figure it's better to be hurting from self inflicted hockey games, than hurting from sitting at a desk and doing practically nothing.

100th game

I have been keeping track of my rec ice hockey "career" more or less. I've come to realize that I'm playing in my 100th game tonight. This is pretty approximate, at best. But a noteworthy accomplishment in my mind. It also makes sense.

Countdown to 2011-12 NHL Season

I'm anxiously awaiting the start of a new NHL season. In general, it's great to be able to anticipate something. Whether it's a long awaited movie, video game, holiday, gofl outing; I love the buildup. Maybe that's why Christmas was always my favorite holiday growing-up, it was all the anticipation.

 

So there are four more days until the regular season. But the LA Kings have already left for Europe and are playing a pre-season game tomorrow against a German pro team. Maybe that's why I'm a little more into the start of the season than normal. Well, that and the new additions to the Kings. There seem to be some hockey pundits, who once again like the Kings potential. That potential has only been met with consecutive first round playoff losses. Time to stop talking and start playing.

Doubty

So I found out late last night that Drew Doughty had a verbal agreement to re-sign a 8 year, $7-million/year, $56-million contract. The timing is ideal since it allows Drew to make the trip to Europe and start the season with the team. There has been a lot of back and forth about who "won" in the deal. Drew gets to be the highest paid LA King and Lombardi gets a long term contract and several of Doughty's UFA years. If the rumors are true, Doughty missed training camp for an additional $200K/year. That's a relatively insignificant amount on top of $6.8-million. But to someone like Westgarth, represents 40% of his annual salary.

The obvious question is how will Doughty perform in the future? Drew's quick success in the NHL has been the base for his contract leverage. I would argue that it takes defensemen 3-4 years to really learn the NHL game. And by that logic, Doughty could only get better. It's this potential that makes his contract a possible bargain. As a cautious fan, I have my doubts.

There is a guy on the Kings who had success early in his career, showed flashes of greatness, & signed a monster contract. There are questions about his work ethic. He didn't play so great at the end of last season. Who am I? Drew Doughty or Dustin Penner?

Pre Season

The NHL pre-season is in full swing. I've been waiting for it, what seems like forever. More importantly, the regular season is right around the corner. Which means the LAKings are off to Europe. They have two regular season games, one in Sweden and one in Germany. This kinda sucks since it is extra travel and puts off the home opener until October 18th. Maybe the extensive travel will help the team bond (more than tire them out). They have some new faces Mike Richards, Simon Gagne, Ethan Moreau & Dustin Penner. I'm adding Penner to this list, since he is supposedly in shape now and should not resemble anything of the horrible player he was at the end of last season.

 

Not a whole lot of drama this pre-season. Which is unusual for the Kings. There aren't really any open roster spots for once. I'm glad that we're not counting on any prospects to make the team. I am discounting the unsigned Drew Doughty as drama. After the July 1 free agency period, it was clear that he wasn't going to get signed. I realize that most Kings fans see Drew as the future of the organization, but I do not. He has shown flashes of brillance, but also a lack of fitness and commitment. I'm coming from the viewpoint that petulant skill players should be rented at best. Doughty is going down that path. I'd take a lesser skilled Chelios type guy who is committed to the game, his health and his team.

 

If the Kings fall apart defensively and Doughty forces their hand, so be it. But I doubt that will happen. Right now I'm with Lombardi. I'd rather not pay now for Doughty's "potential" if it hijacks the team's salary cap. I believe that a team plays defense, not pairs of individuals on each line. Doughty's skill set will be difficult to replace, but I think the Kings will be fine on the back end. In the meantime, would love to see a young player like Slava Voynov get an extended audition. Or give Thomas Hickey a go. All I know is that the Kings power play needs something different than last year.

 

 

Playoffs

I had my first rec hockey playoff game; which we won. I have been on some brutal teams in the last year. The worst being a perfect 0-14 season. So, finally getting into the post-season has been refreshing, despite the fact that all 5 of the teams make the playoffs.

 

I had some bad news recently, my favorite shin guards finally broke. I have been using a pair of CCM SG400 shin guards, since I started ice hockey. They were super beefy at the time they came out, approx 1994. My college roommates got them for me as a birthday gift, since I took one too many pucks to the side of the knee. But these things were way ahead of their time. One of the first shin guards to have an articulated knee, with extended protection on the side of the knees, wrap around protection, and asymetrical fit specific to each leg. Pretty much all mid to high-end shin guards have these features now.

I had retired the SG400's later in my roller hockey career, since lightweight and protective shin guards came out that weighed half as much. They came out of retirement once I started my new ice hockey career. For the last year I've blocked shots at will and felt pretty much indestructible. But, last week I noticed that the plastic knee cap has cracked on the right side.

The search is now on to find a worthy successor. I will probably by the burliest shin guards available, because that's my style. I don't mind the extra weight, as long as I feel more comfortable in front of point shots. I also like the thickness of the SG400's. I never had to tape my socks on, as the socks could barely stretch around my shin guards and would stay firmly in place.

 

OGA & Blog FAIL

It's been a while since I've put anything out from here. I guess it's a mixture of summertime and disinterest. The NHL season is over, draft is over, free agency madness is over, so that leaves little for me to really blog about. I'm not really excited about the MMA scene right now. Facebook and Twitter have taken over as my daily social outlets. My family has been pretty busy with summer activities. These are my excuses. I think the real reason is that I lose interest in the blog from time to time. I know that there's nothing worse than an inactive blog, but it is what it is.

 

Some news worth blogging about. OGA 2011 is coming! It's been in the planning stages for weeks. The idea phase was months ago. That's when we start thinking about getting together to golf and just how long it's been since the last time. The next phase is the actual planning phase. Pick a month, then a weekend & location. Plan A was a visit up the coast to Poppy Hills. That didn't pan out. But we are all basically committed to the weekend, so it's just a matter of going with Plan B. I think that will involve a golf course that's more local to Arroyo Grande/Nipomo. It's still being worked out.

 

I'm excited. I'm trying to remember the last time we had an OGA event, and I think it has to be a couple years ago. Unlike the rest of the crew, I'm not an avid golfer. I do love to play, I am just not willing to commit 6-7 hours on the weekends to it. I tend to go through phases of getting out to hit balls and practice, but generally that's short lived. The moment I get too serious about golf and have any expectations about swing results, it all falls apart. So, I have a more Zen approach to golf now. I treat it as an adventure, don't expect much and play each shot as it comes. That usually involves dusting off the clubs and shoes before I play and going through a rough front 9. The rest of the round may or may not improve. That's the mystery.