shrader

I can't even imagine what the elite defensemen like those guys (minus Chara) would get now if they ever actually hit the open market. We're talking $10 million per year here.

No matter how minimal I think their chances are, my heart was really racing during that shootout. Hell, I hate shootouts and still I was a wreck. I guess I just hate seeing a season end, no matter when it happens.

I wouldn't put it past them.

Players are draft eligible from 18-21 years old. If they go undrafted and become free agents, they are still subject to entry level salary restrictions for 1-2 years, depending on their age when they finally sign. I guess it depends on the player, but I wouldn't say that its better to go undrafted. There are a couple years of lost wages. On top of that, if they had been drafted and signed a contract while younger, the player would be out of the entry level system earlier, which means that there is no longer a cap on what they can make per season.

I'm not the least bit surprised. I figured the head in the box thing was a scam the whole time, well, right up until one of the last few episoses where LJ said something about being there when they killed her. It was a lot like the Kellerman thing from the end of last season. They left the door wide open for a return.

I have no favorite player in any sport any more. There's been so much change over the last 10 years or so and I don't see as many of those true superstars anymore. Somewhere along the line I became all about the team and not the players.

Whitmore had some very impressive stats at Bowling Green this year. He has to know how to put the puck in the net if he was 6th in the nation in goals. Yes he's going to need a lot of work, but its a low risk signing. I've seen Kostka several times over the last couple years but really don't remember much about him. But then again, being a defensemen, not noticing him is probably a good thing. He's got decent size and had some offensive upside. Again, another low risk project situation.

But hey, while we're pointing out holes in what people say I might as well mention this. The Rangers are in the same spot that they were last year and both teams did a hell of a lot more than just add Drury or Briere, especially the Flyers.

They have to start somewhere. Hopefully they'll do very well, leading to actual new episodes.

They are calling the so called new rules though. Where they tricked people was when they called it a cutback on obstruction. All they ever started doing was making all those crappy hooking calls. They never did do anything about the clutching and grabbing. I think the players fell for all the talk of "obstruction" too as they weren't slowing down attacking forwards at first. Somewhere around the midpoint last year they realized that the refs weren't calling that stuff at all, so they went right back to practically stopping forwards on dump-ins. It's one thing for the defensemen to get in the way of the forechecker, but now they're reaching out and grabbing them again. There was a play in the 1st period the other day that was the perfect example. Roy was flying down the boards chasing a puck in the corner and Boyle threw an arm into him, knocking him completely off stride. I don't understand why they even bother having interference in the rulebook if they're going to let this crap go.

Look at the game as played right now. There was a hard shift in the way the refs called the game late last year, which played perfectly into the hands of the Ducks. They continue to ignore all the obstruction that they said they'd call, which is a huge help to most of the western teams.

It seems like they've put together a multi-part episode over the last couple seasons with the Cartoon Wars and Imagination Land. I wonder if they'll do the same this time. Anyway, I was a bit distracted during last night's episode thanks to the results of the Sabres game. I'll have to watch again tonight, but it definitely had its moments.

Basically, the east sucks. Or at least the NHL won't take the right steps so that the hockey played out east might actually stand a chance in the finals.

Or maybe its because you saw that it was Tampa. The Sabres need to play every single period like it was the 3rd in a game against Tampa. That team really has to hate us now.

Hey, I tried to convince him to go back a few years ago, but he didn't listen. I think its too late now, though. He's got a good young team out in Lowell that could break out in a big way in a year or two.

How long did that keep you out? I was tripped head/shoulder first into the board in a hockey game back in december and did some serious damage to the shoulder. The doctors said it as a rotator cuff injury, but now after going to PT, I've been told that it could be damage to the labrum as well. The arm is still causing some trouble that doesn't seem to be rotator cuff related. It would be nice to avoid anything surgical.

And the most important thing of all is probably that he brought with him games against actual opponents, thanks to his ties to BU. Without those games, they don't make the NCAA tourney back in 2000.

I broke the dam.

Going back to where he went to school to take a better job in one of the big four conferences? Yeah, such a traitor. Just be glad he brought some higher profile opponents to Niagara's schedule even after leaving.

I miss Blaise McDonald. Its no fun having to root against him.

I have yet to see a bracket and honestly don't really care, but let's see how I do. I'll take the #2 seed in the bracket on the top right corner.

Robert Downy Jr. is listed in the cast as Tony Stark on IMDB, but who knows how accurate that is.

Hulk 2? It looks like as much of a sequel as Batman Begins was. It may be about the same character, but without knowing much about this movie, I'd have to say that this is the only connection between the two.

Pulling up in an SUV to the group of africans and telling them that the cure to AIDS is cash? That part was brilliant.

They have no proof that she's alive though. The Chinese would just deny it if anyone asked. Hell, she's dead long before that phone call is made anyway.