Friday, August 31, 2007
Props to Scott Burnside
Not sure if it's the few beers I've had, or that the locale is in my neighbourhood (in the "sparsely populated, even for Canada" sense of that word), but I found this extended piece on the Niedermayers' time with the Stanley Cup to be really wonderful and poignant. And P.S.: how is this the first time I heard that Rob's new wife is Barney Bentall's daughter?
Discuss!
Apart from Flames/Oilers, what I'm most interested -- most curious -- to see about the new NHL season is how good the Avalanche are going to be.
Indicators for "they'll be awesome":
Indicators for "maybe not":
I can see them nuking the NW by a dozen points, but I can also see them being stuck in the pack right to the end.
Bonus thought: while Sidney Crosby is most likely going to have the better career, I don't think we'll ever look back on 2005/06 and say, "Geez, how did Ovechkin win the Calder!" 50 goals is a milestone with a lot of weight, and rightly so.
However, I think it's quite possible, even likely, that it won't be long before we're looking back a little more closely on 06/07 and saying that Paul Stastny got robbed of the Calder. The case for Malkin is essentially a few more points (which happened to be due entirely to more PP time than Stastny, and playing with the Art Ross winner thereon) and the big debut, where he scored in his first six games and essentially sewed up the trophy by November 2nd. Stastny is and will always be the far more complete player, and it says here he'll be more productive too.
Anyway, Avalanche thoughts? Or more interesting to me, what's the #1 thing you're interested to see play out when the season kicks off?
Indicators for "they'll be awesome":
Added Ryan Smyth (1st liner) and Scott Hannan (1st pair quality); Jordan Leopold (1st pair quality) should be healthy; Paul Stastny might get better; they were incredible down the stretch last season; quality coach and GM whose next moves are more liable to be right than wrong
Indicators for "maybe not":
Sakic is one year older; Theodore is still Theodore, so they'll be relying on Peter Budaj; division is still pretty tough
I can see them nuking the NW by a dozen points, but I can also see them being stuck in the pack right to the end.
Bonus thought: while Sidney Crosby is most likely going to have the better career, I don't think we'll ever look back on 2005/06 and say, "Geez, how did Ovechkin win the Calder!" 50 goals is a milestone with a lot of weight, and rightly so.
However, I think it's quite possible, even likely, that it won't be long before we're looking back a little more closely on 06/07 and saying that Paul Stastny got robbed of the Calder. The case for Malkin is essentially a few more points (which happened to be due entirely to more PP time than Stastny, and playing with the Art Ross winner thereon) and the big debut, where he scored in his first six games and essentially sewed up the trophy by November 2nd. Stastny is and will always be the far more complete player, and it says here he'll be more productive too.
Anyway, Avalanche thoughts? Or more interesting to me, what's the #1 thing you're interested to see play out when the season kicks off?
Bad Idea Jeans: Flames Edition
My irritation over the Flames failing to sign up Mark Giordano is, regrettably, not fading away with time.
For starters, good on Metrognome for some pretty prescient speculation a few days before the bad news.
Next, a brief recap of Giordano's Flames career:
On Monday, Lowetide wrote that "Being a high draft pick has always (imo) given players an extra chance...". I don't think there's any doubt about that, and the undrafted Giordano seems to be the victim of the flip side of this. I'm just one man, but I'm not sure what else he needs to do to prove he belongs.
That issue notwithstanding, it looks like what this boils down to is that my assessment of Giordano's defensive liabilities (minor, part of developing as a major leaguer) is a lot different from Sutter's assessment (severe & intractable). It must be -- because otherwise there's no reason in the world why Giordano wasn't signed up and slotted into the 3rd pairing.
For starters, good on Metrognome for some pretty prescient speculation a few days before the bad news.
Next, a brief recap of Giordano's Flames career:
- Signed as an undrafted 20-year-old in the summer of 2004
- Solid first pro year with the Lowell Lock Monsters (shared AHL affiliate with Carolina), 6-10-16 in 66GP
- Stupendous second pro year (2005-06) with the Omaha Knights: 16-42-58 in 73GP to lead the team -- not defensemen, the whole team -- in scoring. Played 7 games with the Flames as an injury fill-in (1 assist), unfortunately timed so that he missed the AHL All-Star game
- Made the big club out of training camp in 2006 (nominally as the #7 Dman). All accounts were that it was entirely deserved, and that he was impressive (as opposed to, say, being the best of a mediocre lot and winning that #7 spot by default).
- Started the season in the lineup (The Warrener was hurt) playing 8-9 minutes a night. In Game 5 in front of friends and family in T.O., he scored 2 EV goals. Following that game, Warrener got back in the lineup and Giordano dressed twice in the next 5-1/2 weeks.
- For most of Nov/Dec/Jan, he dressed only when someone else was hurt. Starting in about February, he was occasionally inserted into the lineup instead of Andrea Susan on merit. At the deadline, the Flames added another guy to the mix by acquiring David Hale from the Devils.
- Playoffs: with Regehr injured, the top 5 were Stuart, Phaneuf, Hamrlik, Warrener, and Zyuzin, with Giordano and Hale as the options for the #6. Hale started games 1 & 2, and was beyond atrocious in G2, most notably in the form of spending the last 4 minutes of the game (when the Flames were down by 2) in the penalty box for stupid minors.
- Giordano got the call for G3, and justified his presence rather promptly. Using his trademark (and uncommon skill) wrist-shot-that-finds-the-net-through-traffic, he scored the tying goal in the 3rd period; Iginla scored the winner shortly thereafter and the Flames were back in the series. Giordano was in the lineup for the remainder of the series.
- Mark Giordano is not a minor leaguer. His abilities on the offensive end exceed at least half of the D-men in the league. If the biggest thing he needs to improve is defending against NHL forwards (and it is -- he was never abused last year, but he did look overmatched on occasion), then he ought to be doing that in the NHL.
- At the end of last season -- in the most important games of the year -- he was a better option than David Hale. There is no imaginable reason how this assessment could have reversed over the summer. In terms of offensive potential, these two could not possibly be further apart on the spectrum (Hale has zero(!) goals in 157 NHL games). Am I blind, and Giordano is that big a liability defensively? I know Hale can't be that good, because Lou Lamoriello gave him up in exchange for turning a 5th-round pick into a 3rd-rounder, i.e. nothing.
On Monday, Lowetide wrote that "Being a high draft pick has always (imo) given players an extra chance...". I don't think there's any doubt about that, and the undrafted Giordano seems to be the victim of the flip side of this. I'm just one man, but I'm not sure what else he needs to do to prove he belongs.
That issue notwithstanding, it looks like what this boils down to is that my assessment of Giordano's defensive liabilities (minor, part of developing as a major leaguer) is a lot different from Sutter's assessment (severe & intractable). It must be -- because otherwise there's no reason in the world why Giordano wasn't signed up and slotted into the 3rd pairing.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
"Be honest, it's great, isn't it? Go ahead, say it's great if you want to."
I was just peeking at calgaryflames.com to see if there was any official reaction to the Giordano departure, and ran across this Q&A with Craig Conroy.
I sort of understand the attraction of working officially and directly for a pro sports team rather than being a professional and/or independent journalist; hell, at times it seems like it's probably more honest work. Nevertheless, it's hard not to feel vaguely humiliated on behalf of former Calgary Herald scribe Mike Board when he asks this question:
Yeesh. Whole thing here; header reference here.
I sort of understand the attraction of working officially and directly for a pro sports team rather than being a professional and/or independent journalist; hell, at times it seems like it's probably more honest work. Nevertheless, it's hard not to feel vaguely humiliated on behalf of former Calgary Herald scribe Mike Board when he asks this question:
With the signing of Jarome Iginla and Robyn Regehr to long-term contracts this looks like a team that is committed to winning for some time. Would you agree?
Yeesh. Whole thing here; header reference here.
Summer Moves: Who Wins?
Edmonton Oilers
Additions: Dustin Penner, Sheldon Souray, Joni Pitkanen, Geoff Sanderson, Mathieu Garon, Dick Tarnstrom, Rob Daum
Subtractions: Petr Sykora, Jason Smith, Joffrey Lupul, Jan Hejda, Jussi Markannen, Daniel Tjarnqvist, Petr Nedved, Toby Peterson, Brad Winchester, Craig Simpson
Extensions: Raffi Torres, Matt Greene, Dennis Grebeshkov, Mathieu Roy
Calgary Flames
Additions: Mike Keenan, Adrian Aoucoin, Cory Sarich, Owen Nolan, Anders Erikson
Subtractions: Roman Hamrlik, Brad Stuart, Mark Giordano, Andrei Zyuzin, Jeff Friesen, Tony Amonte, Jim Playfair (sorta)
Extensions: Jarome Iginla, Robyn Regehr, Matthew Lombardi, Marcus Nilson, Wayne Primeau, David Hale
Additions: Dustin Penner, Sheldon Souray, Joni Pitkanen, Geoff Sanderson, Mathieu Garon, Dick Tarnstrom, Rob Daum
Subtractions: Petr Sykora, Jason Smith, Joffrey Lupul, Jan Hejda, Jussi Markannen, Daniel Tjarnqvist, Petr Nedved, Toby Peterson, Brad Winchester, Craig Simpson
Extensions: Raffi Torres, Matt Greene, Dennis Grebeshkov, Mathieu Roy
Calgary Flames
Additions: Mike Keenan, Adrian Aoucoin, Cory Sarich, Owen Nolan, Anders Erikson
Subtractions: Roman Hamrlik, Brad Stuart, Mark Giordano, Andrei Zyuzin, Jeff Friesen, Tony Amonte, Jim Playfair (sorta)
Extensions: Jarome Iginla, Robyn Regehr, Matthew Lombardi, Marcus Nilson, Wayne Primeau, David Hale
Monday, August 27, 2007
FVVVVVVVCK!!!!!
Giordano signs in Russia
"Thanks" to Mirtle for the heads-up.
UPDATE: Just had an awful flashback. Remember the 11-man shootout loss to Columbus last November? Later that same night I was watching the highlights on Sportsnet Connected. Announcer was Jim Lang, who uses Surfer Voice sometimes (makes me laugh on occasion, but I'm pretty easy). Anyway, it's Round 10, and the Columbus player is carrying the puck towards the net, and the voiceover is Surfer Jim: "And the Jackets send out... Anders Eriksson?!? He sucks!!!"
...juusst as the puck dribbles off Eriksson's stick straight into the corner, without getting within six feet of Jamie McLennan.
Maybe Giordano was asking for way too much; maybe Keenan wouldn't have played him anyway; maybe Gio would have stopped progressing; who knows. But at the moment, having David Hale and Anders Eriksson, but not Mark Giordano, under contract for the season is very, very, very frustrating. We're all looking for guys who might outperform their contracts. Giordano at a million bucks a year would have been as good a candidate as any skater on the team.
"Thanks" to Mirtle for the heads-up.
UPDATE: Just had an awful flashback. Remember the 11-man shootout loss to Columbus last November? Later that same night I was watching the highlights on Sportsnet Connected. Announcer was Jim Lang, who uses Surfer Voice sometimes (makes me laugh on occasion, but I'm pretty easy). Anyway, it's Round 10, and the Columbus player is carrying the puck towards the net, and the voiceover is Surfer Jim: "And the Jackets send out... Anders Eriksson?!? He sucks!!!"
...juusst as the puck dribbles off Eriksson's stick straight into the corner, without getting within six feet of Jamie McLennan.
Maybe Giordano was asking for way too much; maybe Keenan wouldn't have played him anyway; maybe Gio would have stopped progressing; who knows. But at the moment, having David Hale and Anders Eriksson, but not Mark Giordano, under contract for the season is very, very, very frustrating. We're all looking for guys who might outperform their contracts. Giordano at a million bucks a year would have been as good a candidate as any skater on the team.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Abuse My Delusion I & II
Great conversation about The Hockey Jesus going on over at LT's. And Vic has destroyed my will to enjoy hockey ever again over at mc79hockey. I don't like Mondays.
"Friday" Fun link's
All-snark edition! (GRAMMAR SLAMMER BAMMER!)
Hope you're weekend is "great", and BE WEll!
Hope you're weekend is "great", and BE WEll!
Thursday, August 23, 2007
"Burkie, a brief follow-up if I may..."
Right after the Ducks declined to match the Oilers' offer sheet for Dustin Penner, Tyler posted about the fact that during Brian Burke's embarrassing presser afterwards, he indicated that he didn't think Penner had been eligible for arbitration. Whether he was in fact ignorant of Penner's eligibility -- or just feigning ignorance for unknowable self-serving reasons -- was the subject of much discussion in the comments.
This doesn't prove anything either, but I was certainly surprised to stumble on this Brian Burke quote from spring 2006 (original G&M piece is behind a pay wall):
Caveat to note: both Benjamin and I thought Burke was full of crap then, but it was regarding the general "premium" premise, not specifically w.r.t. taking RFAs to arbitration. Not matching the offer sheet is easily defensible; failing to elect arbitration for Penner really isn't. Burke erred.
This doesn't prove anything either, but I was certainly surprised to stumble on this Brian Burke quote from spring 2006 (original G&M piece is behind a pay wall):
"Managing a team these days is still about asset management, but the premium now is going to be on drafting well and keeping those draft choices until they get to unrestricted free agency, even if you have to take them to arbitration."
Caveat to note: both Benjamin and I thought Burke was full of crap then, but it was regarding the general "premium" premise, not specifically w.r.t. taking RFAs to arbitration. Not matching the offer sheet is easily defensible; failing to elect arbitration for Penner really isn't. Burke erred.
ATTENTION
Here's the deal. Loxy still needs a name for her Oilogosphere podcast show. She's quietly asked for assistance in this, and we've all dropped the ball. I don't care that it's the summer, or that most of us haven't recovered from the horrors of last year. We have two full glossaries of great names that we thought of in better times. We should be able to pull one out of our asses in the summer of our discontent. Plus, she's doing us a great service by hosting these shows. So help the poor lady out, Oilogosphere, and start delivering some funny/clever/pithy/witty/offensive names for the podcast. Do it now, or I will troll all your sites and/or comments.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Peca Watch: Day 52
Report: Peca sets deadline with Rangers
Oh, cripes. You don't need House-quality problem solving skills to see what's going on here.
Michael Peca -- as always -- wants to play where he wants to play, but, he won't take less money to do so. Don Meehan isn't unsure as to whether Sather wants to sign Peca; he's unsure as to whether Sather wants to sign Peca for the price he's quoting.
Peca has never signed a contract for less than he could get (or thought he could get) somewhere else. That's what he does, and on its own, there's nothing wrong with it. He sat out for an entire season because the Sabres wouldn't pay him what he believed he was worth. Hometown blah blah notwithstanding, he took the highest $/yr offer he received last offseason (it wasn't because the Leafs were his best chance to win the Cup, and I recall no accounts whatsoever of higher offers from elsewhere).
The problem, if that's the right word, is that he's never really proved that he understands, or has internalized, the whole concept of tradeoffs (see also: Gary Roberts). If the Rangers only offer him $900k and he signs with the Blue Jackets for $1.8M, he's going to feel wronged. If Scott Howson had half of the good sense that's been attributed to him since he got his job, then as soon as it was explicit that another team was Peca's preferred choice, he'd have pulled his own offer. As Chris! put it so well last summer:
Oh, cripes. You don't need House-quality problem solving skills to see what's going on here.
Michael Peca -- as always -- wants to play where he wants to play, but, he won't take less money to do so. Don Meehan isn't unsure as to whether Sather wants to sign Peca; he's unsure as to whether Sather wants to sign Peca for the price he's quoting.
Peca has never signed a contract for less than he could get (or thought he could get) somewhere else. That's what he does, and on its own, there's nothing wrong with it. He sat out for an entire season because the Sabres wouldn't pay him what he believed he was worth. Hometown blah blah notwithstanding, he took the highest $/yr offer he received last offseason (it wasn't because the Leafs were his best chance to win the Cup, and I recall no accounts whatsoever of higher offers from elsewhere).
The problem, if that's the right word, is that he's never really proved that he understands, or has internalized, the whole concept of tradeoffs (see also: Gary Roberts). If the Rangers only offer him $900k and he signs with the Blue Jackets for $1.8M, he's going to feel wronged. If Scott Howson had half of the good sense that's been attributed to him since he got his job, then as soon as it was explicit that another team was Peca's preferred choice, he'd have pulled his own offer. As Chris! put it so well last summer:
...thanks for the memories, Mike. Your playoffs almost atoned for your sulky regular season, but not really.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Groovy!
Frequent readers of this site will be aware that Matt and I have a fascination with the Canadian show, The Hilarious House of Frightenstein. We love it. You can pretty much bank on a "GRAMMAR SLAMMER BAMMER!" being tossed out on here at least four teams a year. Anyway. I was checking out the fantastic HHoF webpage today, and I stumbled upon a tasty little nugget in the downloads section. It's a MP3 version of an EP by Johnny Cowell and his Orchestra, with the star of HHoF, Billy Van, on lead vocals. To my great surprise, I noticed that the record is about one of hockey's greatest, and most legendary players, Bobby Hull. The A-Side is the creatively named "The Golden Jet." The B-side is called "The Sawed Off Stick." I had a blast listening to these songs, especially because I kept hearing The Maharishi sing about Bobby Hull (too bad it never made it onto The Wolfman's show). I thought I'd pass it along to hockey fans, especially those old-timers who might remember this 45 (cough, LT). Have a great weekend, everyone!
p.s. go see Superbad.
p.s. go see Superbad.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Let's Be Clear, Here
No, no, no, no, no. James, the Edmonton Oilers are not "community-owned." The Edmonton Investors Group is made up of about 30 private investors. The "community" of Edmonton has zero ownership in the franchise. Furthermore, many of these private investors do not live in the Edmonton area. Or even in Canada. Nor do these private investors operate under a "not-for-profit model." I can not speak to the situation in Kamloops, but the scenario you and other journalists have recently painted of the Edmonton Investors Group is pretty misleading. To repeat: not community owned. Private investors, making money. Thank-you. Have a nice day.
Labels: New Arena
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Giordano
Has anyone heard or read anything as to why Mark Giordano isn't signed yet?
I can't imagine there's much dispute over how much he will make this upcoming season. This is how rumours get started, but there's only two reasons I can think of why this isn't done yet:
I can't imagine there's much dispute over how much he will make this upcoming season. This is how rumours get started, but there's only two reasons I can think of why this isn't done yet:
- He's not happy that he's nominally #7 on the depth chart right now, and wants to force a move, whether it's him traded or Warrener (or, he's trying to drum up an offer sheet)
- Sutter wants him to ink a 2 or 3 year deal, whereas Giordano wants a one-year deal. He figures that once he's an everyday player, his counting numbers will be impressive, and wants his first mid- to long-term deal to be based on a full season's performance.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Meta-Fantasy
You know, I thought being in five or six sports fantasy leagues every year would be enough. Between that and playing sports, watching sports, reading about sports, writing about sports, and playing sports video games, I thought my obsession was covered. But no. EA Sports has decided all that isn't enough. Now, in addition to the real fantasy leagues I am in, they have to offer me the option to be in a fantasy league within Madden 08. That's right. It's not enough to just be in a real fake league using real games and real players. Now I also need to be in a fake fake league using results from virtual games and virtual players. Confused yet? Me too, but as I've now spent the past two hours running mock drafts and then an actual draft for my Madden franchise (ok, now I'm even more confused), I'm gonna spend a bit more time checking out the Madden fantasy league. I feel like I'm in a fantasy sports Second Life. I wonder how many keepers I get?
Ooh, it looks like the answer is three.
Ooh, it looks like the answer is three.
Select company
Jiri Tlusty, Trevor Lewis, Jack Skille, Marc Staal, Andrei Kastsitsyn, Joffrey Lupul, Stanislav Chistov, Igor Knyazev, Jens Karlsson, Raffi Torres, Artem Kriukov, Krys Kolanos, Henrik Sedin, Kris Beech, Scott Kelman, Martin Skoula, Ty Jones
Pop Quiz: what do Sam Gagner (and Alex Plante) have in common with this list of players?
- Skaters picked in the Top 20 of the NHL Draft (list is 1997-2006)
- 2nd skater selected from their amateur club in the same draft
For NHL teams, the draft is an educated guessing game, where you hope that your theories and your system and your decision-making process will earn you a success rate over time that's better than that of your peers (the luck will even out, always does). There's no magic formula, but there are pitfalls to be avoided, and this looks to me like it might be one. Because looking backwards, the last time an NHL team hit the jackpot using a Top 20 pick to select the 2nd best draft-eligible player on a team was 1995, and no I'm not referring to Terry Ryan.
[**This works in both directions: when there are other elite-level prospects on a junior/ amateur team, the #1 guy is going to get more looks as well, and therefore (per the Saw Him Good theory and the last 10 years of results) be drafted higher than he ought to have been. Excluding the first 4 guys on the list (starting with Kastsitsyn), here's the list of the #1 skaters, picked before their teammates (draft position in brackets):
Zherdev (4th), Bouwmeester (3rd), Svitov (3rd), Kovalchuk (1st), Sjostrom (11th), Klesla (4th), Vorobiev (11th), Orpik (18th), D. Sedin (2nd), Brendl (4th), Saprykin (11th), Henrich (13th), B. Ference (10th)
Kovalchuk, Bouwmeester, and Sedin are hard to argue with in retrospect. But other than probably Klesla, everyone picked from 4th on would have to be considered busts relative to their draft positions.]
Monday, August 13, 2007
Gagner (and Fats)
Lowetide is musing about Gagner's chances of making the Oilers' big club this fall. I can't believe this comp hadn't occurred to me previously.
Sam Gagner (draft year, reg. season + playoffs):
Sam Gagner (draft year, reg. season + playoffs):
- 69GP, 42G-105A-147pts
- 80GP, 52G-38A-90pts
Give Me That Ol' Time Petition
For any and all who may be interested, a petition asking the EIG to sell the Oilers has appeared online. You may sign it here, or not sign it here, depending on how you feel about current ownership.
A Little Help For My Friends
Can anyone name more than five or six members of the Edmonton Investors Group off the top of their head? If you can, I think you are in the minority. Yet according to Kerry Diotte of the Edmonton Sun, the failing of Darryl Katz is that he didn't let us all become his best friend, like the current regime has.
"Despite a boom that sees this town as one of the most prosperous places on the planet, the operative word is, this is still a town.
Even though we might have one million souls residing here enjoying a tremendous boom, we still like to get to know one another."
Exactly. I spend all my days walking around this city giving out free hugs and telling my brothers and sisters, "peace be with you." The same goes for most Edmontonians. Katz, being the complete outsider that he is (he's only lived in Edmonton for, like, ever), just doesn't get that.
I really don't know what else to say about this story angle. It seems to be a recurring one at the Sun, and it's completely bogus. The "P-word" was thrown out in this story, in the most ridiculous manner. Diotte criticizes Katz for being like Peter Pocklington, although he doesn't supply a single compelling argument to support that claim. In fact, the one point he makes--that Pocklington was a big-mouth whereas Katz is silent to a fault--only highlights a difference in personality and approach. In the end, the whole thrust of this article is "don't trust rich guy for the sole reason that he is rich." That's a standard argument from 19-year old faux hippies and champagne socialists, but not one I'd expect to hear from a reasonably rational human being, let alone a writer at the Edmonton Sun.
As an added bonus, note the shift in language about the EIG in this Diotte quote.
"This week, though, like a rich suitor after a trophy wife, he was rejected by the community board of directors - people who ponied up big dollars to save the team when there was every reason to believe they'd be headed for a permanent road trip out of Edmonton."
A "community board of directors" is what the EIG are now. Annointed caretakers of a most sacred trust. Forget the idea that they might have any self-interest, or that it's a group of 30 people most of us have never even heard of. In fact, buy in to their altruism lock, stock and barrel. And when they come asking for your tax dollars to increase the value of their investment (see new hockey arena), fork it over, no questions asked. They are your best buddies, after all, and you always give aid to a friend.
"Despite a boom that sees this town as one of the most prosperous places on the planet, the operative word is, this is still a town.
Even though we might have one million souls residing here enjoying a tremendous boom, we still like to get to know one another."
Exactly. I spend all my days walking around this city giving out free hugs and telling my brothers and sisters, "peace be with you." The same goes for most Edmontonians. Katz, being the complete outsider that he is (he's only lived in Edmonton for, like, ever), just doesn't get that.
I really don't know what else to say about this story angle. It seems to be a recurring one at the Sun, and it's completely bogus. The "P-word" was thrown out in this story, in the most ridiculous manner. Diotte criticizes Katz for being like Peter Pocklington, although he doesn't supply a single compelling argument to support that claim. In fact, the one point he makes--that Pocklington was a big-mouth whereas Katz is silent to a fault--only highlights a difference in personality and approach. In the end, the whole thrust of this article is "don't trust rich guy for the sole reason that he is rich." That's a standard argument from 19-year old faux hippies and champagne socialists, but not one I'd expect to hear from a reasonably rational human being, let alone a writer at the Edmonton Sun.
As an added bonus, note the shift in language about the EIG in this Diotte quote.
"This week, though, like a rich suitor after a trophy wife, he was rejected by the community board of directors - people who ponied up big dollars to save the team when there was every reason to believe they'd be headed for a permanent road trip out of Edmonton."
A "community board of directors" is what the EIG are now. Annointed caretakers of a most sacred trust. Forget the idea that they might have any self-interest, or that it's a group of 30 people most of us have never even heard of. In fact, buy in to their altruism lock, stock and barrel. And when they come asking for your tax dollars to increase the value of their investment (see new hockey arena), fork it over, no questions asked. They are your best buddies, after all, and you always give aid to a friend.
Labels: New Arena, New Ownership
Friday, August 10, 2007
Dog days
As noted yesterday, there's nothing going on with the Flames right now, and I find myself with absolutely nothing to say about them. Last year, it looked like they improved in the offseason and should have been better, but they weren't. This year, it looks like they improved in the offseason... so basically, I'm just waiting for October to find out how things will go.
Once training camp gets going in September I'm sure I'll find some takes bubbling up, but for now, we might as well change tracks. So for August, I'll go with a maybe-continuing, non-hockey feature series: Things That Please Me. I did one about TV shows last summer; if you don't like that I'm not talking about the nominal subject of this site, see here.
Things That Please Me, August 10th: John Daly
The PGA Championship is underway in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Southern Hills is a very difficult course, and like most majors, accurate driving and some mighty careful shot placement is required. It's hitting 100F there (in the shade) in the afternoons, with varying humidity around 50% (+/-10%). John Daly has made the cut and posted a 4-round score in but 5 of his 19 tournaments, and said something yesterday to the effect of, "You need confidence to play this game well, and I have none." Of course the pros can't use carts or wear shorts to beat the heat, and oh yeah, Daly weighs 250+ lbs.
Owing to the heat, Daly decided to play no practice rounds (went to the casino instead, shady and 75F), and while most of the pros were emptying another 1L water bottle every couple of holes, Daly's strategy was this:
That strange rumble you heard yesterday afternoon was the heads of several hundred dieticians and athletic trainers exploding. And finally, he gripped and ripped the driver on just about every par-4 and par-5.
I like John Daly; not so much because he's a degenerate, but because he won't apologize for it or change. Why should only people who make "good" decisions be allowed to be comfortable in their own skin? I refuse to insert any kind of Kids Don't Try This At Home disclaimer here.
I think it's awesome that he shot 67 yesterday, and there's a plenty good chance that when he tees off Rd2 today at 105MT, he's going to be at the top of the leaderboard. If he shoots anything lower than a 78 today, I'll be shocked. Thrilled, but shocked. Give 'em hell John.
Once training camp gets going in September I'm sure I'll find some takes bubbling up, but for now, we might as well change tracks. So for August, I'll go with a maybe-continuing, non-hockey feature series: Things That Please Me. I did one about TV shows last summer; if you don't like that I'm not talking about the nominal subject of this site, see here.
Things That Please Me, August 10th: John Daly
The PGA Championship is underway in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Southern Hills is a very difficult course, and like most majors, accurate driving and some mighty careful shot placement is required. It's hitting 100F there (in the shade) in the afternoons, with varying humidity around 50% (+/-10%). John Daly has made the cut and posted a 4-round score in but 5 of his 19 tournaments, and said something yesterday to the effect of, "You need confidence to play this game well, and I have none." Of course the pros can't use carts or wear shorts to beat the heat, and oh yeah, Daly weighs 250+ lbs.
Owing to the heat, Daly decided to play no practice rounds (went to the casino instead, shady and 75F), and while most of the pros were emptying another 1L water bottle every couple of holes, Daly's strategy was this:
“I grew up around this, I’m used to it,” Daly said. “I just light up a cigarette and drink some caffeine, and it works.”
That strange rumble you heard yesterday afternoon was the heads of several hundred dieticians and athletic trainers exploding. And finally, he gripped and ripped the driver on just about every par-4 and par-5.
I like John Daly; not so much because he's a degenerate, but because he won't apologize for it or change. Why should only people who make "good" decisions be allowed to be comfortable in their own skin? I refuse to insert any kind of Kids Don't Try This At Home disclaimer here.
I think it's awesome that he shot 67 yesterday, and there's a plenty good chance that when he tees off Rd2 today at 105MT, he's going to be at the top of the leaderboard. If he shoots anything lower than a 78 today, I'll be shocked. Thrilled, but shocked. Give 'em hell John.
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Oilogcast, Pt. 2: Coming Soon To A Blog Near You!
*** Friday Morning Update*** Shocker. Another absolutely terrible editorial from Neil Waugh.
*** Thursday Night Update*** Podcast is up now.
Erin and I did a second podcast last night, and it should be up later tonight on Hot Oil. (the uploading site is currently down). It is substantially longer, as we were able to save everything we talked about. I'm kind of sad we didn't lose some stuff, actually, as Erin somehow coaxed me into talking about Ethan Moreau's, err, muscles. My lisp is still there, and I was sober, so I guess I can't write it off to being intoxicated. Damn. I also say "like" every 1.2 seconds. I'm, like, totally, like, a valley girl, like. For any wondering about my take on Craig Simpson's jump to HNIC and Cal Nichols' press conference, it's in the podcast. In fact, I talk about the Nichols' conference a lot. It should be a nice supplement to the post at Covered in Oil today concerning Lyle Best'seditorial interview with the Edmonton Sun.
***Bonus Commentary***
1) What's with the Edmonton Sun? Does anyone else remember when they were a conservative newspaper? The Journal is a part owner of the Oilers, so we know the conflict of interest that exists there. But what's the Edmonton Sun, "defender of the working man," been doing for the past six months while the arena spin has been spun? Didley squat, except for Jones' occasional fluff-jobs. It's a shame that the supposed conservative newspaper in this city can't put forward a compelling counter-argument to the arena farce. I guess those "tentacles" Jones referred to yesterday run just that deep.
2) According to Lyle Best, Mayor Mandel's "arena feasibility committee" just visited Kansas City and Columbus. My question here is: how much did that trip cost, and who paid for it?
3) The committee's report is expected in November. Hmm. When are those mayoral elections again? Oh right, October. Brave man, that mayor of ours.
4) Alright, John Mackinnon!!!
The community argument here against a single owner seems to be rooted in a deeply seated belief in the boogeyman and a distrust of individual excellence. The Oilers had a single owner named Pocklington, who turned out to be a bad man. He broke the fans’ hearts, therefore single ownership is inherently bad.
What childish claptrap!
Love this part of Mackinnon's piece. Here's what's interesting: the EIG and Jones both stated that Edmontonians don't want single ownership, which is obviously a shot at Pocklington. The thing is, Pocklington wasn't reviled until after the Oilers traded away their best players. Well, what the heck happened this past year? Chris Pronger, Georges Laraque, Jason Smith and Ryan Smyth are no longer Edmonton Oilers, and that all happened under group ownership. Following the logic of Jones and the EIG, it's group ownership that has to be the devil. So where can I pick up my Larry Makelki effigy?
5) Did anyone else look at the slideshow in this Oilers press release and think what I was thinking? You know, a little bit of you help me, I help you?
Screen capture taken from edmontonoilers.com
*** Thursday Night Update*** Podcast is up now.
Erin and I did a second podcast last night, and it should be up later tonight on Hot Oil. (the uploading site is currently down). It is substantially longer, as we were able to save everything we talked about. I'm kind of sad we didn't lose some stuff, actually, as Erin somehow coaxed me into talking about Ethan Moreau's, err, muscles. My lisp is still there, and I was sober, so I guess I can't write it off to being intoxicated. Damn. I also say "like" every 1.2 seconds. I'm, like, totally, like, a valley girl, like. For any wondering about my take on Craig Simpson's jump to HNIC and Cal Nichols' press conference, it's in the podcast. In fact, I talk about the Nichols' conference a lot. It should be a nice supplement to the post at Covered in Oil today concerning Lyle Best's
***Bonus Commentary***
1) What's with the Edmonton Sun? Does anyone else remember when they were a conservative newspaper? The Journal is a part owner of the Oilers, so we know the conflict of interest that exists there. But what's the Edmonton Sun, "defender of the working man," been doing for the past six months while the arena spin has been spun? Didley squat, except for Jones' occasional fluff-jobs. It's a shame that the supposed conservative newspaper in this city can't put forward a compelling counter-argument to the arena farce. I guess those "tentacles" Jones referred to yesterday run just that deep.
2) According to Lyle Best, Mayor Mandel's "arena feasibility committee" just visited Kansas City and Columbus. My question here is: how much did that trip cost, and who paid for it?
3) The committee's report is expected in November. Hmm. When are those mayoral elections again? Oh right, October. Brave man, that mayor of ours.
4) Alright, John Mackinnon!!!
What childish claptrap!
Love this part of Mackinnon's piece. Here's what's interesting: the EIG and Jones both stated that Edmontonians don't want single ownership, which is obviously a shot at Pocklington. The thing is, Pocklington wasn't reviled until after the Oilers traded away their best players. Well, what the heck happened this past year? Chris Pronger, Georges Laraque, Jason Smith and Ryan Smyth are no longer Edmonton Oilers, and that all happened under group ownership. Following the logic of Jones and the EIG, it's group ownership that has to be the devil. So where can I pick up my Larry Makelki effigy?
5) Did anyone else look at the slideshow in this Oilers press release and think what I was thinking? You know, a little bit of you help me, I help you?
Labels: New Arena, New Ownership
Back
Hi folks. What'd I miss? Lemme chuck out a few random things and maybe I'll gain some momentum.
**I see the reaction to the Penner signing runs the gamut from muted to very negative. Really, this characterizes the reaction to Lowe's entire summer. I hesitate to say that I'm agreeing with Matheson, Jones, et al, because I think my reasons are somewhat distinguishable, but I think Lowe did what he needed to do this summer, and not simply from a PR perspective.
I have no disagreement at all with Tyler's general assessment in his concluding paragraph here; there are a lot of excellent individual points therein. He's quite likely right to say that the Oilers have gotten somewhat better now at the expense of the potential for being a lot better later. But! As I have argued quite a few times on this site, there are issues here that go beyond EV rates, quality of linemates & opposition, and production-per-dollar. This is what I wrote on March 5:
If you asked me to summarize what went wrong with the Oil last year (leaving injuries aside, directly), I'd say:
#2 has been improved, as much by subtraction as anything. Getting rid of Lupul was critical, I don't think they'll miss Sykora, and Souray and Penner are huge. (Sidebar: will Souray become a whipping boy of the fans due to his pylon-ness? No time soon, it says here. Is there another example anyone can point to of a guy who can shoot the puck well and fight being derided by a large segment of fans? He'll take his licks around the Oilysphere, but the fans as a whole will love him.)
And #3, whatever you think of the actual moves, has been addressed smack-head-on. Guys like Horcoff, Hemsky, and Roloson (and even MacT) have to be heartened by the fact that Lowe went out and spent money, plenty of money, to try to make the team better. I don't think they're concerned about the draft picks, nor do I think they're concerned that 2nd Full Year Player Dustin Penner will be making more money than them. I think they're psyched by the fact that they'll be arriving at training camp to join a team that should be a lot better than the one they limped out of last season with.
I'm petrified to disagree with Lowetide on a prediction, but I don't think the Oil will be threatening the draft lottery this year, not at all. You shouldn't forget just how historically awful the Oilers were in the last quarter of this past season; at the trade deadline, they were basically out of playoff contention, but certainly not one of the 5 worst teams in the league.
**I enjoyed the podcast, nice work Erin and Andy. I loved Showerhead's comment: "...you sound friendlier than you read!" FYI, I'm the opposite.
**I was at a family reunion last weekend, and my Uncle Phil -- who hails from London, England since the '70s and knows next to nothing about hockey -- was telling me how he reads and enjoys this site frequently, because the people who write here are ~ funny and interesting. Kudos to Andy, Sacamano, and the commenters.
**Katz: we can't be certain that the Oilers would be better off with him as the owner than with the EIG, but I think we can all agree now that Cal Nichols is, in varying degrees, a charlatan, highwayman, fabulist, and jerk. CiO has had nice running analysis of this. And from Lowetide, something that all Oilers fans ought to internalize: "The EIG have been paid in full in terms of goodwill re: saving the team..."
**There is absolutely nothing going on with the Flames right now ("Hitmen release 2007-08 regular season schedule" is the banner headline at their site). Later.
**I see the reaction to the Penner signing runs the gamut from muted to very negative. Really, this characterizes the reaction to Lowe's entire summer. I hesitate to say that I'm agreeing with Matheson, Jones, et al, because I think my reasons are somewhat distinguishable, but I think Lowe did what he needed to do this summer, and not simply from a PR perspective.
I have no disagreement at all with Tyler's general assessment in his concluding paragraph here; there are a lot of excellent individual points therein. He's quite likely right to say that the Oilers have gotten somewhat better now at the expense of the potential for being a lot better later. But! As I have argued quite a few times on this site, there are issues here that go beyond EV rates, quality of linemates & opposition, and production-per-dollar. This is what I wrote on March 5:
This leads into Lowe's next major failing, which is that he seems to have a poor understanding that his actions have an impact on his team beyond the tangible.
[...]
The attitude and actions of leaders affect the people below them.
If you asked me to summarize what went wrong with the Oil last year (leaving injuries aside, directly), I'd say:
- Blueline was sub-par from Day 1
- The decrease in toughness overall, specifically up front, turned out very badly
- The team got discouraged (progressively so) by management's failure -- or unwillingness -- to address their obvious weaknesses.
#2 has been improved, as much by subtraction as anything. Getting rid of Lupul was critical, I don't think they'll miss Sykora, and Souray and Penner are huge. (Sidebar: will Souray become a whipping boy of the fans due to his pylon-ness? No time soon, it says here. Is there another example anyone can point to of a guy who can shoot the puck well and fight being derided by a large segment of fans? He'll take his licks around the Oilysphere, but the fans as a whole will love him.)
And #3, whatever you think of the actual moves, has been addressed smack-head-on. Guys like Horcoff, Hemsky, and Roloson (and even MacT) have to be heartened by the fact that Lowe went out and spent money, plenty of money, to try to make the team better. I don't think they're concerned about the draft picks, nor do I think they're concerned that 2nd Full Year Player Dustin Penner will be making more money than them. I think they're psyched by the fact that they'll be arriving at training camp to join a team that should be a lot better than the one they limped out of last season with.
I'm petrified to disagree with Lowetide on a prediction, but I don't think the Oil will be threatening the draft lottery this year, not at all. You shouldn't forget just how historically awful the Oilers were in the last quarter of this past season; at the trade deadline, they were basically out of playoff contention, but certainly not one of the 5 worst teams in the league.
**I enjoyed the podcast, nice work Erin and Andy. I loved Showerhead's comment: "...you sound friendlier than you read!" FYI, I'm the opposite.
**I was at a family reunion last weekend, and my Uncle Phil -- who hails from London, England since the '70s and knows next to nothing about hockey -- was telling me how he reads and enjoys this site frequently, because the people who write here are ~ funny and interesting. Kudos to Andy, Sacamano, and the commenters.
**Katz: we can't be certain that the Oilers would be better off with him as the owner than with the EIG, but I think we can all agree now that Cal Nichols is, in varying degrees, a charlatan, highwayman, fabulist, and jerk. CiO has had nice running analysis of this. And from Lowetide, something that all Oilers fans ought to internalize: "The EIG have been paid in full in terms of goodwill re: saving the team..."
**There is absolutely nothing going on with the Flames right now ("Hitmen release 2007-08 regular season schedule" is the banner headline at their site). Later.
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Oilers Not For Sale-Boooooo
Really, really, sorry; I've been out of town all day, and totally away from any radio, television, internet-thingies. Check out Covered in Oil for a fantastic set of comments. It will be interesting to see how the local media responds to this. I'm fully expecting Terry Jones to heap praise on the EIG, and I'm praying that Dan Barnes goes to town on Cal Nichols.
Monday, August 06, 2007
Sky of Blue, and Sea of Green
Friday, August 03, 2007
First Oilogosphere Podcast
The very first Oilogosphere podcast is in the books. Come take a listen as Erin Loxam and I talk about the Oilers. Erin and I jammed for about an hour and a half, but due to technical difficulties we were only able to save about twenty minutes of it. So instead of some brilliant banter about x,y, and z, you instead get to hear us talk about Macs and being Irish. My favorite part of the show--where Erin and I talked about her meeting Robbie Schremp--is sadly not on here. Apparently my lisp is much stronger and persistent than I had ever imagined, so I sort of sound half-drunk during the entire show. Then again, the podcast was recorded just a few hours after Dustin Penner became an Oiler, so...well...you know. I actually called Smytty "Ryan", like I know the guy personally (I don't), so that tells you everything there is to know. You know.
Many thanks to Erin for doing this. Hopefully it becomes a regular event throughout the Oilogosphere, with other bloggers getting in their two cents. Have a great weekend everyone!
***Update*** I believe Erin has posted it at a site where bandwidth will not be a problem. Click here.
Many thanks to Erin for doing this. Hopefully it becomes a regular event throughout the Oilogosphere, with other bloggers getting in their two cents. Have a great weekend everyone!
***Update*** I believe Erin has posted it at a site where bandwidth will not be a problem. Click here.
Incest is Best -- it's the game the whole family can play!
Kelly Buchberger is the new head coach of Milhouse and the rest of the gang down in Springfield. Unsurprisingly, 96% of the news release has to do with Bucky's 13 years as an Oiler rather than his approximately zero years of experience, you know, actually being a head coach.
In happier news, Mrs. Sacamano, Sacababy and I have decided that a life commuting between Sheffield & Siberia just doesn't provide the Oilers content we require. So, we're moving to the big T.O., which is clearly the heart of the Oilogosphere.
GOIL!
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Oilers Get Penner, Not Much Better
Sigh. We'll see, I guess.
Kevin Lowe: Joffrey Lupul, Ladislav Smid, Riley Nash, Dustin Penner, 2nd round (2008), 1st round (2008 or 2009)
Brian Burke: Chris Pronger, 1st, 2nd, 3rd round (2008)
Kevin Lowe: Joffrey Lupul, Ladislav Smid, Riley Nash, Dustin Penner, 2nd round (2008), 1st round (2008 or 2009)
Brian Burke: Chris Pronger, 1st, 2nd, 3rd round (2008)