shrader

I have to go with the Weasel.

I only buy a ticket when the jackpots get press like this, so I have no idea how the process typically works. I stopped at a store this morning to get some breakfast and a drink, then decided to grab a ticket. Is not being allowed to use a credit card to buy that a policy from the lottery or from the credit company itself? I can see the credit company not wanting to get stuck with someone trying to buy a huge number of tickets, but there's clearly no games being played by someone who did what I did this morning.

I'm pretty much right there with you on all of this. The first half of Cage was really good and then it went off the rails quickly. The second season never got close to getting back to what made that first season work. I think you've hit on exactly why these shows either work or they don't. A compelling villain drives the shows. Kingpin, Killgrave, and Cottonmouth were all great. I'll throw Castle into that mix too, at least as an antagonist. When the shows don't have that, they suffer a bit. I didn't have the issues with Iron Fist that most did, but it definitely was a bit lacking in the villain department. I'm two episodes into season 2 now, but I've heard others who seem to agree with you on that season.

Hopefully those two losses on the road trip are fresh on their mind. Yeah, they started and ended the trip well, but they also got their ***** handed to them twice (and that last home game). They're still just steps away from those debacles and then need to stop losing like that. When they lose, they're losing by an average of 4 goals per game. That's flat out disgusting.

I used to work in a ridiculously old athletic facility on the Boston University campus. The rats walking around that place were incredibly creepy. After setting up traps, the maintenance guys used to have to wait around them with baseball bats so that they couldn't just crawl off attached to the traps. The place was an indoor track and I like to think that the runners were being chased by the rats. I'd love to know where those rats scattered to once they demolished that place and built the ice rink and a dorm over it.

I refuse to brag since I said he'd be up to 6 goals. Clearly I was wrong. But anyway, it still does point out the obvious lack of secondary scoring on this team. Hopefully last night was another sign of change, seeing as how they got 3 goals that weren't from the Eichel line. Someone else needs to wake up, then things could get interesting fast. You'd have to think that the guys you're expecting those goals from would have to be some combination of Reinhart/Okposo/Mittlestadt.

Any idea how long the contracts are for these shows with Netflix?

I hope they can keep Daredevil around a bit longer. I just wonder if something else may be in play with Disney since Netflix canceled both Iron Fist and Luke Cage in the last week or two. I get the feeling that Jessica Jones might not be far behind since her second season was lackluster. Cage's was too. I just started the second season of Iron Fist, so I can't comment on that one. Do they keep Daredevil and maybe Punisher around or does Disney make a play to get all of them on their own service somehow. If anyone can find a way around a contract, it's Disney.

The jadis stuff is really weird, but I thought everything with the saviors in this was done really well. For the first time in a while, there seems to be some logic behind their writing. Of course there's going to be bad blood between these people and it's not going to go well. Maggie and Daryl are completely ok with someone getting revenge on the people who killed their husband and brother? It all makes perfect sense. The only real issue I have with any of it is how poorly developed most of these characters are right now. But that's the new writer being forced to play the crappy cards she was dealt.

There's that first come from behind win that I've been waiting for. Hopefully they can string together a few more of those (but feel free to not fall behind at all). I also want to go dig up my "one he gets one goal..." comment about a certain someone, but I'm not big on I told you sos.

I never said I tolerate it, I said I understand it. You can't just erase a lifetime's worth of an inferiority complex. It's amazing how deeply that runs around there, permeating through all sports. That will never go away until they die off. And yes, if the Bills or Sabres were to ever get an extended run of success (spoiler alert: they won't), people will still fall back on Norwood and no goal. People never forget. No matter how good they have things in life, they always think back and wonder what if. The effects may lessen, but they never go away.

I can't picture them going anywhere until Dahlin starts to approach the superstar status that everyone expects from him. Until then, we'll have to sit through a ton of inconsistent hockey.

All that winning still can't erase the 100 years or so of that feeling they always got from the Red Sox. Now, the 20-somethings have no reason to think like that, but I'll always understand it from the middle aged or older fans.

I kept waiting for them to come back with a second season, but then it never happened. I don't remember the episodes specifically, but it couldn't have been any worse than the typical MTV garbage. Replacing the videos with all of those crappy MTV shows worked pretty well. My personal favorite was when they were watching Teen Mom. Out of nowhere, Beavis said easily the smartest thing he's ever said about one of those girls, "you're not just a bad mother, you're a bad person". I had to pause it after that line because I couldn't stop laughing.

King of the Hill? Also being made by Mike Judge is the only reason to include that in your list. The whole style of that show is on a completely different continent than the other two. But anyway, it was a completely different world at that point. That's the only reason it got that different reaction. We're talking about a similar time frame where Barbara Bush was going after the Simpsons. Someone needs to pinpoint the exact moment where people finally pulled the stick out of their ass. Then again, they did decide to turn around and put that stick right back in a few years later.

It's not the same without the videos.

I want to see if this kid can start to get some more production at even strength. That's when it could really start to get interesting. So far 7 of his 12 points are on the powerplay. He's not always going to have that space to work with. While the numbers aren't as gaudy, Nylander's over a point per game (7 in 6). Hopefully he's turned the corner.

It's amazing how consistent they are so far, even if it's just 6 games. The first goal says everything. If they fall behind, they're immediately done. I don't know how you fix that problem, but it should be blatantly obvious already how they crumble if they give up the first goal. They're going to have to get over that at some point or else we're once again competing for the first overall pick.

When they lose, they lose badly. It's early, but it's not a good trend so far. My worry from game 1 when they fell behind Boston 2-0 was whether or not this team could play from behind. So far, they've done as poorly as possible in that position. That is what will make or break this season. Edit: I can't do the 10PM games and I didn't watch it. I'm assuming it wouldn't have mattered, but unless he's backing up Hasek himself, I would have been giving Ullmark the start after getting a shutout.

I'd let him stay there as long as possible. If he can sustain similar production over an extended period of time, you suddenly have a pro-ready prospect waiting in the wings. I can't remember the last time we had that, someone far more developed than the crap shoot aspect of most prospects.

It's been ages so I don't remember where any of this outrage might have been focused. Looking at the "special" bell in the video upthread, I'd imagine that people might take issue with that as well. But at the same time, if we based everything off of today's so called sensibilities, I doubt we ever get Rudolph. I don't want to live in a world without Rudolph.

Here's your answer:

With that kind of reaction, it has to be a savior. The problem is, I don't think any of those characters are properly developed at this point to make them worthy of that kind of reveal. Dwight has his redemption, so it doesn't fit him at all. Just about the only developed character I could think of being worthy would be Negan somehow sneaking out of his cell each night, but clearly that's not happening.

It seems like he's been here for about 4 years at this point, but he's still just in year one of his ELC. The kid still has so much time to develop into an NHL player. He's just now at the age where players typically enter the pro game. You don't get players very often like that who actually have two years of North American pro experience.

Does that Christmas special ever air anymore? I haven't seen it in ages.