Check my Stats

The difference between the NFL and the NBA is that the NBA is losing way more money. I remember hearing that the NFL wouldn't even release their finances (because they weren't as bad off as they made it seem), while meanwhile, the NBA is willing to tell anyone who will listen how much they are losing. The NBA will be lucky if there is a shortened season. I believe in the end, the owners will get what they want, some sort of hard cap, and the players will get owned, just like what happened in the NHL. People are reluctant to compare the two, but the similarities are too hard for me to ignore. Hopefully we can get a shortened season, but I have serious doubts unless the owners and players are willing to find a middle ground, which I doubt they will. There are probably 7-10 owners who are fine with the system, and the rest probably want it overhauled. That tells the entire story right there.

Talk is cheap David.

One more week! I am over the pre-season already, shit is too long. Let's get the ball rolling. Also, Kadri out 3-4 weeks, irrelevant to most on here, but this basically means Frattin will get that starting 3rd line wing spot now without any competition. I honestly have no clue who they'd have taken, and doubt they even know yet, but I bet the edge would have gone to Kadri solely because of his PP abilities (he might be our most offensively skilled forward overall if you disregard strength), but Frattin is a better 3rd line type player, plays with grit, finishes his checks, solid on the puck and a good shot, so he fits too, in fact probably better on the 3rd. Just sucks to see a guy potentially lose a spot because of injuries, especially in his 3rd straight camp where he thought he might make it. If Frattin struggles I expect Nazem to get a look after the next month when he is healthy, or worst case he is the first guy called up when someone gets hurt or starts slumping, which is inevitable considering how streaky some of our guys are and how unhealthy guys like Lombardi and Connolly will inevitably be. The only question left is whether or not Gardiner is going to sneak in and grab a spot on D. I think he is going to have to be flawless his next 2 games to get the spot. He has been great, but Burke says he only wants him up if he is going to play, doesn't want him sitting in the press box. Even if he makes the squad, it wouldn't surprise me if he was sent back down quickly if he struggles. Hope he impresses and gets the job done, kid is sick. Crazy to look back and realize we got Lombardi (healthy now it seems), Liles, Lupul, Gardiner, Franson for Lebda, Beauchimin and a 2nd rounder.

Demar was dropping 20 consistently at points last year without having a half decent shot outside of 15 feet. Matthews might be better now, but call me bias, I would rather have Demar long term (dude is 3 years younger, and I know nothing about Wesley, but I doubt he is putting in the same kind of work Demar is every night). Wes seems like he is considerably better than Demar right now though, at least in terms of skills not necessarily effectiveness. Nice comparison, can't really go wrong with either in this debate. If Demar tightens his handle, and expands his range, look out, that's all I am saying.

Progress is progress I guess.

Obviously it is pretty early to make predictions like this, but I'll take a stab at it. Only going to list 3 for each though because 5 is quite a bit IMO. Bold is my number 1 favourite. Hart: 1. Alex Ovechkin 2. Evgeni Malkin 3. Martin St. Louis With Crosby unlikely to play more than 70 games or be back in the groove enough to notch 100 points, I think Ovie reclaims his position as the best player in the league with Crosby hurt/not back in his groove for a while probably. It doesn't hurt the Caps will probably be the best team in the league. Malkin is gonna have a huge year, first time he's been motivated in a while, and is completely healthy by the sounds of things. St. Louis will continue to be ageless but really I picture this being a 2 man race between Ovie and Malkin. Art Ross: 1. Alex Ovechkin 2. Evgeni Malkin 3. Martin St. Louis Identical to my MVP rankings. Obviously the Sedins will probably be in the mix but I expect them to be in the low 90's this year (don't ask me why, just a hunch) while I expect St. Louis to be a borderline 100 point player again in what will be a big year in Tampa, helps he has one of the best pure goal scorers on his line. I also want to point out I think Patty Kane is in for a big year this year. Rocket Richard: 1. Alex Ovechkin 2. Steven Stamkos 3. Evgeni Malkin Corey Perry is maybe my favourite player in the entire league, but I don't see him grabbing the Richard for a 2nd straight year, but definitely a 40+ campaign is likely. Stamkos will bounce back (if 45 is a 'down year') and get 50 again, and Ovie will be having a huge year as I have stated a couple times already. I only picture there being 2 50 goal scorers this year, and I picture Malkin being in that 45 range. Would love if Perry proved me wrong though and finished with around 50 and in Malkin's spot. Norris: 1. Shea Weber 2. Duncan Keith 3. Zdeno Chara Anchor of one of the best defensive teams in the NHL, and out for a big year no doubt to get a huge contract locked up in the upcoming off-season. Chara will get on based on reputation alone, but he will surely have a good enough year to deserve another nomination. Chicago is going to bounce back in a big way and part of that will be Keith having a huge year. Omitting Lidstrom is something I was obviously reluctant to do, but he has to slow down sometime doesn't he? Lol... Vezina: 1. Henrik Lundqvist 2. Pekka Rinne 3. Ryan Miller Obviously I am not a huge Boston fan so I can't say for sure, but I am expecting Thomas to get more rests this year and Rask to get more starts. Obviously I don't know for sure, but it makes sense, so I am not sure Thomas will even get enough starts to win it this year, though he could definitely still wind up winning it. Henrik is arguably the best goalie in the NHL (quietly led the league in shutouts), and if the Rangers are going to do anything, he is the reason they will. Miller and Rinne are both obviously sick, and I expect Miller to bounce back from somewhat of a down year last year. Rinne is self explanatory, kid is a beast. This was probably the hardest award for me to predict. Stanley Cup: 1. Chicago Blackhawks 2. Pittburgh Penguins (conditional on Crosby's health and effectiveness) 3. Washington Capitals Those are my top 3, but this is going to be an awesome season. There are probably close to 10 teams that make a legit run at the title this year (those 3, Boston, Vancouver, San Jose, LA, Flyers maybe, Wings, Sabres and Lightning could make a run). Chicago had a huge down year last year and I am expecting big things from their entire team this year. Obviously one of the most talent loaded teams in the league last year and gave the West champs a big run in the first round, and with Crawford having his first full year under his belt, he should be even better. The Pens and Caps are always an easy candidate as well. Adding Vokoun is huge for WAS, but I am not really sure if goaltending is the sole reason they lose every playoffs, regardless, they will make a run this year. All things considered, talent, experience, coaching, I think I like Chicago the best right now, as long as they can stay healthy. Also, expect Pavel to regain his Selke award this year.

Leafs camp has been interesting so far by the sounds of things, especially on the defensive end. I haven't managed to catch an entire game mainly because I get like 20 channels at my house here at school. But I will probably watch the first half or first 2 periods of tonight's game since I think I get CBC, and then I'll head to the bar for the UFC thing. Sounds like Gardiner is making a huge impression so far, and I am anxious to watch him tonight. Sounds like he is making a legit case for himself getting one of the final defense spots, so I am anxious to watch him closely for myself - it just sucks Komi probably gets a spot because of his contract when he is clearly worse than probably all the D being considered for a spot. And it sounds like Kadri and Frattin are both making legit cases for that supposed final forward spot, but I swear if Kadri doesn't get it I'll be shook, he is long overdue for a spot on the team. I am hoping he is in the line up tonight so I can see how he looks. Anyways, I like how our D sounds moving forward, so young and so solid. This Gardiner kid sounds legit, sucks he will probably be starting off in the minors as a result of the numbers game. Can the season start already? Pre-season is lame after the first couple games.

People tend to overlook the mediocre cast Chris Paul has managed to make very above average with the past half decade or so.

Done it, not a fan. If you smoke it that's fine with me I don't judge, or even care, just don't think it makes you cool just cause you smoke weed lol. Seeing kids posting on facebook about hitting bowls and shit is kind of annoying. Weed just doesn't appeal to me. Would rather go get smashed and have fun then smoke bowls and chill and want to fall asleep. There are other things I'd rather be doing.

Stamkos doesn't disappear he gets knocked down by superior players.

It all depends on what happens with Crosby for Malkin (as well as his knee, but it sounds like his knees are 100% fine), but Ovechkin bouncing back and finishing first in points is probably as safe a bet you could make this year. The Sedins, Ovie, St Louis and Malkin (depending on Sid) are probably a lock for the top 5. Also, the Pens need to put legit talent beside Malkin... he isn't going to have a great year playing with bottom 6 caliber forwards. I would like to see them try out the Staalkin combo a bit more if Sid is good to go. Staal needs to be off the 3rd line.

The improvements are subtle and I feel like casual fans won't notice the difference. Overall the be a GM mode is still really sub par to me, and I won't be playing it. Be a pro seems improved but that shit doesn't appeal to me. I have played around 10 games online so far and have had good experiences, most the kids I have played are pretty bad but all my games have been low scoring, not sure if that is a product of my playing style or the game itself, as I personally find scoring very difficult, and sometimes fluky which is frustrating. The Legend stuff was a really half ass addition, if they wanted to do legends they should have gone all out, not just 10 guys or whatever it is. Overall I like the game, and I will continue to buy it as I always have, but I can see why some casuals might not want to. The improvements are subtle to say the least, but if you play it a lot and consider yourself a huge fan, I would definitely suggest buying it. I can't really think of a major way for them to improve the game, so I can't really hold it against them that it is similar to past years. Just continue tweaking it and improve internally, I still think it is the best sports game out there.

If anyone deserves to be shit on for their contract demands it is Kyle Turris.

A lot of your questions could be answered just by looking at what happened with the NHL lockout. Obviously different sports, but the circumstances are a lot more similar than a lot of people would like to admit, if not worse so.

I enjoy watching it when it is on but I don't think I would ever watch all the seasons. I also used to ignorantly hate on it, but it is actually pretty enjoyable, imo

Leafs lock up Schenn for 5 years at around 3.5 million (I closed the link and don't wanna find it again lol). Glad he will be in blue and white for the next half decade. How must that feel making less than a scrub like Komisarek though.

That Tavares deal is probably going to be a huge steal I think. Myers probably will be too, if he can regain form and continue to improve. Sounds like Schenn is going to be getting around the 3-4 range, which I am fine with as I am a huge fan of his. Just sucks we couldn't get him locked up long term, but as long as we keep him out of RFA with this contract that is fine by me. With likely no NBA season, and the minor moves the Leafs have made along with their late push last year, I am more excited for this year than I have been in a while. If Reimer is a legit, solid number 1, not anything spectacular but solid, and Connolly can play 65 games or more, and the Kule-Grab-Clarke line continues to be effective, I think we have a legit shot at a low seed playoff berth this year, and as we've seen, once the playoffs start, anything can happen. Also, here's hoping Nazem has a good TC, get this kid on the God damn roster already, smh. I swear to God if Frattin or someone nabs that 9th forward spot over Nazem I am gonna be pissed. He has nothing left to gain in the AHL (already) and has shown he can contribute at the NHL level, as a winger. We can't hold him down any longer. But yeah, I think it is safe to say our season lives and dies between the pipes.

I was making fun of him...

If you watched Phaneuf you would know he more than makes up for it with how many times he is caught out of place and getting burned up the sideboards.

My thing is that the Matt Cooke's of the world need to know that they are going to get more than a slap on the wrist if they take out a star player, or any player for that matter, with a stupid or cheap hit. The vicious head checks and blind side hits are a much bigger concern to me than the fighting (even though this is an entirely different issue where tons of blame must be placed on the victims as well in most cases), which is a non issue to me; but I can see how it is an issue to others. If we are going to eliminate any sort of fighting, it should be fights in the last period, or when games are out of reach. Senseless fighting? Sure, try and remove it, but there is definitely a place in the game for fighting. There always has been and there always will be. If you take enforcers out of the game, it just means players are going to have to take a page out of Iginla's playbook and fight for themselves, and at that point, we are hurting the game a lot more than we are helping it. Honestly lets compare concussion/long term injury problem stats of fights compared to guys who get smashed by guys jumping off their skates to throw hits (I am looking at you Ovechkin).

Enforcers will always exist in the NHL, and they need to. You have to know there will (or should) be repercussions for and opponent taking a cheap shot or a run at your star player, or even laying them out (how did no one clown that Washington player?), even if it is clean . If someone lays out my team's best player, I want to do something that will make them think twice before they do it again, and if that something I have to do is fight them, then so be it. The only way they take fighting out is if they give out huge suspensions, and even then there will always be one guy on the bench willing to take that suspension to stick up for the franchise player. /thread imo.

Kobe's 81 is the most memorable Raptor moment I have witnessed. I have never watched an opposing player and rooted for him like I did with Kobe that night.

I love Em, but Jay's catalog is unmatchable.

Artest no doubt.

An MLE type contract.