- 12:31 AM
- 11/22/09
I agree with the above comment(s).
posted by Succa at 05:14 PM on October 17
It hurts, skydivedad. It hurts bad. Though I bet any of you would have done the same, since I would have had to bench Demitra or Arnott to play him. But that don't make it taste any better. And I'm in last place! Thrills.
posted by Succa at 10:18 AM on October 06
Correction, good to see Reinprecht have a four-point night when I have him on the bench tonight. Christ. This is gonna be a long year.
posted by Succa at 07:14 AM on October 06
Well, I think it's safe to say the Leafs got their revenge tonight. Holy smokes. What a disaster. Hey, good to see Reinprecht get a PPG when I have him on the bench tonight.
posted by Succa at 09:40 PM on October 05
Well, so much for that trade. I don't think Blake will be so bad as you say... he'll be teaming up with Visnovsky on the PP, and I think Cloutier gets too bad of a rap because the first thing anyone thinks when they hear "Cloutier" is the Lidstrom goal. You know it's true. Anyway I'm not willing to move Niedermayer unless I'm getting a solid #1, so I'll have to explore other options...
posted by Succa at 09:38 AM on October 04
Fisher could be an excellent sleeper pick this year. He's the #2 center to start the year, playing next to a guy named Alfie. If Old Man Smolinski can lay down a 50 point season next to the guy, surely Fisher is good for 60 or more. Also, damn all the people who took the following guys off the waiver wire while I wasn't looking: Bernier, Penner, Kunitz, Cloutier, Semin, and Wellwood.
posted by Succa at 07:06 PM on October 03
I did okay with the autodraft. Some big names and a couple of stud D. The goaltending is a problem but I may wait until things simmer down before making a move. So many goaltending questions to be answered... I can get 82 games out of Eddie and Auld, providing I know which one is starting on a given night. But those are 82 crappy, Floridian games.
posted by Succa at 01:02 PM on October 02
Ahh well. No dice. Good luck with the draft y'all. I'm just gonna sit here and pray I don't end up with F. Kaberle, A. Nittimaki, S. Ozolinsh, and S. Yzerman.
posted by Succa at 02:29 PM on September 29
The player queue thing doesn't seem to work for me. Or can I only do that once the draft starts?
posted by Succa at 02:15 PM on September 29
Crap! The stupid thing doesn't let you pre-rank players within 45 minutes of the draft?? What's that all about? God damn it all. I managed to do some basic preranking earlier this week but I've still got a baaaad feeling about this... come on, stupid applet...
posted by Succa at 02:00 PM on September 29
It isn't working for me either. I tried IE and Firefox. Never had this problem in previous years. I hope the "test" is buggy because I'd rather not spend my whole afternoon ranking players... argh...
posted by Succa at 12:45 PM on September 29
We had 20 teams last year too, and 3 bench and 1 IR. As of now we're set for 4 bench and one IR. I vote for 3-1, like last year. Er... yes. I'm fine with SHP as the sixth offensive stat (do we need a sixth offensive stat?). It's too bad Yahoo doesn't let you use hits as a stat now that the league is recording it as such. Ahh well.
posted by Succa at 04:05 PM on September 20
Looks like we have one more Bench spot this year. I vote nay. I agree. With this many teams in the league this year, three bench and one IR is too much. I know that some people wanted to get rid of SHP, but I haven't heard a case for a better choice as a 6th offensive stat. What are the other choices?
posted by Succa at 08:49 AM on September 20
Can there be a preseason pool too? Kidding! Almost.
posted by Succa at 07:56 PM on September 19
I like DiPietro and all, but, don't they know that 25 (his age) + 15 (the length of the contract) is 40?
posted by Succa at 10:18 AM on September 12
Oh my God in Heaven... The Islanders.... just, just.... The Islanders.
posted by Succa at 09:21 AM on September 12
Pyatt ended up in Vancouver, traded for a draft pick. I forgot Jay McKee on that list too (now in St. Louis). I loved watching them last year too, but every year there are big surprises, and Buffalo was one.
posted by Succa at 04:33 PM on September 06
There is absolutely no bitterness. Hell, I was cheering for them to make the playoffs and I was hoping they'd come out of the East after my Sens went down. But you can't convince me that a team that last made the playoffs in 2001 (with a better team than it had last year), and then puts together one nice season, is automatically to be considered a top team. If you'll grant me that last year's Sabres played at as close to 100% of their ability as a coach can reasonably expect, then unless Ruff can get the stars to line up like that again (which he could not between 2001-2006 with arguably better teams [lockout considered, of course]) there's nowhere to go but down, especially after losing Dumont, Grier, Pyatt, and probably Connolly, and adding nobody. I'm just sayin'. I don't see how things can get better for Buffalo than they were last year, or rather, I'll believe it when I see it.
posted by Succa at 04:02 PM on September 06
I don't get all the Buffalo love, truth be told. They were a Cinderella team on a miracle run last year, and Ruff can't count on the magic again, especially with key players missing this year. Also, I like Miller but one good season does not mean much. At the beginning of last season I saw predictions putting Buffalo close to last place in the East. Same with Carolina. For that matter, same with Edmonton. All those teams have lost important players and haven't added squat. It says here least two of last year's final four miss the playoffs. I agree that Florida could be surprising this year. If my above speculation is correct, Carolina will suck, and Florida all of a sudden looks like the best team in the division. I love the Bertuzzi addition and I agree with garfield about Belfour. He could be a great signing, and Auld is a dependable backup. I like them to make the playoffs this year.
posted by Succa at 02:27 PM on September 06
Also, Spezza's success as a scorer will be inversely proportional to the number of times per season he attempts the Junior B toe-drag dipsy-doodle move. You finally fooled someone (Souray) with it, after four years of trying. Time to find a new move this year, Jason...
posted by Succa at 09:04 PM on September 05
NE: Senators Bruins Canadiens Sabres Leafs ATL: Flyers Rangers Devils Penguins Islanders SE: Panthers Canes Lightning Thrashers Caps Central Predators Red Wings Blues Blackhawks Blue Jackets NW Flames Wild Canucks Oilers Avs Pacific Ducks Sharks Coyotes Kings Stars Bold denotes the Final participants. The italics represent the Cup winner and best team ever of all time stamped it no erasees. And no, I don't think much of last year's final four teams, Ducks excepted.
posted by Succa at 09:01 PM on September 05
I'm in as Les Coupes Longueuil, in honour of your league password choice.
posted by Succa at 07:18 PM on August 28
Gonna have to go with the traditional SpoFi pool this year.... and anticipating my traditional 2nd or 4th place finish.
posted by Succa at 01:50 PM on August 28
Since all my predictions have been terrible, let's say ANAHEIM in 5, CAROLINA in 7. I'm hoping for the opposite. Actually, I don't care anymore. I'm dead meat in my pool and my team is out. Go Oil, I suppose.
posted by Succa at 04:29 PM on May 18
Cheers, Weedy. This is probably the last year you'll see the Sens in their current form (it's the 94 Expos all over again! Whee!). I'm the only person that thinks the problem is behind the bench. Murray is not the right guy for this squad. But it won't matter, since Chara, Havlat, and one of Heatley, Spezza, or Alfredsson, will be gone next year. Muckler may go after a goalie, but I doubt they'll get anyone who is measurably better than Emery.
posted by Succa at 09:26 AM on May 11
Oh lord. You could not conceive of a worse ending to a game than that. Emery needs to be better, but to be fair, I thought most of the goals were the fault of bad defensive play by the forwards. What happened to Ottawa's vaunted two-way game? Two shorthanded two-on-one goals? Cripes. I could shit. I really could.
posted by Succa at 09:26 PM on May 05
May I can also point out never having met a Canadian that says "aboot". The pronounciation might be somehow different than the typical American way to say about, but it certainly ain't the oo sound in my experience, despite the stereotype. Correct. The pronounciation is like "a boat", not "a boot".
posted by Succa at 12:29 PM on May 05
West San Jose in 5 - Still waiting for a guy named Joe to appear... Anaheim in 7 - I like Niedermayer and Teemu over Blake and Sakic. East Ottawa in 4 - You better believe it, baby! Buffalo doesn't have the defense to stop this squad. Not even close. New Jersey in 5 - Carolina's play against Montreal was less than inspiring, and is NJ hotter than hot shit. This will be ugly.
posted by Succa at 10:24 AM on May 04
Hart: Jagr - sorry Joe fans, but the Rangers were expected to be a draft lottery team this year. The bad end to the season shouldn't spoil JJ's accomplishment. Vezina: Kiprusoff Calder: AO Norris: Lidstrom Adams: Lindy Ruff Selke: Brind'Amour Byng: I don't know what the criteria are for this, so I'm gonna say Brian Campbell, who had 18 PIM in 79 games this year, and still hit the hell out of RJ Umberger the other night. Or Sami Kapanen, with 12 PIM in 58 games. Masterton: Whatever.
posted by Succa at 05:24 PM on April 29
Don Cherry made his picks at the beginning of the season. Ottawa over Calgary. Grapes picked two Canadian teams, imagine that. Then again, he also predicted Brandon Bochenski would win the Calder...
posted by Succa at 05:24 PM on April 19
Ottawa - 5 - The exit's over there, Tampa. Carolina - 7 - The Habs aren't pushovers, and Carolina hasn't looked like itself lately. But when Weight and Recchi finally come alive, Le Tricolore is in trouble. NJ - 5 - Marty and Co. are looking unstoppable right now. Madden will be on Jags like Oprah on a glazed ham. Buffalo - 6 - Buffalo is hitting their stride in a big way, and Forsberg is playing hurt. The Sabres have been playing playoff-style hockey all season and the Flyers are a different team every night. Also, goaltending. Detroit - 5 - hard not to pick the Wings here. Okay, impossible not to. Dallas - 7 - Colorado is good, but not great. And Dallas has been cool and confident all year long. Theodore will steal a game or two, and cost a game or two, as expected. Calgary - 7 - This one's also a tough call. Calgary has the worst offense in the league, but the best goaltending. Anaheim is sorta good at everything. I give it to Jarome's boys in a close one. Nashville - 5 - Here's my upset pick! Chris Mason comes through amid all the early dismissals! The Preds are red-hot lately and are playing like they're out to prove the critics wrong. I love this team.
posted by Succa at 07:47 AM on April 19
My own ambivalence to Toronto's "culture dominance" aside, the place *is* extremely multicultural, in a distinctly non-boring way. There's lots to see in that town. Sauril is correct, though. I'm in Montreal now, and the attitude here is "Toronto who?", and not just in that knee-jerk big city hating way. Toronto only feels like the Centre of the Universe when you're in Toronto.
posted by Succa at 03:10 PM on November 17
It'll be the Argos. Me predicting a Toronto team winning some kind of championship? Inconceivable! But BC doesn't much impress me, and if Toronto can beat Montreal, they can beat anybody.
posted by Succa at 03:33 PM on November 16
Totally, Montreal over Toronto. BC over Skatch in a blowout. Anyone going to the Grey Cup this year?
posted by Succa at 03:35 PM on November 08
Is it too late to make predictions? Yankees in 6 ... ahh, that hurt Cards in 5
posted by Succa at 03:56 PM on October 13
I read Gary Smith's collection. Excellent series of character profiles of people such as Mike Tyson, Magic Johnson, etc. Recommended.
posted by Succa at 08:24 PM on June 27
I won! Highest score right here boyyyeeeeeeee! Oh, that's rank.
posted by Succa at 12:01 PM on June 09
*whistles* Uhh, no, I didn't totally forget about this pool. *whistles*
posted by Succa at 02:55 PM on May 25
Calgary in 7 and let the farm tits fly! This is probably one of the best final matchups in a long time. I'll be watching.
posted by Succa at 11:04 AM on May 25
I'm rooting for the Flames and Flyers -- their fans deserve it. Tampa fans haven't had enough heartbreak yet, and the same could be said for San Jose. Philly's had its share of playoff disappointments in the last ten years. It's a great hockey town, one that can properly appreciate the significance of a Cup win. And needless to say, a Cup win for the Flames would cause the city of Calgary to rock so hard it would open a fissure in the earth and fall in. Still, I'm going with my head. Tampa in 7, San Jose in 7, setting up a fantastic final matchup that nobody will watch.
posted by Succa at 03:22 PM on May 07
Finished Pandalf Golf. Damn. Now what am I gonna do at work.
posted by Succa at 04:53 PM on April 30
I'm at level 78 now. code is "ORVLO"
posted by Succa at 03:05 PM on April 30
Level 54 is frigging hard.
posted by Succa at 04:16 PM on April 29
Damn this pandaf golf!
posted by Succa at 05:11 PM on April 28
Well he had to...he was too far past the puck to chip it in the normal way.
posted by Succa at 04:18 PM on April 28
My refereeing pet peeve through these playoffs has been the calling of the retaliation shot but not the initial infraction that prompted it. They're both penalties. Call 'em. Or don't. But retaliation isn't worse than slashing, or high-sticking, or whatever, and shouldn't be penalized as such.
posted by Succa at 03:56 PM on April 28
I know! And note the lack of points on Recchi and Leclair. Leaf fans now know what it feels like to go up against a hot 'tender.
posted by Succa at 10:58 AM on April 27
You're right, should have taken Flyers in 4. ;-)
posted by Succa at 10:23 AM on April 26
It's just one game! I go with what's worked in the past.
posted by Succa at 04:40 PM on April 23
Crap, can I make predictions now that the serieses have started? I will anyway. Flyers in 5 Lightning in 6 Wings in 7 Avs in 7
posted by Succa at 02:14 PM on April 23
Eddie who? ;-)
posted by Succa at 09:05 PM on April 14
It's still way too early to call anything resembling a favourite so far. Philly is looking good, as are the Sharks (hello, St. Louis...you there?). It's time for Theodore to steal a game in Montreal...he's getting outduelled. The Canucks looked poised last night. A team that plays defence like that will be hard to beat. Calgary couldn't even get it out of their own zone in the last five minutes. I had no idea Hedberg was such a great puckhandler either. As for the Battle of Ontario, again, too early to tell. I thought the Senators deserved better on Saturday. They were right in that game until the very end. The Leafs can't lean on Belfour like that every night and expect to win. This series could turn downright ugly at any second, and almost did with Varada trying to run Sundin out of the rink. But the more disciplined team will win.
posted by Succa at 01:00 PM on April 12
I would be up for a meeting. But this week isn't great for me. Plus I'd prefer that grum was there so I could punch him for his back-to-back fantasy wins.
posted by Succa at 09:21 AM on April 12
Frigging Aebischer lets in a softie with 5 minutes left, spoiling the shutout and 5 points in my office pool. DAMMIT. Otherwise, last night's games went as expected. That VAN-CGY series should be a classic.
posted by Succa at 08:22 AM on April 08
Ahh. Woosh. That's the gust going over my head. Cheers gspm.
posted by Succa at 01:50 PM on April 07
Costanza shortage!
I nominate myself. My team in the SpoFi pool, Les Coupes Longueuil is a disaster so far, and there's no end in sight. I continue to blame forces beyond my control, viz. the auto-draft that stuck me with Osgood and Auld as my goalies.