- 01:30 AM
- 11/08/09
Can't stay away from my favorite spofi activity. I'm in like Flynn. Phatcat FC is back in nicked Hull City kits.
posted by garfield at 11:01 AM on July 21
Believe me, I would be the first to protest such an injustice.
posted by garfield at 10:17 AM on June 10
Is it too late to put in my picks? Fly fishing with 86 trumped submitting my Detriot pick, and I can live with that.
...and I really like the Osgood pick for the CS. Your dues have been paid, sir. Congratulations.
posted by garfield at 06:59 PM on June 09
Could a rematch of last year's finals really happen? When was the last time that happened? It would be great way to end a great Playoffs.
Battle for Central Dominance - Hard to argue with Wings. 4-2 in the regular season, with the only two losses coming after home-ice was sewn up. Wings in 5. Should go 2 Ws at home, split the trip to Chi-town, and finish in 5.
Pens v Canes - Sounds like a CIA memo heading. This is intriguing based on regular season match ups, as the Pens won twice in '08 while they were still playing like crap, and the Canes won twice down the stretch when both teams were peaking. Ward makes this pick iffy, but Pens will take it in 6.
3pts is cool with me for the Conn Smythe pick.
posted by garfield at 12:54 PM on May 15
MeatSaber, thanks for running with this.
Beans vs. BBQ - According to Paul Maurice, the Canes' strength is offensive puck possession below the dots. Unfortunately for him, the Bruins can carpet bomb that area of the ice. Canes will score their way to a couple of wins. Bruins in 6.
OV vs Bing - Best player in the game vs. the player Bettman wanted to be the best player in the game. The edge has to go to Pittsburgh because they were able to do it last year. The mediocre regular season seems like ancient history. Staal is centering an effective L3, which is the key line in many Cup runs. The deadly Gonch catfish stalks the blueline once again. Guerin's legs have been located after have gone missing for several months. But, the gut is favoring Washington. An unconscious rookie tender. A Fedorov in top form. OV that looks like every shot could score. Brashear trumps any toughness the Pens can insert into the line-up. It's going to be a 7 game dandy. This year it's Ovechkin's turn to take a deep run.
Wings vs. Ducks - Body part vs. whole. Why do we believe in the Sharks? They are like the Ottawa Senators - regular season darlings, post season chumps. But so to were the Wings regular season specialists. But enough history. Ducks looks good. Bobby Ryan is the missing link for L1. Pronger and Neidermayer are still back there. Beauchemin is back. They didn't need Selanne to win round 1. Hiller is on his game. What's not to like? The Wings are rested. The call up rookies are providing ridiculous depth. Hossa likes the playoffs...alot. Osgood still lets in too many. So, I think that could be the difference. But if Anaheim takes too many dumb penalties, it won't even be close. I say Wings in 7.
Nucks' vs. Hawks - First impression is the Canucks will prevail with superior defense. But looking at the numbers on both sides of the puck, the edge should be with Chicago, especially with home-ice. Can Luongo steal a series? I wouldn't put it past him. Can the Sedins continue their strong play? Not with Keith and Seabrook on them. Can the Sundin Kesler Demitra line carry Vancouver? I'm not so sure given Mats' wonky hip. On the flip side, who does Kesler line key on? The Havlat line? I would. Kane is up to speed. Toews is game. Pahlsson has fit in great. Against my initial impression, Hawks in 6.
posted by garfield at 09:15 AM on April 29
The Rangers have a shot if they can get to Jose early. Game 1 would be great, but a win in D.C. is needed before they head home. Caps in 6.
Boston will not have an easy time of it, but will make it through. Boston in 5.
Carolina is white hot and Marty is shaky, so I'm going with the Canes. Canes in 6.
Home Ice should be the edge for the Pens to get by Philly. Pens in 7.
Out West, its tougher to call. Sharks have ex-Ducks who provided depth for Anaheim. Goalies are pretty even. D is pretty even. Forward depth goes to San Jose and should decide the series. Sharks in 5.
I'd love to see Steve Mason de-rail the Detroit Cup Train. Not sure that will happen, but I'd love to see it. Wings in 7.
Canucks-Blues series total number of goals will be 7. All 1-0 games. Who knows who wins a series like that. Vancouver because of forward depth. Canucks in 7
The Flames should pound the Hawks into a pulp, but they are pulp themselves. Hawks will win if the Flames injuries don't heal in time. Neither team is good defensively, so it should be a fun series. Hawks in 7.
posted by garfield at 05:33 PM on April 15
Still waiting for an all around peformance from my squad. Cylinder deactivation is great in certain circumstances, but I'm trying to build some horsepower.
And is Friedel done? He looked horrible over the weekend.
posted by garfield at 02:16 PM on August 26
Any guesses on the player with the highest point total at the end of the season?
posted by garfield at 12:34 PM on July 16
I'm going to delete the new league. I didn't know about the auto-renew and was over excited after EURO 08.
posted by garfield at 11:22 AM on July 11
Bo, there definitely should be no fear of laughter. I didn't have a clue what I was doing three seasons ago, and look at me now.
posted by garfield at 04:29 PM on July 09
gspm, did I create an extra league? Should I delete?
posted by garfield at 04:03 PM on July 09
Just fill your roster with warm bodies. You can re-tool all you want until the ball is kicked, no transfer fees. And heed chico's warning. Key players can switch teams and put you over the 3 per team limit.
posted by garfield at 03:30 PM on July 09
From what I've seen Spain should take it because the RussD can be disorganized at times. If Pavlychenko(sp?) converts early, which is entirely likely, Russia may sit back a bit, exposing said D, and that could spell doom. But if Russia pushes the attack for at least the first 60, they might pull it out. Spain needs to bring Fabregas on earlier because the Russians are a physical bunch in the midfield, are were able to bully the Nederlanders. (sniff, sniff). And with a few slick passes behind the 18, Villa and Torres should bury at least 2, maybe 3. 3-1 Spain is my greedy neutral prediction, despite the fact the Russians looks like they are playing hockey out there on the counter. As for Turkey, there is no way they get past the Germans. Simply no way. This has been my first full on Euro watching experience, and it has thoroughly distracted me from my main preoccupation, for which I am eternally grateful. Oh, and a slight side note, the Spain Italy match was horrendously called. The Italians get away with murder. Perhaps because of their defensive reputation they recieve a large benefit of the doubt, but that quarterfinal should've been 2-0 at the half on penalties alone.
posted by garfield at 04:13 PM on June 24
What are the matches peeps are most looking forward to? I'm liking the Netherlands v. Italy, Spain v. Russia, Czech v. Portugal, Netherlands v. France, France v. Italy of course....But I think those are the obvious choices...Any sleeper teams worth checking out early?
posted by garfield at 12:54 PM on June 02
gspm, thanks for your bonus coverage. It remains my favorite feature of spofi. The form and recent overall tables are truly awesome.
posted by garfield at 08:30 AM on May 27
Dagnabit...I never miss this thread. Stupid autoimmune disease. I'll agonizingly observe from afar. I give the brave pick award to Folkways and Monica Poland for picking the Bruins who haven't figured out the Habs for what seems like a decade.
posted by garfield at 11:55 AM on April 15
I hope you're right, chico. I won't be around for a couple weeks, so the good ship garfield will be asea with no one at the wheel. You can breathe easy squealy...unless Wheater scores 20 this week.
posted by garfield at 01:33 PM on February 05
I wish I could join a group that could buy the Maple Leafs. Then ownership could be eliminated as a problem source.
posted by garfield at 04:34 PM on January 31
Goal and an assist says Cesc is keeping his starting spot.
posted by garfield at 04:53 PM on January 29
His fixture record says the same. Time to re-tool for the remainder methinks.
posted by garfield at 02:59 PM on January 25
Blocked at work? Maybe I should get a job that does that. That would probably help with the income situation. Is Fabregas going to start scoring again, or is he back to last seasons titillating but no results type of game?
posted by garfield at 12:09 PM on January 25
86 and Sgt.Samsonov14 are responsible for my contributions. They extend their apologies, I'm sure.
posted by garfield at 03:30 PM on January 24
Never should've dropped Tevez. Doh!
posted by garfield at 07:43 AM on January 15
16th?! I withdraw my request.
posted by garfield at 04:01 PM on January 04
Can we cut rcade from the league? He's dragging the spofi average down. I mean, so what if he's one of the Pantheon. Dude's made like 1 tranfer in 1.5 seasons. I think he's aiming for last overall...worldwide.
posted by garfield at 03:03 PM on January 04
WC eats cats! Cute, cuddly, purry cats!
posted by garfield at 08:28 AM on January 04
I wish I could claim this as my own mix, but sharing is caring, right? Or something. I already linked to it at the swap blogspot, but I wanted to make sure peeps get to listen to it.
posted by garfield at 12:50 PM on January 03
I rawk! The preceding bravado will promptly incur the wrath of the fantasy sport gods.
posted by garfield at 11:51 AM on January 02
bill, my condolences. chelsea v. villa was fantastic today...as an impartial spectator, of course.
posted by garfield at 06:18 PM on December 26
With Terry out, doesn't that make Lampard much less valuable?
posted by garfield at 03:13 PM on December 19
Just slightly...at the sight of yer fat ma waving from the window....
posted by garfield at 02:24 PM on December 14
I'm having formative flashbacks to Saturday mornings when my mom was out shopping and dad was shaking the house with his LPs.
posted by garfield at 08:36 AM on December 14
Sorry to disappoint my fan, but with the planning of nupitals on top of the regular holidays, I'll be lucky to have enough time to maintain adequate sanity levels. Which is to say my busy life is all an elaborate excuse to cloak my lackadaisical music pursuits of late. I'm so out of it, I just figured out who Justice is. Please be sure to post songlists of everybody's stuff. I love googling all the tunes that are shared.
posted by garfield at 01:54 PM on December 10
He is. And on top of his wicked smarts, he now is even more diesel than before. Throw in killing techniques with a hanky, and you have one bad ass samsonov14.
posted by garfield at 08:56 AM on November 15
I can't decide: pole, staff, antenna, recieve my signal, broadcast my show....or the self-deprecating half-mast.
posted by garfield at 09:31 AM on November 09
kudos to lawn_wrangler's form. Impeccable. Three weeks on top, and two of those weeks were top 5 finishes. And it looks like Chelsea, and in particular Mr.Lampard, have found their form once again.
posted by garfield at 08:31 AM on November 07
So a Yankee fan quits because of a perceived slight towards the Yankees, and a Philly fan quits because Philly is getting dragged through the mud. Sounds like fans being fans to me. Quitting spofi is a long and sanctimonious tradition going back as far as I can remember, of which I am a part. People are people, get used to it.
posted by garfield at 10:47 AM on November 06
Try the honey liquer if you get the chance. Seriously, best appertif I've ever had. The ganga works well as an appetizer.
posted by garfield at 10:51 AM on November 01
This captaincy thing is driving me to drink more than usual.
posted by garfield at 11:26 AM on October 30
A ha! Much appreciated. Now I have to wait until Saturday to dump his non-playing behind. Kirkland, could you please put up a clean sheet against Birmingham this weekend, so I don't loathe my decision to punt away a defender instead. sorry squealy.
posted by garfield at 03:47 PM on October 25
Nice work bill. Can anyone explain to me why Schmiechel Jr isn't playing?
posted by garfield at 12:07 PM on October 25
Spofi: We do class the goodest
posted by garfield at 04:35 PM on October 10
movin' on up....to the sky....finally got a piece of the pie eye eye...movin' on up.
posted by garfield at 10:23 AM on October 04
grum, had did you know to draft Bernier? I don't remember seeing anything about him last season. and 4 from the northwest? ballsy.
posted by garfield at 12:13 PM on September 29
Great on Cornflakes!
posted by garfield at 04:25 PM on September 28
Conspiracy theories are what make the world go round. I suspect. Bert for sure. Bobby Ryan might break out on the same line. Adrain Aucoin should bounce back nicely if he can stay healthy. He hasn't done squat since leaving Long Island. Same goes for Frankie Kaberle. Todd White is a favorite of some to have a huge year. He definitely has a chance to top his career high 60 points.
posted by garfield at 04:04 PM on September 28
Sorry NoMich. Though I just saw that Karmanos has resigned for personal reasons. That may indicate something unhealthy within the team, or something negative we don't know about yet. Do you have any insight on this? My opinion is largely based on Ward coming to camp in top shape. He won his Cup and his Conn Smythe. Then got whipped for a season. He's back to prove something. Having Kaberle back should do wonders for the PP. And Cole healthy for a full season. And Justin Williams is solidifying his status as a force. I'd say Staal is going to have a bounce back year, but he may not if Marc starts to make noise. I have a theory he took step back to let Jordan have some ink last year, and he might do the same for Marc. But that is completely stupid.
posted by garfield at 01:19 PM on September 28
Atlantic - NYR Pitt PHI NJD NYI Northeast - OTT BUF TOR MON BOS Southeast - CAR FLA ATL WAS TMP Central - DET NAS CHI STL COL Northwest - VAN COL MIN CAL EDM Pacific - SJ ANA LA DAL PHX Eastern Qualifiers OTT NYR CAR PITT BUF TOR PHI FLA Western Qualifiers DET SJ VAN ANA COL MIN NAS LA FINALS - NYR vs ANA (Ducks in 5)
posted by garfield at 11:56 AM on September 28
I'm with you on the Devils missing. Landgenbrunner is out for 6 to 8 weeks. Starting the season with 800 roads games can't help. And Rafalski Paul Martin is not. The Atlantic might give three teams, but Pitts and the Rangers are way ahead of the Devils right now. Its between Philly and the Devils, and I'd pick the team that has a PP quarterback.
posted by garfield at 01:27 PM on September 27
Anyone interested in a predictions thread? Top 8 from each conference. SC Finalists. I want to memorialize my hunch about the Panthers making it.
posted by garfield at 09:49 AM on September 26
The Leafs didn't lose any offense during the summer. 8th best offense of 06-07 should only get better. How do you figure the Leafs can't score? No including the shoot out, of course. I'm not all sunshine and bunnies about the upcoming season, but I'm definitely not all doom and gloom either.
posted by garfield at 09:45 AM on September 26
Tucker doesn't backcheck. He consistently has the worst +/- on the team. He's got a lot of heart, but playing on that edge makes him give up on plays he knows are lost too. Stajan, Battaglia, Kilger, Devereaux are the defensive forwards on the Leafs. But my point is that when Vesa was victimized and not giving up an early softie, he was hung out to dry by a team committed to the offensive side of the puck. Take the recent bombardment of the Canucks as an example of a team that can dominate territorily, thus greatly reducing the workload of their goalie. Blessed with amazing speed, the backcheck was able to minimize the damage. But sometimes after a long cycle, the legs just aren't there.
posted by garfield at 05:05 PM on September 25
For the record, SJ's blue line is much thinner than the Leafs'. SJ's Goals Against last year is a function of their strength, which is forwards; a dominant forecheck and dogged backcheck. Vesa may get more work, but I see that increasing his SV%....though his GAA may go up.
posted by garfield at 04:22 PM on September 25
That is a great call on Huselius. I remember reading about how he clashed with Keenan. Great pick up. I'm touch and go on the entire Philly re-vamp. Trading their best blueliner is a big part of that. We'll see what Briere can do, but if he isn't allowed to race in ahead of the D and set up behind the net, his production will take a hit. He had his name called every time he was on the ice by a coach who knew him well. I think this is one of those transition years for him. I can understand the Stastny call, but even in preseason his name is everywhere. The Avs are going to outscore alot of their opponents, and he'll be in on those tallies. I didn't give him enough credit last year, but I don't plan on making the same mistake. Agreed on Vanek. He ain't going to sneak up on anyone this year. Souray is going to kill in Edmonton. Finally a team that really appreciates what they have in him, especially after losing Pronger.
posted by garfield at 02:44 PM on September 25
SDD, I've been curious about your pre-season rankings since you mentioned them last year. post away, if no intellectual property value is being given away for free. Giguere is still recovery from groin surgery, and that is always tricky for a goal tender. It might be a repeat of last year in Anaheim, where Ilya played the majority of the first half. Only, this year he's auditioning for some other team.
posted by garfield at 11:40 AM on September 25
Q, I labelled grum as lord Vader. Sorry for the confusion. Sorry NoMich. I knew I recognized the email address, but I couldn't quite place it. Now you tell me. I just dropped Halak for Gerber.
posted by garfield at 11:07 AM on September 25
Most Amazing Fantasy Hockey Opportunity Ever! SpoFi Puckathon V
stupidworkstupidhousestupidtimespace.