Eastern Conference

Final Standings:

1. Washington Capitals
2. Pittsburgh Penguins
3. Buffalo Sabres
4. Boston Bruins
5. Philadelphia Flyers
6. New York Rangers
7. Tampa Bay Lightning
8. Carolina Hurricanes
9. Montreal Canadiens
10. New Jersey Devils
11. Toronto Maple Leafs
12. Florida Panthers
13. Winnipeg Jets
14. New York Islanders
15. Ottawa Senators 

Atlantic Division:

1.     Pittsburgh Penguins

One question that has been beat into our heads and has remained unanswered this offseason is how long will Crosby be out?  Pens fans shouldn’t really be that concerned in looking for an answer to that question.  The Pens played the last 41 games of the season without Crosby, and still managed a 4^thplace finish in the conference.  It would be smart to allow Crosby to take his time and make sure that when he returns to the game, he will be 100%.  Ray Shero made a smart move in the off season, bringing in C Steve Sullivan.  Sullivan should be good for about 45 points on the season.  As well, if Malkin can come back healthy, the Penguins are going to be one of the strongest teams in the Eastern Conference.  Backup goalie Brent Johnson will not be a liability when he has the chance to give Fleury a rest.  The Pens also stacked up a couple of key players on their back end, adding Martin and Michalek.  Pittsburgh could be frightfully good on their back end this season.  However, one question that may haunt the Penguins this year is depth.  In the event of a couple key injuries, do the Pens have enough scoring to carry them through?  That is where the late season trade for James Neal comes in.  6 points in 20 games isn’t going to cut it, especially after scoring 39 in 59 games for Dallas.  Neal is a good young player, and he will be the player to watch for the Pens this season.

2.     Philadelphia Flyers

Ever since the departure of Hextall, the Flyers haven’t had a solid number one goaltender.  The net has been a constant carousel of goalies, each trying to earn the job full time.  Names such as Cechmanek, Snow, Vanbiesbrouk, Boucher, Emery, Hackett, Froese, Soderstrom…I could go on forever.  However, this year, as well as every other year, the Flyers believe that they have found their guy.  Bryzgalov will be a consistent performer for the Flyers this season, but we will see how he can deal with the legendary Flyer fan animosity if he starts a string of bad games.  We’ll see how he deals with getting his first trailer hitch thrown at him.  Fans in Philly are a little more “passionate” than the average fan in Phoenix.  Philly had to move some important stock in order to land Bryzgalov, and that involved moving key players such as Carter and Richards.  That is going to be a lot of points that will need to be spread out amongst the rest of the team.  Players such as Giroux, Van Riemsdyk and Simmonds are going to be leaned on heavily this season.  However, the addition of Jagr will help them out, but one shouldn’t expect record setting numbers from Jagr.  Voracek will be a helpful addition as well, and even though the Flyers lost 2 of their top 4 scorers, they won’t feel the pinch.  Their back end is as solid as ever, with grey bushes Pronger and Timonen leading the show; that is, if Pronger can remain healthy.  The Flyers have one of the better D-Cores in the Eastern Conference this season, and with no major changes, more will be expected.  Were the GAA last year indicative of average goaltending or because of inconsistency on the back end?  This year will tell us.

3.     New York Rangers

The Rangers are well on their way of developing their younger players and moving forward.  The addition of Brad Richards will help the Rangers see that they are not blowing as many third period leads this season.  More responsibility is being placed on the Rangers younger players, and forwards such as Dubinsky and Callahan are going to asked to shoulder the majority of the workload this season.  Gaborik is always consistent, but that is only when he is healthy.  Gaborik missed 20 games last season, but this season he will need to be much better.  Support from Stepan and Boyle will help the Rangers take the next step, but they are still a fairly young team.  On their back end, players such as Staal, Girardi and McDonagh will be playing together for a few more years yet, and they will continue to improve as the season develops.  If only Del Zotto can shake off a forgettable sophomore year, he will emerge and help round out one of the best top 4’s in the East.  How are the Rangers going to be in the nets this year?  One word…Lundqvist.  Quite simply, one of the best in the game and he can carry this team through many games this season, just like he has in the past.  With Biron as a backup, he is capable of playing huge minutes in relief of Hank, but honestly, can anyone see him taking a stretch of games off?  Henrik played over 4000 minutes last season, and was just shy of the numbers that would qualify a Vezina nomination.  The player to watch this season on the Rangers will be newcomer Mats Zuccarello.  Zuccarello will be seeing more ice time this season, and lets see what kind of numbers he can put up in a full NHL season.  Bottom line for the Rangers is this…getting knocked out by the Caps in the playoffs could be the best thing to happen to this young team.

4.     New Jersey Devils

Entering this season, there are 2 major questions that need to be answered; can the Devils rebound from a simply horrific start to the 2010-2011 season, and is it time for the Devils to start thinking about life without Brodeur?  There were lots of factors that could be blamed for the Devils poor start.  How much of the blame can be placed on the injuries to Parise and Brodeur?  How much can be placed on the teams lack of response to head coach John MacLean?  And finally, if Kovalchuk stumbles out of the gate once again, will the same pattern be repeated?  However, in light of all of these occurrences, the Devils still turned it around and were in playoff contention in mid March.  What the Devils accomplished in the second half was pretty remarkable, and that deserves some accolades.  However, one fact remains true; the Devils have only won 1 playoff round in the last 5 seasons.  Unlike Brodeur, Kovalchuk is going to be around for much longer.  Why Jersey would allow a player such as Parise to go to arbitration is beyond me.  Parise is one of their premier players and Lamoriello needs to ensure that he is around long term.  Hopefully the arbitration process didn’t shake Parise’s faith in the organization too dramatically.  Unlike the division rival Rangers, the Devils are an aging group and time is running out on this group to win it all together.  The Devils will need to score more than 174 goals this season, which was the lowest goal scored total in the league last season.  Elias can still be counted on to be a regular contributor, but players such as Zubrus and Zajac will have to do better than their 44 and 30 point seasons respectively.  A healthy Parise will add to the goals scored total, but at the same time, they will need to improve on a 14.4% power play goals as well, which garnered them 28^thplace in the league last season.  Aside from a solid top 2 d-men in Tallinder and Volchenkov, there isn’t much depth on their back end as they need.  Sure they only allowed 209 goals last season, but this may be the opportunity that Adam Larsson needs to crack the lineup and be a full time Devil

5.     New York Islanders

Believe it or not, things are starting to shape up on the Island.  The Islanders will be better this season, and GM Snow has slowly and quietly been putting together a solid core of young players.  Sure, drafting a player of Tavares’ talent makes it much easier to build a team, but Snow has done a fairly remarkable job.  For the Isles, the tough part of the rebuild may be completed.  Now, it is time to build on last year and show steady gains year to year.  Players such as Grabner, Moulson and Tavares may be three of the most talented young players on one team.  There, I said it.  Throw in players such as Parenteau, Nielson, Bailey and Comeau, and the future is starting to look bright on the Island.  The Isles have also quietly built up their farm system, and have drafted some prospects that could make the Islanders forwards an elite group within 5 or 6 years.  If Snow can keep this current group of forwards together, they may be reminiscent of another group of young forwards that remained together in the 80’s until Bruce McNall got involved.  And no, I am not alluding that any member of the Islanders is close to being of 99 status.  It is just a reference to an extremely talented young group.  One thing that has plagued the Isles year after year is the health of DiPietro.  However, when DiPietro does get injured (and he will), it will be up to Al Montoya to carry the bulk of the workload.  Once upon a time, there were two amazing US Born Goalie Prospects named Montoya and Dipietro.  Montoya worked hard every day and even did his evil step-brothers chores, but no matter how hard he worked, he always remained in the shadows of his charismatic and fragile step-brother.  Sounds like a fairy tale, but the whole concept of an oft-injured DiPietro is a nightmare for the majority of the Isles fans.  One thing that the fans can count on though, is that Montoya will be a more than suitable replacement for DiPietro.  Throw in the possibility of Nabakov being in the mix, and an injury to DiPietro may be the best thing to happen for the Islanders goalies.  On the back end, they were hit with numerous injuries that allowed quite a few depth players to see some ice.  For such a young team, dealing with the news that they would miss Streit for last season, was quite the blow.  If Streit can return at 100%, there is still a hodgepodge of d men back there.  Players such as Hamonic, Eaton and Mottau are going to be counted on to provide some much needed stability and security.  The Islanders are moving forward ever so slightly, but they have a number of shining stars in their future.

Northeast Division:

1. Buffalo Sabres

With a new ownership that has loosened off the purse strings, the Sabres have to be considered a legitimate threat this season.  The Sabres were the hottest team going into the playoffs this past spring, winning 16 of its final 24 games to enter the playoffs with the number 7 seed.  The Sabres were always a piece or two short of completing the puzzle, and after trading for Regehr and signing Ehrhoff long term, the Sabres have one of the strongest blue lines in the Conference.  Tyler Myers is going to be counted on to improve on last years numbers, and he will have lots of opportunity to see the ice this season.  Finally, the Sabres have an ownership that is willing to go out and spend money on players.  Last season, Stafford and Ennis made strides in becoming pivotal pieces in the future of the Sabres.  In 2010-11, only three teams in the Eastern Conference scored more goals than the Sabres, and let’s remember that they did that even while missing Derek Roy for the majority of the season.  With a healthy core group of forwards, the Sabres have a balanced and legitimate attack with skaters such as Hecht, Pominville, Boyes, Vanek and others.  In nets, Ryan Miller is capable of stealing multiple games this season.  Remember, Miller is only one season removed from a Vezina winning campaign.  Jhonas Enroth will get a chance to start some games, but not very many.  With Miller starting in 65 games last year, Enroth still found time to win 9 games for Buffalo.  With Lindy Ruff at the helm again this year, this Sabres team is going to be one of the most entertaining teams to watch this season.  Count on Ruff to ensure that the Sabres do not underachieve.

2.     Boston Bruins

One can only watch in amazement when Thomas is working between the pipes.  Thomas has been oft-criticized for being an unorthodox goalie by numerous analysts, but he has done what many of them couldn’t; win a Stanley Cup and multiple Vezinas.  The Bruins managed to maintain their core group of young players, and aside from Recchi retiring and Ryder renting a U-Haul bound for Texas, the Bruins are still the same team.  With Savard regrettably on the shelf for the duration of this season, it puts a hole in the Bruins that can easily be filled.  Last season, Krejci and Bergeron filled in admirably in his absence, and Krejci will be leaned upon lots this year.  Seguin will continue to develop, and playing on this Bruins team will help him immensely.  Just remember, that head coach Claude Julien will continue to expose Seguin to different situations slowly.  There will be some questions about Horton after his concussion in the post season, but if he can come back healthy, he will be relied on to provide some additional scoring to help plug the hole left by Recchi.  Big things are going to be expected from the little sparkplug that is Brad Marchand.  Marchand was pivotal in the Bruins championship run last spring, and he will be expected to pick up where he left off.  On their back end, any d-core that is led by Chara is going to be strong and steady.  Other d-men such as McQuaid, Boychuk, Ference, Corvo and Seidenberg will round out a very strong back end.  For being the best goalie in the world right now, Thomas reminds me of someone you’d bump into in line for a beer.  Thomas posted record numbers last season, and he isn’t showing any intention of slowing down.  Rask will get the opportunity to play in plenty of games this season, and head coach Claude Julien has already stated that the Bruins are entering the season with 2 number 1 goalies.  Adam McQuaid finished a remarkable +30 last season, and with an increase in ice time possible, he will improve on last seasons numbers.

3.     Montreal Canadiens

The Habs definitely have some speed to burn up front, but it’ll take more than speed to make this a contending team.  One would have a hard time stomaching the high priced contracts handed out to the likes of Gionta, Gomez, and Cammalleri.  The Habs did not get their moneys worth from their highest paid players. The addition of Erik Cole will help with secondary scoring, but the majority of the Habs wins this season are going to come from low scoring games.  Last season, Montreal finished with 44 wins, but they only scored 216 goals.  Players such as Gomez need to score more, simply put.  Young players such as Lars Eller is ready to be the offensive contributor that Gauthier thought he was trading for when Halak was moved.  On the back end, the Habs felt the pinch when Gorges and Markov both went down with injuries.  Subban was able to step up and fill in when needed, and now that the Habs have seen what he may be capable of; the expectations will be considerably higher this year.  Montréal’s d-core should be fairly solid this year, with Weber and Yemelin chomping at the bit for more ice time.  If Montreal can make it through this season relatively injury free, they may be in the position to move some assets to help their scoring, or lack of as it will be.  In the nets, Price will be a workhorse once again.  After starting in 70 games last season, he set career numbers in GAA and SV%.  Peter Budaj will continue to be the reliable backup that he has been throughout his career, but realistically he shouldn’t be expecting to get a lot of work.

4.     Toronto Maple Leafs

Toronto is developing and acquiring some talented young players.  Grabovski is coming off career highs in every important category, but will he improve again this year?  There has been a fair bit of pressure placed on youngsters Bozak and Kadri to develop and produce right away, but the emergence of MacArthur and Kulemin provided the Leafs the chance to ease off on Kadri and Bozak.  The Leafs hope that Connolly will be the center that Kessel needs, but as always, his health is an issue.  On defense, Phaneuf will be the workhorse on the blue line, with Schenn and Aulie slowly emerging as a legitimate threats.  The bottom line is that the d-core needs to be better and improve on their 251 goals allowed last season.  The acquisitions of Liles and Franson will help them on their back end, but their goals against would have been much worse if it wasn’t for the emergence of James Reimer.  Reimer is going into this season as the number one goalie for the Leafs.  After starting in 35 games last season, Reimer is going to shoulder the workload this year.  However, if he starts to slip, the Leafs will not have much of a choice but to turn to Gustavsson, who has been hampered by a heart condition the last couple of seasons.  If Gustavsson is unable to go or performs subpar, the Leafs are going to have to go to the well that is the Marlies for a call up.

5.     Ottawa Senators

As an outsider looking in, I watch in amazement and wonder how Bryan Murray has been able to keep his job.  Numerous quality coaches have been sent down the river in years past, and the next man in the breach is Paul MacLean.  MacLean will have a fairly young team to work with this year, with players such as Fisher, Kelly, Ruutu, Kovalev and Elliot gone.  After using 6 goalies (Brodeur, McElhinney, Leclaire, Elliot, Lehner, and Anderson) during the 2010-11 season, the Sens are hoping that they finally have their man in Craig Anderson.  As well, the only players that can tell people that they had a good year and keep a straight face were Karlsson and Spezza.  The Sens have a fairly young team this season, and Paul MacLean is hopefully the right man for the job.  Alfredsson needs to come back at 100% after his injury, and prove his worth to the Sens this year.  A young team will need his veteran presence in the locker room.  Young players such as Bobby Butler and Nick Foligno need to improve on last seasons numbers, and they are going to have plenty of opportunity to do just that.  Last year, the Senators allowed 250 goals against.  That is simply horrific, and the Senators only had 2 of the d-men that they used all season finish on the right side of the +/- category.  Defensemen such as Phillips (-35) and Kuba (-26) simply need to be better.  This is going to be a long season for the Sens, but if certain players continue to develop and improve on seasons past, many Senator players will reach career highs. 

Southeast Division

1.     Washington Capitals

Life is good in Washington.  They have a great team, a supportive and rabid fan base, and a couple of the most exciting players in the game today.  Regardless of regular season achievements, until the Capitals do something, they are on the same page as the Sharks; playoff pretenders.  Washington has drafted extremely well over the years, and they are going to continue to reap the benefits for quite a few years.  Players such as John Carlson (yes, I’m still upset over his amazing goal in the WJHC), Marcus Johansson and Mathieu Perrault are going to continue to develop at the NHL level.  McPhee made a couple of moves in the off season, bringing in Joel Ward and Troy Brouwer.  The Capitals will recover from a low scoring 224 goal (by their standards) season and will continue to improve defensively.  Players such as Backstrom and Semin (especially after he was criticized in the press for his unambitious play) need to increase their offensive production.  With Green missing significant time last season, Carlson emerged as a player capable of handling the minutes.  Washington further bolstered their blue line by adding Wideman and signing Hamrlik to a d-core that already had Green, Poti, Alzner, Erskine and Schultz.  With the off season moves that the Caps made in their nets, Vokoun will handle the workload nicely and should be expected to play between 50 and 60 games this year.  If Vokoun begins to struggle, Neuvirth has shown that he is more than capable of stepping in.

2.     Tampa Bay Lightning

By making it into the third round of the playoffs last season, the Lightning grew in leaps and bounds.  Key younger players such as Stamkos and Purcell had an extra long drink at the post season fountain.  Let’s remember that this was the team that came back against the Crosby-less Penguins and then sweep the Capitals last season.  Guy Boucher had his team motivated and ready for success last season and new GM Steve Yzerman put some key elements in place.  Any team that can put players of the caliber of Lecavalier, St Louis and Stamkos together has to be considered a serious threat.  Throw in some secondary scoring support from Moore, Downie, Purcell and Thompson, and the Lightning can be extremely offensive.  If Gilroy can become the type of player that Yzerman thought he was when he went after him as a free agent and if Hedman continues to develop, the Lightning can have a very strong defensive team as well.  Throw in Brewer, Kubina, Ohlund and Clark, it would appear that the Lightning are very deep in their own end.  Roloson enters the season as the number one goalie, but if he starts to show his age, look for Garon to start to take the majority of the starts away.  The Lightning have many of the pieces in place to compete in the playoffs.

3.     Carolina Hurricanes

Eric Staal is arguably one of the best centers in the league, and he is barely 27 years old.  After missing out on the post season in their last game of the season, the Hurricanes should be expected to make the cut this year.  One thing that may have hurt the Hurricanes last year was depth.  Carolina simply lacked secondary scoring that was effective enough to guarantee a post season berth.  Staal and Skinner are a very competent combination, and Skinner has developed faster than many thought he was going to.  Players such as Boychuk, Jokinen, Larose, Ponikarovsky and Sutter are going to have to pick up the slack and provide some much needed secondary scoring this season.  As well, the current group of forwards on the Hurricanes needs to be more active in their own end, and they need to be more efficient back checkers.  The d-core will be anchored by Gleason and Pitkanen, and the additions of Allen and Kaberle will help out dramatically.  Going into this season, Cam Ward will continue to eat up starts for the Canes, and Brian Boucher will be relegated to opening the gate for the majority of this season.  Boucher can expect to get about 10 starts this season, barring any injury to Ward. 

4.     Florida Panthers

Heading into this season with a new head coach in Kevin Dineen, the learning curve is going to be quick in Florida this season.  During the regular season, GM Dale Tallon was active (as usual) and was ready to make moves to improve his club.  Tallon moved the majority of the veteran talent out of town, and quickly stocked up on draft picks and young prospects.  As a result, Dineen is taking over a younger team, and essentially, a chunk of clay for him to mold.  Last season, Florida’s leading goal scorer only had 23, and the team leader for points was 49, you would think that there is a lot of room for improvement.  Players such as Santorelli and Bradley will be leaned upon to produce, and the addition of Bergenheim should help.  On the back end, it doesn’t look much better for Florida.  Kulikov, Campbell, Weaver and Jovonovski (yup…he’s still playing) on their back end, there is a lot of opportunity for Gudbranson and Ellerby to eat up some minutes.  In the nets this season, Jose Theodore may emerge as the number one tender going into this season.  His leash may be a little shorter this season, and if he starts to struggle, Kevin Dineen may give Markstrom an extra long look.  Markstrom will be the Panthers tender of the future, but they need to be careful that they don’t burn him out early in his career.

5.     Winnipeg Jets

A new home is not enough to improve the Atlanta Thrashers.  Sure, the players will get to experience a circus like atmosphere with their games, which may be a new feeling for many of them that have been in Atlanta long term.  Even though the Jets are a fairly young team, they are still a very talented team.  Offensively, the team has Ladd, Kane, Antropov, Little, and Wheeler.  Forwards such as Burmistrov, Cormier and Glass are going to be expected to contribute more offensively, while players such as Byfuglien and Enstrom will add to their offensive totals.  On the back end, Byfuglien and Enstrom will be anchoring the d-core with Bogosian and Oduya providing additional support.  However, last season the Thrashers finished 29^thin the NHL with 269 goals against.  That number is going to have to decrease dramatically before the Jets can be considered a legitimate threat for the playoffs.  The Thrashers were also 20^thin the league for goals scored, another stat that is going to have to improve before they can be taken seriously as a playoff threat.  In the nets, the combination of Pavelec and Mason will provide to be an adequate goaltending tandem, but their numbers will have to be better.

As always, these types of prognostications always come with opinions of varying degree.  Let me have it if I am right the fuck out to lunch.  

And now, your hockey fight of the week.  A great fight between Brian McGratton and Cam Janssen.  Two great competitors.

Thanks for stopping by.

Hotchnuts

When I think of this year’s NHL playoffs I think of the teams that normally end up in the second season, Pittsburgh, Washington, Detroit and New Jersey and with them the poster boys of the NHL Crosby and Ovechkin. But this year we’ve seen a turning of the tide, no more Nicklas Lidstrom vying for another Cup, no white towels will be waved in Pittsburgh, the Capitals once again showed they are one dimensional and ride the back of one line and not a whole lot more and the Devils are rebuilding. Yeah, this post season we’ve got Bergeron and Thomas, Lecavalier and St. Louis, Thornton and Marleau, the Sedin’s and Luongo…for some these are household names, for the casual fan it’s more like WHO are these guys?

The two teams from the West have never won a Stanley Cup, the two from the East each have, with TB doing so in ’03-’04 and Boston winning there last of 5 Cups in the ’71-’72 season. To this point we’ve enjoyed great matchups with tons of terrific hockey, what else do you expect from the fastest game on two legs? The Bruins had to deal first with their arch rival and Original Six nemeses the Montreal Canadians, who stole the first 2 games in Boston, the Bruins then went on to win the next four of five, three in OT including game seven in Boston. Following that Boston knocked out the Flyers in four straight to erase any memory of that implosion last year when Philly came back from a 3-1 series deficit to win the series. Now they enter the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since ’92 and host the Tampa Bay Lightning beginning tonight at 8 pm. Both teams swept their final series and have been off for close to 2 weeks, needless to say they’re itching to get back in action.

In the West it’s the San Jose Sharks and Vancouver Canucks. The Sharks, who never seem to do anything the easy way, had a 3-0 lead on the Red Wings, lost the next three and took game seven Thursday night in a tight fought game in San Jose. They had gone six games with the L.A. Kings in the first round. Vancouver another of those teams who look like a pretender more than a contender usually, found themselves making their path to the Conference finals difficult doing the same as San Jose in the first round having a 3-0 lead only to cough it up against the defending Stanley Cup champs and winning in seven at home, they followed that up with a six game series against the pesky Nashville Predators.

San Jose found a way to pull out of a grueling series with the Red Wings, I’m just not sure they’ll have the gas or the luck for that matter to go that kind of distance again with the Canucks, but if Roberto Luongo performs like he did against the Black Hawks the Sharks might just find themselves moving onto the finals. It’s clear that how the goaltending goes so goes the series for both of these teams. The west series begins Sunday night in Vancouver. In the East the homer comes out of me and I’ll take Boston in 6 games, for the West I’ll go with Vancouver in 6.

In other news, last night NY Rangers enforcer Derek Boogaard, 28, was found dead in his Minneapolis apartment. There have been no details given as to the cause and it may not be known for weeks.

The NY Islanders signed rookie Michael Grabner today to a 5 year $15 million contact, he had 34 goals and was 3^rd on the Isles with 54 points. Grabner is one of 3 finalists for this year’s Calder trophy which is given annually to the league’s top rookie. Other finalists this season are San Jose’s Logan Couture and Carolina’s Jeff Skinner.

It’s looking more and more like the Atlanta Thrashers won’t be in Georgia next season, regardless of what the few Billy Ray Jim Bob’s down here who go to the game would like to believe. An article posted in today’s Toronto Sun has quotes from Atlanta owner Bruce Levenson saying before the Bulls-Hawks game (who he owns as well, along with Philips arena and are being sold as a package deal if possible) that they are no closer to finding a local owner than they were a year ago. Here’s that interview, watch and listen to this tool, particularly when he answers the question about what is it he’d say to the fans, I’ll give you a hint, he’s not going to be begging them to buy season tickets to help the cause. Talk about wanting to get out of town.

Hotch will return next week! Enjoy the playoffs Gabbers!

Welcome again to another Wednesday and an opportunity to share a few deep thoughts. Last week, I took a rare departure from sports to delve into the ending of bin Laden. This week, it is time to get back to sports.

If you have read my blog at all, you know that I am not a hockey fan. I enjoy reading Beeze, Hotch and others discuss the game, but I don't have a favorite team. I am a fan however of fighting bureaucracy at any chance. I don't know if there are HOA where you live, but the number in Austin has grown steadily in the past 10 years or so. The idea sounds good, but in reality it gives neighbors with time on their hands a chance to tattle on others in the neighborhood. The picture above is how a Lightning fan worked around the "rules' of his HOA.  I got a big laugh out of this and hope you do too. Here is the story:

How Lightning Fan Outwitted Petty HOA...

Somehow, I don't think that this was what HOA's were designed for. If you have a neighbor that refuses to mow their lawn or has cars on blocks in the front yard; that is one thing. What is happening to our country when you cannot put up a sign in your front yard celebrating your favorite team? My son's high school provides signs for members of the school's athletes and other groups. If I lived in this neighborhood, I would not be able to put one of these signs in my front yard. Really? All I can say is this is stupid...

Many of you probably do not recognize this guy. His name is Dave Duerson and he was an NFL player. Mr. Duerson killed himself earlier this year, presumably because he could not stand what he realized was ahead for him. Duerson shot him self in the chest, so that researchers could find out what was wrong with his brain. This week, it was revealed that Dave Duerson had CTE. For those who have not heard of CTE, this is disease that afflicts many ex college and professional football players. The symptoms of CTE are depression and dementia and are caused by a life of repeated collisions with the head. Concussions are certainly are a problem, but compounding the issue for NFL players is the thousands of other collisions that they have accrued since they began to play football. I would venture that most players begin playing football by age 9. By the time they reach the NFL, they are well on their way to potential health issues.

The timing of the NFL owners to extend the current season to 18 games is curious. With all of the information that has come to light regarding head injuries, it is easy to see why players are reluctant to sign off on an extended season. The plan to reduce the preseason to 2 games on the surface seems equitable. But, when you consider that most veterans don't play much of the preseason games, the logic fails. By reducing preseason to 2 games, teams would be forced to forego using the preseason games to assess talent and focus on preparing for the season. It can be argued that players are not forced to play, and are paid well for their time. But, with the NFL's recent focus to protect players on the field, it is odd that they would choose to ignore the same players long term health. I suppose you could say that when the players are through playing that they just don't offer any value any longer?

There is much that is not known about CTE, but hopefully we will not have to have sacrifice too many more Dave Duerson's before we figure out how to prevent a brain from becoming mush.

Baseball is a rather unique game. It is a game that demands that you allow a ball to hit you if it benefits your team. With the bases loaded in a crucial situation, you will hear fans and even teammates exhort a batter to "wear it"...
Last week a KC sports writer was critical of Wilson Betemit for not allowing an 81 mph slider to hit him with the bases loaded. To prove to himself that it did not hurt so much, he took a few hacks with the KC team and allowed himself to be plunked by a slder. As you will see, he issued an apology to Betemit.

Apparently horse racing is not too important in Albany, GA...or HD is something totally new? What am I talking about? Check out the link:

http://outofbounds.yahoo.com/?vid=25167258
 

Hilarious...

Speaking of hilarious...

Although Fan82 already discussed this, I could not help but add the video of the NBA tonight guys ribbing Charles Barkley. Kenny cracked me up when he asked if there was an earthquake. Watch Barkley's leg shaking...some funny shit! "I can't believe that Kenny"...damn that is funny.

I had a hankering to add a tune today and this is a truly great tune sung by a unique artist:

That's all that I have for today, but I will leave you a bit of Jack Handey to take with you:

"After I die, wherever my spirit goes, I'm going to try to get back and visit my skeleton at least once a year, because, "Hey, old buddy, how's it going?" 

"Contrary to what most people say, the most dangerous animal in the world is not the lion or the tiger or even the elephant. It's a shark riding on an elephant's back, just trampling and eating everything they see." 

Thanks for stopping by and feel free to add a few deep thoughts of your own...
 

Key Additions: D.J. King

Key Subractions: C Eric Belanger, D Joe Corvo, C Brendan Morrison, D Shaone Morrisson, G Jose Theodore, RW Scott Walker

With Washingtons early exit from the postseason in the spring, the Capitals could be looking at a refocused and more determined Ovechkin.  However, Ovechkin wasn’t the Caps problems during the playoffs last year.  Secondary scoring killed the Caps.  Aside from Ovie, Backstrom and Knuble, no Caps registered more than 5 points.  Semin was non-existenet, registering only 2 points in 7 games.  Washington has proven that they have a very potent lineup and can roll through the regular season, but there has been a history where they are looking like the Sharks of the Eastern Conference.  With the departure of Theodore, the Caps nets are going to be filled with Varlamov and Neuvirth.  Varlamov had a great year last season, losing only 4 times in regulation.  This is Varlamovs opportunity to show the Caps that he can be their goalie of the future.  The Caps led the league last season in goals scored.  With Neuvirth, you have a backup goalie that won 9 of his 13 starts last season.  If Washington continues to receive secondary scoring during the regular season, they will finish at the top of the Eastern Conference.  The Caps still have some young players that we will need to watch this season.  Lots will be expected out of Carlson (I’m still angry about that OT goal in the WJHC), and with the departures of Corvo and Morrisson, he will have plenty of ice time to make his mark.

Prediction:

1^stin the Eastern Conference 

Key Additions: D Joe Corvo, D Bobby Sanguinetti.

Key Subtractions: C Rod Brind’Amour, G Manny Legace, D Brian Pothier, LW Ray Whitney.

Carolina lost the majority of their leadership over the summer with the loss of Brind’Amour and Whitney.  Going into this season, Carolina is going to be fairly thin on their back end.  How far the ‘Canes go this season relies heavily on Ward.  Ward will be called upon to steal some games for them this season.  Carolina cannot repeat their poor start of last season, or else they will be on the outside looking in early in the season.  Carolina was amongst the worst in the league last season for goals against, mainly due to the injury to Ward.  If Ward stays healthy this season, you can look for the Canes to move up in that area.  Backing up Cam Ward this year are the two Justins, Peters and Pogge.  Pogge has not found his stride that made him highly touted in some GM’s eyes, and unless Ward goes down with an injury or starts off rusty, Pogge will not see too much ice time.  That opportunity will probably go to Peters, who had 6 wins in 9 starts last season.  Carolina is going to be hitting the ice this season with many of their prospects of drafts past finally getting a chance to show their stuff.  Jamie McBain had 10 points in 14 games last season playing on the Canes back end, and with their younger d-core, McBain is looking to improve on his ice time.  Carolina was hit hard on their back end last season, with no defenceman playing more than 71 games.  Carolina needs a great season from Ward this year, or it will be a tough season.

Prediction:

12^thin the Eastern Conference 

Key Additions: D Brett Clark, G Dan Ellis, LW Simon Gagne, D Pavel Kubina.

Key Subtractions: D Kurtis Foster, C Zenon Konopka, D Andrej Meszaros, G Antero Nittymaki, LW Alex Tanguay, D Matt Walker.

Tampahas a lot going for them this season.  Things started to turn around for them when they signed GM Steve Yzerman.  Yzerman brought in Simon Gagne, and that should help Steven Stamkos further.  Stamkos became the 3^rdyoungest player last season to break the 50 goal plateau, behind Wayne Gretzky who did it twice, and Jimmy Carson.  Last season goaltending killed the Bolts.  Mike Smith did not have the greatest year of his career, winning only 13 of his 42 games.  With the departure of Nittymaki, the Bolts quickly snapped up Dan Ellis.  Who will start the season in Tampa?  I can’t tell you that, but Tampa will possibly alternate goalies until one of them starts to produce and win some games.  Stamkos continued to get bigger and stronger, and the addition of Gagne should help Tampa close the gap for goals scored in their division.  Tampa scored more than 100 goals fewer than division leader Washington, and as a result, Tampa will need more scoring from their secondary lines.  Younger players such as Paul Szczechura will need to contribute more effectively to the offense on a regular basis.  Tampas young d phenom Hedman will continue to grow and develop, and looks to be one of the top players on the Tampa blue line.  If Tampa cannot get their goaltending situation shored up, this could be a long season.  First year NHL coach Guy Boucher may try to change things up with their approach to defensive play.  Tampa may be looking at utilizing a 1-3-1 forecheck, and if it is effective, it should help them defensively.

Prediction: 14^thin the Eastern Conference 

Key Additions: RW Steve Bernier, D Erik Gudbranson, LW Michael Grabner, LW Christopher Higgins, D Nathan Paetsch, C Marty Reasoner.

Subtractions: D Keith Ballard, LW Gregory Campbell, RW Nathan Horton, C Kamil Kreps.

Floridas back end needed lots of work this offseason.  Florida GM Dale Tallon helped that situation by moving Nathan Horton to Boston for Dennis Wideman.  Florida allowed 244 goals against last season, which was a three year high for the team.  As well, Florida only scored 208 goals last season.  With the subtraction of Horton, the Panthers are losing some offence.  However, Tallon brought in Chris Higgins and Michael Grabner.  Those two players combined may not be able to equal the void in scoring that left with Horton.  Expect top draft pick of the Panthers Gudbranson to get lots of playing time this season.  Another player that is expected to grow exponentially this season is Dmitry Kulikov, and the Panthers are very large on their back end with none of the D under 6’1”.  Their defense is going to get lots of work this season, and the learning curve is going to be fairly steep.  Clemmenson is an effective backup goalie, and will be ready to take the reigns should Vokoun have to miss any time.  The Panthers are also going to be looking to get goaltending prospect Jakob Markstrom some time in the pipes.  Panther coach Peter DeBoer has plenty of experience dealing with a younger team, seeing as how he has spent 13 seasons coaching junior.

Prediction: 15^thin the Eastern Conference 

Key Additions: RW/D Dustin Byfuglien, LW Ben Eager, LW Andrew Ladd, G Chris Mason, LW Fredrik Modin, D Brent Sopel.

Key Subtractions: RW Colby Armstrong, G Johan Hedberg, LW Slava Kozlov, D Pavel Kubina, C Marty Reasoner.

Will the decision to use Big Buff on defense help out the Thrashers this season?  Only time will tell.  Anyone that watched the Blackhawks on their run last season realized how effective Byfuglien was in front of the net.  However, having a player with that type of versatility will only help the Thrashers this season.  Atlanta is going to be a much tougher team to play against this season, since they have added more grit and toughness to their lineup.  Atlanta had 3 20 goal scorers last season, and will need more players to step up and contribute.  Fortunately, Atlanta will need Bryan Little to regain his 31 goal form of a couple of seasons ago, and Evander Kane will only continue to develop positively this season.  Atlanta may be the second most powerful team in this division behind Washington.  On their back end, Enstrom will continue to improve and the addition of Oduya will help them substantially.  Atlanta fans also need to remember that Bogosian is still fairly young, and he will help the Thrashers blue line this season.  Pavelic should recover nicely from his poor showing last season, where there were times that he looked uncomfortable with the number one role in the nets.  One thing that will help the Thrashers in their own end, is the addition of Chris Mason.  Mason has proven that he can help a team steal some games, and this should help the Thrashers reduce the number of goals scored on them.  Atlanta dropped the number of goals scored on them last season, and bringing in Mason will only help drop that number again this season.

Prediction: 9^th in the Eastern Conference

Now, your hockey fight of the week!

WHALE TAIL OF THE WEEK!

Thanks for stopping by.  I will be wrapping up the Western Conference in one foul swoop and will post it under the NHL section.  Stay tuned!

Hotch