Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Dany Heatley
Was traded to the Ottawa Senators for winger Marian Hossa and defenseman Greg de Vries today. Overall it was a pretty good trade for both teams. The Thrash get a legit scorer who can be counted on for 35 goals and 70 points in Hossa and de Vries is a badly needed veteran blue liner. Ottawa is getting a potential hall-of-fame candidate and playoff monster in Heatley, whose potential is absolutely huge.
Heatly wanted out of Atlanta, and I can't blame him. Number 15 was my favorite Thrasher from the moment we drafted him, when the Islanders picked that goalie first overall instead of Heater I was beside myself with joy. He was the shining star of the franchise and, hell, even the league in his first couple of years in the NHL, winning the Calder Trophy and the All-Star Game MVP. Then everything completely derailed when he was in an accident coming home from a team function with friend and teammate Dan Snyder. A few days later on October 5th, Dan died from his injuries. I remember the date well, because I lost my grandfather that day as well.
That was one of the lousiest days I've ever had, I visited him that morning at the nursing home pretty much knowing that there wasn't much time left. I left the hospital and tried to act normally, got some lunch, went to the outlets to buy some jeans and eventually went home to watch game 5 of the playoff series between the Braves and Cubs. A half hour before the game started I got the call. I knew then for a fact that the Braves would lose game 5 and the series, he was a bigger Braves fan than I was and he wouldn't have checked out early if they were going to win. I watched the game anyway and suffered through the eventual outcome. I was sad but relatively ok, and I decided to surf the web after the game, check some scores, catch up on Fark, that sort of thing. The very first headline I saw when I got online was for Dan Snyder's death which was a nice final punch in the guts for the day. My grandfather was gone, the Braves had blown it again and now my favorite player had a wrecked knee and a homicide charge looming. Needless to say October 5th is not one of my favorite days.
Thanks to Atlanta's excellent prosecutors (sarcasm tag ON)charges were finally pressed several months after the fact at the protest of pretty much all parties involved. I'm not saying that no charges should have been filed, but why do it months later when he's finally rehabilitated from his injuries and trying to play again? Instead of right after the accident? When the family of the deceased is publicly supporting him? The legal troubles paralelled the hockey troubles. The hurt knee could still be a lingering problem. The lockout wiped out almost a year of his service time since the games missed the year before were held against him for the lockout year's counted service time. While playing in Europe, he suffered another career threatening injury when an errant puck shattered the orbital bone in his left eye. The past couple of years in Atlanta have totally sucked ass for Dany and I don't blame him one bit for wanting to get out of here and just start over. On August 9th, Dany Heatley asked Thrashers GM Don Waddell to trade him. Today he was traded to the Senators.
I've lost a bunch of favorite players from my favorite teams:
Phil Niekro signed with the Yankees and I didn't cry.
Bob Horner left to play in Japan and I didn't cry.
Gerald Riggs goes to the Redskins and I didn't cry.
Dale Murphy gets traded to the Phillies and I didn't cry.
Dominique Wilkins gets traded to the Clippers (the Clippers!?!) and I didn't cry.
Jamal Anderson blows out his knee. Twice. I didn't cry.
Tom Glavine stabs us in the back. No cry. Lots of cussing though.
Hell, the entire Flames TEAM gets uncerimoniously shipped off to Calgary and I didn't cry.
Dany Heatly was traded to Ottawa today.
I'm still crying.
Heatly wanted out of Atlanta, and I can't blame him. Number 15 was my favorite Thrasher from the moment we drafted him, when the Islanders picked that goalie first overall instead of Heater I was beside myself with joy. He was the shining star of the franchise and, hell, even the league in his first couple of years in the NHL, winning the Calder Trophy and the All-Star Game MVP. Then everything completely derailed when he was in an accident coming home from a team function with friend and teammate Dan Snyder. A few days later on October 5th, Dan died from his injuries. I remember the date well, because I lost my grandfather that day as well.
That was one of the lousiest days I've ever had, I visited him that morning at the nursing home pretty much knowing that there wasn't much time left. I left the hospital and tried to act normally, got some lunch, went to the outlets to buy some jeans and eventually went home to watch game 5 of the playoff series between the Braves and Cubs. A half hour before the game started I got the call. I knew then for a fact that the Braves would lose game 5 and the series, he was a bigger Braves fan than I was and he wouldn't have checked out early if they were going to win. I watched the game anyway and suffered through the eventual outcome. I was sad but relatively ok, and I decided to surf the web after the game, check some scores, catch up on Fark, that sort of thing. The very first headline I saw when I got online was for Dan Snyder's death which was a nice final punch in the guts for the day. My grandfather was gone, the Braves had blown it again and now my favorite player had a wrecked knee and a homicide charge looming. Needless to say October 5th is not one of my favorite days.
Thanks to Atlanta's excellent prosecutors (sarcasm tag ON)charges were finally pressed several months after the fact at the protest of pretty much all parties involved. I'm not saying that no charges should have been filed, but why do it months later when he's finally rehabilitated from his injuries and trying to play again? Instead of right after the accident? When the family of the deceased is publicly supporting him? The legal troubles paralelled the hockey troubles. The hurt knee could still be a lingering problem. The lockout wiped out almost a year of his service time since the games missed the year before were held against him for the lockout year's counted service time. While playing in Europe, he suffered another career threatening injury when an errant puck shattered the orbital bone in his left eye. The past couple of years in Atlanta have totally sucked ass for Dany and I don't blame him one bit for wanting to get out of here and just start over. On August 9th, Dany Heatley asked Thrashers GM Don Waddell to trade him. Today he was traded to the Senators.
I've lost a bunch of favorite players from my favorite teams:
Phil Niekro signed with the Yankees and I didn't cry.
Bob Horner left to play in Japan and I didn't cry.
Gerald Riggs goes to the Redskins and I didn't cry.
Dale Murphy gets traded to the Phillies and I didn't cry.
Dominique Wilkins gets traded to the Clippers (the Clippers!?!) and I didn't cry.
Jamal Anderson blows out his knee. Twice. I didn't cry.
Tom Glavine stabs us in the back. No cry. Lots of cussing though.
Hell, the entire Flames TEAM gets uncerimoniously shipped off to Calgary and I didn't cry.
Dany Heatly was traded to Ottawa today.
I'm still crying.
Saturday, August 20, 2005
No Wonder the Catholic Church
is having so many problems.
The fsckin' Wachowskis are producing!
Sadly, it appears they are screwing up this as well...
The fsckin' Wachowskis are producing!
Sadly, it appears they are screwing up this as well...
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
DOS Games!!! yehaw
Assuming it hasn't been farked to oblivion, here is a link to a whole messload of DOS games.
If it is farked to oblivion, check out the Fark thread for a bunch of other links that are probably likewise wiped out by the teeming mass of farkers.
If all else fails, you can at least play some Notepad Invaders.
If it is farked to oblivion, check out the Fark thread for a bunch of other links that are probably likewise wiped out by the teeming mass of farkers.
If all else fails, you can at least play some Notepad Invaders.
Saturday, July 30, 2005
Hockey Tough Love
If you weren't aware, (not many are) the NHL got their act together and finally hammered out a Collective Bargaining Agreement to finally end the lockout after last season got flushed down the toilet by greedy corporate asshats.
Since the league is back in business, they now have to figure out how to lure back all the fans that they drove off last year squabbling over money. Now that the corporate sponsors have bailed and the TV contract has vanished so ESPN can air more important things, the fans are pretty much the only revenue source left. So in the interests of cost certainty, the league is certain to pull out all the stops to try to get the fans back. The last league to fark up this badly managed to get the fans back with some longballs and juiced up scoring. Since juicing up the players is not really an option anymore, the NHL is instituting some new rules to try to up the scoring, including: eliminating the red line to increase the number of home-run breakaway passes, shrinking the increasingly ridiculous goalie equipment, reinstating the tag up rule for offsides, discouraging icing and finally enforcing the interference rules (I'll believe it when I see it) to open up the ice for the skilled skaters. Add to this the draft lottery that gave the Penguins Mario Jr. or Gretkzy II (or Baby Lindros if Pittsburgh's recent luck holds), today's entry draft and the upcoming free-for-all free agent period this offseason and you have some interesting things to look forward to.
Still, the powers that be are interested to gauge just how much money they stand to lose from last winter's foolishness and have contracted a survey to find out the gory details. I took the survey, and thought my faithful readers might be interested in a couple of my answers.
Why do you say that your overall interest level in the NHL has decreased significantly since the beginning of the NHL work stoppage?
Why has the work stoppage negatively affected your interest level in purchasing NHL merchandise items in the future?
Since the league is back in business, they now have to figure out how to lure back all the fans that they drove off last year squabbling over money. Now that the corporate sponsors have bailed and the TV contract has vanished so ESPN can air more important things, the fans are pretty much the only revenue source left. So in the interests of cost certainty, the league is certain to pull out all the stops to try to get the fans back. The last league to fark up this badly managed to get the fans back with some longballs and juiced up scoring. Since juicing up the players is not really an option anymore, the NHL is instituting some new rules to try to up the scoring, including: eliminating the red line to increase the number of home-run breakaway passes, shrinking the increasingly ridiculous goalie equipment, reinstating the tag up rule for offsides, discouraging icing and finally enforcing the interference rules (I'll believe it when I see it) to open up the ice for the skilled skaters. Add to this the draft lottery that gave the Penguins Mario Jr. or Gretkzy II (or Baby Lindros if Pittsburgh's recent luck holds), today's entry draft and the upcoming free-for-all free agent period this offseason and you have some interesting things to look forward to.
Still, the powers that be are interested to gauge just how much money they stand to lose from last winter's foolishness and have contracted a survey to find out the gory details. I took the survey, and thought my faithful readers might be interested in a couple of my answers.
Why do you say that your overall interest level in the NHL has decreased significantly since the beginning of the NHL work stoppage?
My interest has decreased in the NHL because there was absolutely no reason for the season to be cancelled. The Owners and Union had actually agreed on a cap (supposedly the big sticking point) before the drop-dead date, and all the two sides had to do was split the difference at the end, and voila, we have a season (and more importantly, Stanley Cup Playoffs). Instead, Goodenow and Bettman refused to back down even when they were only a couple of million apart on the salary cap. News flash: the only difference between the owner's max cap and the player's max cap offer the day the season was cancelled for no reason was a couple of extra million dollars that maybe 4 or 5 teams would be able to spend in the larger markets (Detroit, New York, etc.). Instead, so Bettman can have his f---ing 'cost certainty' he tanked the season and made for damn certain that the NHL will not be relevant for decades. Hey Bettman, here's another 'cost certainty' for you, you SOB: the NHL will certainly NOT get one solitary penny out of me until you either a)resign b)are fired c)are devoured by a rampaging herd of wildebeest d)are abducted by aliens for anal probing (maybe they'll find your brain) e) the earth cracks open under your feet and you fall down into the pits of hell where the Devil himself will force you to watch college basketball, Texas hold-em poker and any show involving Stewart Scott or Chris Berman mugging for the camera on ESPN forever.
Why has the work stoppage negatively affected your interest level in purchasing NHL merchandise items in the future?
Why should I support a league that doesn't give a damn about their fans? All the league had to do is get their act together long enough to save the Stanley Cup Playoffs last year. But no, the owners and players couldn't get together enough to hammer out a cap number even when the players finally capitulated and agreed to a salary cap. The league chose money over fans, so why would you be surprised that the fans are now choosing money over the league? Again, fire the fools that caused this crisis in the first place (one down, one to go) and I might decide to pick up that hideous new Thrashers alternate jersey.There was more, but why incriminate myself further. Feel free to take the survey yourself and add your own comments...
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Beaming up One Last Time
Sad news today. James Doohan, better known to most of the world as Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott has passed away. One of my favorite characters from one of my favorite shows. You will be greatly missed.
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Wacky Conspiricy Theory Wednesday!
Chief Justice Rehnquist was just hospitalized.
Was he:
A: Given e-coli burgers at a Karl Rove barbeque so the Bush Administration can have two Supreme Court appointments at the same time, PLUS a Chief justice nominee so they can nominate a complete tosser for one of the posts, attracting all the lightning from the Senate, while sneaking in Alberto Gonzales and Chief Justice Scalia through the back door...
2: Sent a copy of "Venus on the Half Shell" tainted with radioactive ink by Kurt Vonnegut's publicist in an attempt to get Judge Judy (second story) appointed to his vacant post...
iii: Impregnated with an alien baby by Dr. James Dobson so when he returns to the bench defiantly for the next session, the critter will burst from his chest as he is reading the decision to not allow Alabama Judges to place Ten Commandment displays made of dynamite and plastic explosives in the offices of abortion clinics run by card carrying ACLU members to show the full power of God's wrath...
$: Hospitalized with complete exhaustion after staying at a hotel and not getting any sleep after hearing Howard Dean, Ralph Nader and Ann Coulter going at it in a threesome all night long...
e: Dude! the old geezer's like 120 years old...
**** HEY Kids! ****
Put YOUR answers in the comment section and be the envy of all your friends! Assuming you have any since you are online all day! Pretty big assumption, huh!
Was he:
A: Given e-coli burgers at a Karl Rove barbeque so the Bush Administration can have two Supreme Court appointments at the same time, PLUS a Chief justice nominee so they can nominate a complete tosser for one of the posts, attracting all the lightning from the Senate, while sneaking in Alberto Gonzales and Chief Justice Scalia through the back door...
2: Sent a copy of "Venus on the Half Shell" tainted with radioactive ink by Kurt Vonnegut's publicist in an attempt to get Judge Judy (second story) appointed to his vacant post...
iii: Impregnated with an alien baby by Dr. James Dobson so when he returns to the bench defiantly for the next session, the critter will burst from his chest as he is reading the decision to not allow Alabama Judges to place Ten Commandment displays made of dynamite and plastic explosives in the offices of abortion clinics run by card carrying ACLU members to show the full power of God's wrath...
$: Hospitalized with complete exhaustion after staying at a hotel and not getting any sleep after hearing Howard Dean, Ralph Nader and Ann Coulter going at it in a threesome all night long...
Ann: Spank me harder you #$^&* TRAITOR!!!!
Ralph: I ain't doing squat until you put on your safety harness biatch!
Howard: YEAAAAAAAHHRRRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!1
e: Dude! the old geezer's like 120 years old...
**** HEY Kids! ****
Put YOUR answers in the comment section and be the envy of all your friends! Assuming you have any since you are online all day! Pretty big assumption, huh!
Monday, July 11, 2005
Friday, July 08, 2005
Only a few hours of work left to go.....
So waste them efficiently with Raiden X. Remember to wait till the missles change to "H" for homing before picking them up.
Oh, yeah. Josh, you need to get to work on this. That is pretty bomb ass, I must say...
But of course all gaming is Evil, so be sure to repent after playing.
***Note: if you find yourself randomly laughing hysterically for over two hours after reading the phrase 'bomb ass' in a forum thread, you may concider yourself certifiably insane. Please commit yourself to the nearest mental health facility or at least try to get a job working for Howard Dean or perhaps even the White House Press Office where your talents can finally be truly appreciated..
Oh, yeah. Josh, you need to get to work on this. That is pretty bomb ass, I must say...
But of course all gaming is Evil, so be sure to repent after playing.
***Note: if you find yourself randomly laughing hysterically for over two hours after reading the phrase 'bomb ass' in a forum thread, you may concider yourself certifiably insane. Please commit yourself to the nearest mental health facility or at least try to get a job working for Howard Dean or perhaps even the White House Press Office where your talents can finally be truly appreciated..
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