Back Into Hockey

After a few years of really not enjoying or caring for the NHL game, I've signed myself back into the hockey world...Yahoo! Fantasy Hockey. My way of trying to kick start my love for the game. What better way of doing that than getting into the fantasy world.

Here is what I have to go to battle with.

Goalies - Huet, Roloson, Bryzgalov
Centres - Datsyuk, Zetterberg
Left - D. Sedin, Gagne
Right - J. Franzen, D. Brown
Defence - Blake, Kubina, Hainsey, Zidlicky
Bench - Pominville, Zajac, Ruutu

I'm thinking I have some fire power with my centres and left-wingers. Hopefully, my side of the Sedin twins holds up after signing their contracts in the off-season. A little worried about Zetterberg's and Gagne's health issues. Defence seems little shaky especially with the age of Blake. My goalie situation is leaving me with an unsettled feeling.

In all my fantasy leagues I always try to stick with my drafted team for the first bit and not go overboard with trades and pick-ups. Overreacting too early in the season with poor performance or predictions have never gone well for me. It is nice watching others go crazy and make poor/quick decisions because I like taking advantage of them.

Hopefully my fantasy team keeps me tuned in and focused when the NHL season starts. Still not sure if this fantasy thing is going to work this year since the NBA will be starting up and if there is usually any choice between the NBA and the NHL, the NBA wins hands down.

What do you think about my team? Suggestions? Tips? Strategies?

A Freakin' Tarp

What in the hell is going on here?!? Some retards over in Russia think it is okay to carry off injured hockey players with a freakin' tarp. Guess the medical community and personnel from the KHL (Kontinental Hockey League) have been drinking a little too much Stoli to realize that injured players need more than just a tarp when being taken off the ice.

The player in the picture is Martin Kariya the brother of NHL'er Paul Kariya. After being hit from behind Martin hit his head on the ice and was "atttended", I use that word very loosely, by medical staff which were present at the game. From what I have read, the medical staff were a little late/delayed attending to the injured Martin. My favourite reason for the delay was, personnel can only access the playing surface through the zamboni gates. Hmmmm, I guess doctors are bigger in size in Russia? I have seen many unfortunate injuries in the NHL and I ALWAYS see medical staff jump into action the second an incident occurs. They are usually escorted by a player to the injured area on the ice where assessment/treatment can occur immediately.

This is a complete joke and shows how far Russia has come in terms of common sense. Like I always say, "Common sense is not always so common!" I have gone through a few first-aid lessons and one of the first things is always to stabilize the patient. You never know if their spinal cord is damaged/injured and moving an injured person is only done if it is not going to make the situation dramatically worse.

Carrying a player off who has a concussion and when they don't know if there is any injury to the spine in a tarp is careless, unethical, and something doctors should have learned in day 1!!

I am not sure if Martin Kariya is okay or not, all I know is he is recovering. I hope he fully recovers.

The KHL needs to reevaluate their procedures when it comes to on ice injuries. This is not the last time nor the first time a player has been injured during a KHL game. Remember Alexei Cherepanov? If not, go ahead and Google his name.

Curse

Week 2 is in the books and it seems like I'll be having another up and down season like last year. While Warner is throwing complete passes Bulger is sitting around figuring out what happened to his career and the Rams organization.

Going through last year with the Rams was tough and it just seems there is some weird curse going on when Bulger and the Rams take the field. It would explain a lot if there was a curse or some sort of paranormal activity going on while my favourite team is being destroyed on the field. Can someone please step up and grab a win in the next 2-3 weeks. Once they earn a win I think a few players will relax and play without having to force every move.

The Cardinals seem like they will have a battle to earn top spot in the NFC West with the Seahawks and the 49er's playing good ball to start the season. Still early but if the Madden Curse isn't real I see some big time numbers for the Cards (Warner, Boldin, Fitzgerald and throw in Hightower) and their aerial attack. Anyone worried Warner won't hold up to the grind of another NFL season? To be honest, I'm a little worried but with proper pocket protection he should hold through.

Ray Allen's Shoes

If you love shoes and live in the Boston area, Ray Allen is apparently giving away his shoes. It won't be easy but if you follow his Twitter feed you will be given clues to where you can find them throughout the Boston area.

Check it out. CLICK HERE. Pretty sick scavenger hunt.

Vitaminwater

Why is Steve Nash acting like a gino? Nash makes up for in the end with his dance though. Well, not quite.

All Falls Down

I've been looking for this video for a few days and now I've finally found it. Nice to see some guys having fun.

0

For those of you who lived through a terrible baseball season the NFL, NBA, and NHL season brings hope and most importantly a chance at the playoffs. Well, my NFL season started with a big fat ZERO! My Rams were shutout by the Seahawks in a game that was disgusting and left me with nothing more than a "what the hell just happened" moment.

I knew my Rams weren't going to be doing anything big this season but starting off the year with a big fat egg, come on guys you couldn't even get into field goal territory and kick one through the two yellow poles?! After going 5-27 over the past two seasons I was hoping for the team to at least match those 5 wins this season. At the moment, I don't see 5 wins happening but you never know. With a new coach and the power of Steven Jackson in the backfield the Rams might be able to pull of a few wins this year. It's only the first game and there is time to pull together some wins. I'm still optimistic.

I am not one to shy away when people ask me why I cheer for the Rams. It all started when they took the Super Bowl in 1999 against the Titans. I love the fast pace game that Warner had with Faulk, Holt, and Bruce. Greatest show on turf baby! Ever since that season I have been a Rams fan, through the great times and the shit times. Maybe I jumped on the wagon during the Super Bowl run but unlike others, I've stayed on for the bumpy ride.

Oh, when the day comes when the Rams are winning again, oh how sweet it will be.

Hall of Famer Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan is in the basketball Hall of Fame.



Push or no push? Doesn't matter, Jordan has his 6th title.
For more MJ moments, head to ESPN's Top 23 Jordan moments.

NFL is HERE

Just a little tidbit for you. Did you know that the NFL will place a local blackout if the home team doesn't sell out within 72hrs of kick-off? I didn't know that. What if MLB used this policy? Comparing the NFL with MLB is like comparing apples and oranges espeically since one league has 8 homes games instead of like 81 for baseball. If this policy was implemented for the Jays, I think the Jays would completely disappear.

Hitting on the picture above, it seems the Madden Curse is alive and is setting it's target on the Cardinals. Troy Polamalu was injured in the NFL opener and as of right now, he has a sprained MCL and will be out 3-6 weeks. This could easily turn into a season ending surgery if they find more damage than expected. It has always been my dream to make the EA Sports cover but is it worth it? Especially in the NFL where careers are short and money is never guaranteed, being on the field and producing every Sunday is oh so important.

That would be so cool having your face on the yearly edition of any game EA Sports produces. If that happened to me, I'd buy thousands of copies and give it to everyone I know.

Low Turnout

Browsing the sports sites, like usual, I happened to come across an article about another low for the Blue Jays. Apparently, in the history of the SkyDome there has never been a game that produced a crowd smaller than the one on Wednesday night.

Do your really expect people in Toronto to attend a game that doesn't have any sort of meaning to it? People in Toronto have other things to worry about. Kids have school, parents have to get the kids in bed, and university students have frosh. That cuts out a few people. What about the fact their opponent, the Twins, don't make fans line-up for tickets. Yes, we know there is a great Canadian on the team in Justin Morneau but that doesn't get me wanting to buy a ticket. Jeter, Lincecum, Fielder, Pujols, and the list goes on. These are guys that make me want to buy a ticket.

The Doc was on the mound so I guess I am a little disappointed that people didn't show but honestly, I don't blame people for not going. It's the Jays we're talking about. We're losing and the team sitting on the first base line has no one of importance.

If management expected a solid turnout for this game they should go back to business school because even a high school student could tell you that without a promotion of some sort people are not going to come out and watch the pathetic Jays play the mediocre Twins.

Only a few more games left until the misery is over...until 2010.

Truly Wanting It

If Carter actually wanted to win a NBA Championship he would drive and throw it down every time he touched the ball. Yes, he would get hit and his body would be sore but in the end wouldn't it be worth it? Guy has always had the ability and skill to dominate and put 25-30Pts a night. Too bad he fell in love with the 3-point line.

Unfamiliar

Always interesting to see a player wear a new uniform even if it is a Class A uni. When I was younger I always made crazy trades in all of my sports games because I was always interested in seeing players wear different uniforms. With free agency and crap with salaries and contracts you don't get to see players move teams on a regular basis. When I say regular basis I mean yearly. I know, it would be terrible to see top talent moving yearly but for some odd reason I would love to see it. Having players wear new uniforms and bringing hope to bottom dwelling teams.

Going to wrap this post up because I have nothing more to say. The post is going nowhere and all I wanted to say from the beginning was Beltran looks weird in another uniform. Hope you enjoyed wasting 2 minutes of your life.

Radek Who?

Anyone who watched the Novak Djokovic match against Radek Stepanek saw an impressive victory by Djokovic (6-1, 6-3, 6-3). I will agree with everyone up to that point. He had a great match and showed his great potential that people thought would carry him through or at least legitimately compete against Federer and Nadal.

After the match was completed and the ritual hand shake was finished, Djokovic called out John McEnroe from the booth to have some fun on Arthur Ashe Stadium. I wouldn't have anything to say if this was any other time except after a match Djokovic easily won.

Guy goes out and dismantles Radek Stepanek and has enough energy to play some extra tennis, on Arthur Ashe stadium, with former tennis star McEnroe. If I was Radek I would be pretty offended by the actions of Djokovic. He has enough energy and time to fool around, during a Grand Slam Event, after a match that is also the last match of the night. Bitch slapped!

Everyone is laughing and writing how funny and entertaining it was to see Djokovic back at the jokes but all I saw was an immature young 22 year old tennis player who has no respect for his opponent.

The whole thing would have been great for the game of tennis and the fans, if it was done at a more appropriate time.

Man Love - Derek Jeter

I love Derek Jeter. Plain and simple man love, man crush, what ever you want to call it.

Growing up as one of the smaller guys on the diamond I was always positioned in the middle infield and guess who I tried to mimic, number two Mr. Derek Jeter. The man love is so intense that I always have to have him on all my fantasy teams too. A guy who can just anchor my infield and give me the numbers that aren't mind boggling or first round worthy but numbers that seem to place me on the podium every year.

Over the past few years his stats have fallen across the board. After his great 2006 season he followed, in 07/08, with marginal stats. Yes, they were nice numbers but for Jeter, it was a little hard for me to watch and swallow. With all his critics, NYC is known to have a few, Jeter seems to always go about his day but I know he had some push this year to prove everyone wrong. Come on, just look at his 2009 stats! Seriously, take a look.

There is one thing that has kind of slipped into the back of my mind. What if Jeter was one of those guys who used some sort of "extra juice". I would literally cry if he was one of "those guys" who had to use something extra besides blood, sweat, and tears to get them somewhere in the bigs. I would ball as if I was just kicked in the family jewels.

I guess everyone in the steroid era is always going to go through the scrutiny of critics/fans when ever they produce great numbers. I believe in Jeter and I always will. He was the one who got me hooked on Rawlings, something no one in the world even cares about. To this day, I will only use a Rawlings glove when I step on any baseball field. Anyways, I can't imagine what would happen to the baseball world is Jeter was one of those guys. Luckily, I have fallen for the right man so we all don't have to worry about any of that crap ruining my man crush.

On a side note, just finished a little article over on ESPN.com listing 10 girls he's been with. Some of the names on this list...holy crap!!! Jessica Alba and Adriana Lima?!?!

I do have one sad point to share with the world...currently, I don't own a Jeter jersey. Don't hate. I will have #2 on my back in due time.

UPDATE 9/7/09: After posting this, guy goes 0-8 in a double-header with the Rays.

Another Jay Lost

He was once a Blue Jay...

Looking back at some of the great players who use to put on a Jays uniform and I always think about the guy pictured above, Chris Carpenter. Now that is he back from another arm injury, he's torn things up on the mound this year.

Just look at his stats when he was apart of the Blue Jays. Making his debut in 1997 and ending his tenure with the Jays in 2002, the Jays seemed to have made another huge mistake. His history of injuries and inconsistent play signaled a turning point in the view the Jays had of him.

After sitting out 2003 guess what he did after coming back from an arm injury. Guy goes out and puts up a 15-5 record with a 3.46ERA while grabbing the NL Comeback Player of the Year award in 2004. In 2005, wins the Cy Young Award and then has another huge year in 2006.

Oh how I wish he was still a Blue Jay. The thought of having him paired with Halladay and maybe if things still worked out back when AJ was still a Jay, that would be a pretty dirty starting rotation.

Hopefully Dustin McGowan doesn't turn out to be another Carpenter.