CircleTheWagons

It gets even worse tonight - nothing like taking a worn out opening song and turning it into a truck ad. I was tired of the song, now I'll miss the first five minutes just to make sure I don't see that crap

I liked Mularkey after the win (paraphrasing): "There will be a Monday, but not this Monday. This is just the start." THAT Monday is in February. Bring on the Bucs.

Dear Willis, It's time to remove the killer from the Bills record books. Bring us 2,004 yards in 2005. Simple. Starts Sunday. Giddyap. Sincerely, CircleTheWagons

Deflections? Man nobody could deflect the puck like Gretzky - he would just float out from behind the net and deflect a shot just about anywhere. Speaking of Gretzky, how do you think he'll do behind the bench?

So you're saying that Simmons had NO proof when he wrote the article, not even a post from a message board

I've read Steve Simmons a lot - he probably built the story around that post on the message board.

There you go - you just had to invoke Godwin's law, didn't you

That just seems like a lot of extra words around the first story you posted. It would have been nice to see a detailed description of the incidents. He speculates about Nikolishin preventing further injuries to Moore, but its probably just as valid to suggest that Nikolishin's piling on worsened the injury. Thanks for the links. I wouldn't have minded another 20 - 40 games for Bertuzzi, as long as the decision was made and we could move forward. The "indefinite suspension" was one of Bettman's bad decisions because it kept the incident in the news indefinitely. I still think suspending him for life would have been over the top.

Thanks. The scary one to me is the kicking incident - it shows to me that he doesn't understand the potential consequences of his actions.

Can't talk now, I have to pick my kids up from their sleepover at Neverland Ranch

Bertuzzi assault Here is a brief copy of the video - it sure doesn't look to me like he shoved Moore's head into the ice. It appears to me that Bertuzzi was moving faster than Moore and pulled Moore into his body with his left hand while gooning him with the right. When Moore fell over their momentum would have brought Bertuzzi down - although Bertuzzi definitely doesn't try to avoid landing on Moore he doesn't even appear to touch his head.

I tried to google for evidence to support your statement but I'm coming up blank - do you remember any specific incidents of similar things? I think of Bertuzzi as a power forward with a bit of a yellow streak - he will scrap smaller players but avoids contact with the bigger guys (Bertuzzi is 6'3" and 245). I have seen him play a lot (maybe 30-40 times live and on TV) and I don't remember any behavior to compare to what he did to Moore.

I don't believe Bertuzzi intended to do anything more extreme that an acceptable level of violence in the NHL. I just think Bertuzzi wanted to pound the crap out of Moore. It would have been a 5 minute major and a match penalty for intent to injure but nothing that would have been classified as criminal. What he did was BS and I think he has been and will be fairly punished for it.

Premeditated attacks are part of the NHL, and have always been a part of the game. The only difference is that this was premeditated for a month rather than a shift, a period, or a game. Goons and enforcers are on the team to protect the star players. If somebody roughs up a star player, the goon is going to try and beat the crap out of him by punching him in the head until his arms are so tired he can't even lift them. If the goon isn't currently on the ice, he will take the next shift when his target is on, or if it's a close game wait until it's decided. Not only is it premeditated, it's pretty much the goons only job on the team. If Bertuzzi stood toe-to-toe with Moore and ended his career would that be acceptable?

Intent vs consequence. My analogy intentionally sucked - I was trying to be as extreme in the opposite direction as I felt the DUI analogy was. If you have watched a lot of hockey, I can't believe you haven't seen a player crosschecked into the boards head first. I'm not defending Bertuzzi - what he did was stupid and turned out to be criminal. He will also pay a lot of $$$ to Moore - probably more than Moore would have made as a fourth line player / minor leaguer. I just think it's time to move on.

Fair enough. I look at it like he missed a year and a half of hockey. A lot of talk here (Calgary) was that he should miss another 20 games. Would that have been enough for you?

Yep, that's a fair analogy How about this one - I let my dog off its leash and it runs on the street. In order to avoid the dog, a car swerves and has a head on collision with another vehicle killing two families. In your world, I should probably get the chair. Bertuzzi gooned Moore in a hockey game. It was a cheap shot from behind and Bertuzzi thought it was payback because Moore went after his teammate's knee. Do you think it was more dangerous to punch Moore from behind in the middle of the ice, or crosscheck him from behind into the boards? That crosscheck into the boards happens every night - 2 minutes in the box. Although what happened to Moore is tragic, I believe it was just part of the game - bounties on players, hitting from behind, etc. Heck, one of the players named in Moore's lawsuit (Brad May) now plays for the Avalanche, so the owners/players obviously think the issue is behind them. It was stupid and the consequences were terrible but it's time to move on.

Just let it go already. How long do you want to see Bertuzzi out of hockey? The criminal case is settled and I'm pretty sure it's going to cost him some $$$ in the civil case. He did something stupid and he is paying for it. You want the owners to prevent Bertuzzi from playing? Who the heck do you think runs the league and ended his suspension? Besides, I don't want to hear any excuses from Canuck fans when the Flames beat them again this year.

Yep, that's about as much detail as I can find on the new CBA too (I think it's similar or identical to the one on the NHL site). The old CBA is available on the NHLPA site - I'm wondering why they didn't immediately post the new one? I have a feeling there are still a couple of details related to revenue sharing and the salary cap that haven't been released.

Where are you getting your information on the CBA? I'm interested in some of the actual formulas being used - particularly how the Player's Escrow will work. I believe all of the players will be putting about 15% of their salaries into an escrow in case the salaries end up exceeding 54% of revenues, in which case the money will go back to the teams. Do you know if this is league wide or per team? I think that some of the new contracts the players are signing are too high because the agents are factoring a 15% reduction based on missed revenue targets. It also means that the $39 million cap may actually end up costing the owners less than $34 million in actual salaries.

I THINK the buyout is part of the new CBA. Buyouts before last Friday did not count against your salary cap (they will in the future). I tried to verify it but I can't find the new CBA. Has the league or the NHLPA released the CBA yet?

Within the new CBA, I don't mind the guaranteed salaries (although there is a buyout clause for 2/3 of the salary). If the owners are forced to honor the contracts, the players have one less excuse for holding out. In the NFL, I don't blame players for holding out for more money even with an existing contract, in the NHL the players don't have any excuses.

I think Theo spent the last year playing for a native team in Northern Alberta. I think he could have been a hall of fame player if he stayed in Calgary and could handle the booze. I saw him in Calgary during the WHL playoffs - he looked BAD, but he did have two honeys with him. He could be this generation's Bobby Hull.

Probably because nobody could figure out how to spell it up there