The Week That Was the Avs 12/23-12/29

Wow, this week has really gone by fast. Just looking through things this morning and realized that it was already Friday so I'd best get to recapping the past week for the Avalanche. This past week the team tied the consecutive home wins streak in Avalanche history at 8 and also matched the franchise record of 8 home wins in any given month, also at 8, en route to a 3-1 record for the week. The recent Avs winning ways have them back to within a point of the playoffs, though they currently have played more games than all other teams but Minnesota and Carolina which have also played 39 as the Avalanche have.

The Week That Was the Avs 12-16/12-22

The Avalanche come back from a horrid road trip against their Canadian division rivals to continue strong play at home. Sure, they gave up a few leads and thus gave back a couple points to other teams but despite still not having back to back regulation wins going back to last December they have tied the Avalanche record of 7 straight home wins, though admittedly 3 of those were in the shootout where the team is perfect this year and have won 17 of their last 18 games in the shootout. They will have a chance to break both the good and bad streaks before Christmas against Tampa Friday night.

The Week That Was the Avalanche 12-16/12-22

While it has been a frustrating time for Avs' fans, so much so that I stepped back from my daily checking of the normal sites, I will go back and check out my normal sources and recap this past week's activities once again. It's not that the week became any less frustrating, just that I want to continue to do these weekly.  At the time this was started Colorado had lost in Edmonton to finish the road trip 0-3, and then gave San Jose a point with under :30 left even though they went on to win. They still had a game in San Jose as I started this, but finishing this thought after the game it is just more frustration as a two goal lead was blown in the third period and the Avs failed to even get a point with many of their goals against coming off bad turnovers.

The Week that Was the Avs 12/2-12/8

The Avalanche this week finished their home stand with a couple of wins, taking the last three at home, but then dropped their first two back on the road.  Their record for the week was 2-2, and if they want a chance at playoffs they need to be better and will likely need 2/3 of the points left available to them this season.

Past Meet Present - From the Fire to the Furnace

Last night the Karameikan Fist was back at it, outnumbered but prepared for the attack to come.  While I expected casualites on both sides the rolls definitely fell with the party and I overestimated what numbers, as well as high damage but low AC/HP mobs could do as well.  It certainly helped that the party had good tactics and stuck to them, and that they used some tools that helped their case greatly, but you'll see what I mean there in the recap below.  I will say that while they have escaped this little fire relatively well, they certainly haven't escaped the problem and will be up against it next week.

Without further delay however, here is the recap of the latest installment of the Karameikan Fist.

The week that was the Avalanche 11/25-12/1

vs. Oilers : The news before the game was that EJ was placed on the IR and it would be retroactive and Stefan Elliot would make his debut having been given the call the night before as he prepared to play for the Monsters, a game in which he would miss but the team would go on to a 5-1 win. To start the game Jake Schroeder, a regular at the Pepsi Center, sung the National Anthem for the 500th time, and the Avs came out strong. Elliott started the game and had a short first shift and played a steady game not really getting noticed good or bad until early in the first when he jumped up into the play showing good speed and instincts. He would do this a couple of time through the game. The Oilers would start the scoring after a turnover at their own blueline by O'Brien, but the Avs would come back as Wilson laid out Taylor Hall in the corner with a monstrous hit and as the Oilers, and specifically one of the defensemen, came to confront Wilson, Duchene fed the puck ahead to Kobasew all alone who would have the puck poked off his stick right to McClement who put the puck in the net. The Oilers would regain the lead and be up 2-1 going into the 3rd, but the Avalanche kept pressuring and soon tied it up. Elliott would stop a 2-on-1 blocking the pass deep, and shortly after that the 20 year old Elliott would walk the blueline and put a wrister into the back of the net. His first career goal would turn out to be the game winner as the Avs would get another from the defense (3 on the night) and then an empty netter from Stastny which moved him into 10th in all time scoring in the franchise, moving him past Mats Sundin on the list. O'Reilly ended up with a pair of assists on the night, and the hot guys for Edmonton (Hall 10 in last 4, Eberle 10 in last 4, Smyth 8 in last 6 among others) were all held scoreless. The last 8 games the Oilers got at least a point against the Avs so this was a nice change, and after 7 straight losses for Varlamov it was good to get him back in the win column as well. Elliott, by the way, is the first Colorado defenseman to score a goal in his NHL debut, and the first Avalanche player to do it since forward Vaclav Nedorost scored Oct. 3, 2001 at Pittsburgh.

Past Meet Present - Into the Orcus Nest

Most people leave a hornets nest alone, but that isn't the life of an adventurer.  Even then most adventurers will whack the nest with a stick or rile the hornets up in other ways.  Our adventurers have chosen to take a much more dangerous and gutsy path however, instead choosing to jump right into the nest and confront the entire hive at once.

After many weeks off because of work and real life obligations and then the Thanksgiving holiday as well, we were finally back at it last week and things didn't take long to get exciting and next week promises to be a full blown fireworks display.  Here is the recap of the events from last night's exciting installment from the Karameikan Fist Adventuring Company.

The Week(s) that Was the Avs 11/11-11/24

The Week(s) that was the Avs 11/11-11/17 and 11/18-11/24

vs. Calgary : The Avalanche came out poorly again, falling behind by at least 3 goals for the 3^rd straight game. This time by the halfway point in the game they were down 4-0. The Avs didn’t start all that poorly I guess, doing a decent job to start but the Flames scored on their first two shots and led 2-0 just 6 minutes in and it got worse from there until it was too late. The Avs would push back and pull to within a goal but couldn’t get the equalizer. A failure to play a complete 60 minutes again costs the Avs points in the standings. Kipper gets his 9^th straight win against the Avs and the team falls to the Flames for the 8^th straight time.

Past Meet Present - A Return for the Blood

Still swamped with real life activities Jeremy again tackled the last two weeks of recaps.  Here they are in all their glory.

The Week That Was the Avs 11/4-11/10

The Avalanche had a 1-3 record this past week. They play again at home Saturday before going on the road for a pair, then they are back home for a season long eight game home stand.

 

 

vs. Dallas : Father and mentor night in the big D where the role models for the Avalanche joined the team on the road trip. Quincey's assist in the 1st made it 12 straight games with an Avs defensemen getting at least a point. Duchene playing on Stastny's wing misses open net in final seconds of 1st so instead of up 3 they are up 2, but the team only gave up 3 shots in the first. In the second the Avs got in penalty trouble and fell behind as their penalty kill continued to struggle, however Duchene having said in an intermission interview that he'd like to make up for that miss scored again in the 2nd and the Avs came back. The third period would see Duchene score once again, his first career hat trick, but the Avs would lose the lead late again and we would go to Overtime tied at six. In overtime the Avalanche finally fell to another bad bounce. The game had tons of excitement, some great goals, some flukey goals, neither goalie was particularly good, and the Duchene on wing experiment was a success with Dutchy getting his first hat trick and adding an assist for his first four point game.

The Week That Was the Avs 10/28-11/3

The Avalanche went 1-2 this past week, with all three games being at home. Thus far in five games on Pepsi Center ice the Avs have been shut out once and held to only 1 goal 3 times. It certainly isn't what it takes to get it done at home.

The Week that Was the Avalanche 10/21-10/27

The Avalanche went 1-1 over the past seven days, and will play at home against Edmonton and their youngs stars Friday night.

Ken Hitchcock spoke with Adrian Dater as part of Dater's "Talking Hockey" podcast that he has begun. An interesting listen but when asked about the young talent around the league Hitchcock first brought up Landeskog who he said reminded him very much of Forsberg in his way he controls the play in small spaces among other reasons. He also stated that in what he's seen RNH in Edmonton reminds him very much of Datsyuk. Landeskog recently spoke on that subject to the Toronto Sun stating "It’s fun to hear that kind of stuff, but at the same time, there’s never going to be another Peter Forsberg. I’m trying to become my own player, play my game and do those things that make me successful."

The Week That Was the Avalanche 10/14/11-10/20/11

The Week That Was the Avalanche 10/14/11-10/20/11

After going 3-1 the first week of the season, the Avalanche finished this week 2-1.

Past Meet Present - Returning to the Blood

Another busy week in life and work opened up another chance for the players to write the recap, and again Jeremy has stepped forward to assist.  Here it is without further introduction...

The Week That Was the Avalanche 10/1 thru 10/13

I am doing my best to help out the Puck Podcast by being a fan correspondent for them, following the Avalanche.  The below is my first submission to them, and from that they may or may not use parts or none of it at all.  It is likely much more than they were looking to get, but while I'll adjust what I submit to them I'm going to try to do weekly updates for the Avalanche here much like this one.

 

Enjoy the first post of "The Week That Was", covering the first week plus of the NHL season as it affected the Avalanche.

Predicting the NHL 2011-12 Season

Tonight the hockey season is back in full swing!  It seems like it has been much longer than it actually has since we watched the Bruins shut down the Canucks to take the Cup home in a final deciding game 7 this past spring.  It has been even longer still since I've seen my beloved Avs play.  That changes tonight though with the start of the NHL season and then Saturday the Avalanche open their season against the hated Red Wings as they retire Peter Forsberg's number, a game which I will be able to attend.

As with last year I want to take a moment prior to the first game of the season to make some pointless and likely way off base prediction as to how the NHL season will play off.  I will start in the East then go to the West predicting the final standings and I'll add a brief thought or two about each team.  Without further delay, here we go!

Past Meet Present - A Return to Civilization

We left off with the Karameikan Fist having left the caves they had traveled in for some time now, uncertain of where they would go but knowing that they would start by returning to Shadowdale to sell what they had found and then back to Bastion, but with little idea beyond that.  That is where we will pick up this week with the recap covering the events of last night.

Past Meet Present - Turning Back

I've been pretty busy these last couple of weeks as I've taken on new and challenging roles in my job and as such my time for posting has suffered.  However I want to be sure to at least keep things going for the RPG recaps so that the players can continue to use it as a resource, and as I get settled into my new responsibilities I'll begin to post more again.

I do have a couple of posts that I would like to get done prior to the hockey season starting tomorrow, however we'll see if that happens.  For now though here is a quick recap of last week's game before we get into tonight's game.

Past Meet Present - The Greater of Two Evils?

Despite the continuing workload and things going on I wanted to take time to recap last night's session of the Karameikan Fist.  Thank you Jeremy for doing so last week.  This week we see the adventurers make a deal with a drow who had them in a bad spot, then break that deal for an unseen figure later to be shocked by what they saw, then a fallen comrade returns to them before the evening ends.  The recap of the events last evening...

Past Meet Present - A Purple Mist

As I have taken on more responsibility at work and had a few other things going on I haven't been able to post lately.  I have a list of things I'd like to post about but they can all wait.  One thing that I would like to stay up on however is the Karameikan Fist updates, and as such I put it forward to the group that anyone who wished to write a recap was welcome to.  The player for Temeris/Callum stepped up and here it is.  Thanks Jeremy.

Your Highness, Paul, Soul Surfer

Another weekend past, another movie review in store for those of you that read these writings.  This weekend the movies we gathered from the RedBox were Your Highness, Paul, and Soul Surfer.  Again, I'll jump right into the reviews rather than spending time on a big build up.

When 40-7 Isn't Enough

Husker season is finally here and this past weekend the team opened up against Tennessee at Chattanooga.  While the final score was good for the Big Red, the game left a lot to be desired from fans, and I'm sure the coaches and players as well.  Yes, the final was a 40-7 win to open the season but there were certainly areas of concern and the team will need to fix some things and improve prior to starting their Big 10 play here in the near future.  I'm no expert or I'd be looking to be a coach somewhere, but here were my thoughts on opening weekend.

Sucker Punch, Scott Pilgrim, Beastly, Star Trek, Skyline

It's that time again, time for my report on the movies we watched this past weekend.  It must seem like we really don't do much, but that isn't the case really.  We just tend to watch a movie or two on weekend nights and this week was no different with another five movies to review.  I won't waste a lot of time getting into them though, so here we go.

Taking on the Pros - Fantasy NFL Draft

Ok, so it's not "pros" that I'm up against but a good friend of mine formed a fantasy football league this year to compete against friends and family and asked me to join, so I did.  While I'm certainly no where near as knowledgeable about the NFL as they are, I threw my hat in the ring and jumped into the draft with little preparation at all.  I'm somewhat happy with my team, though I'd love opinions from more knowledgeable people, but I'll be the first to admit that I took some chances that maybe I shouldn't have.

The draft was fun and interesting, and there was plenty of chatter going on, so I have high hopes for a very entertaining season as I get my rear kicked by those who actually follow the NFL unlike myself.  I was disappointed when I jumped in and found that I would be drafting 9th as that ruled out a couple of players that I had wanted to grab such as Vick and Foster, but I made do.  Without further ado though, here are my draft selections this year.

Past Meet Present - A Joining of Clans

Another night, another game ... and while the numbers in the group have dropped off the action and fun haven't.  Last time we left off with the party having just faced their most deadly foe to date, having had two of their number turned to stone and another horribly wounded.  We pick up from that point here.

Insidious & Take Me Home

This past weekend another pair of movies were on the agenda, and finally after having a number of movies that I liked I hit a couple that were just "meh".  Those two movies this past weekend were "Insidious" and "Take Me Home Tonight".  I won't spend a lot of time on either one (not that I spend a lot of time on any movie it seems), as I have a lot of other stuff to get done and I have a number of other posts that I have in my head to spend time on as well even if they may get done one per day.

Past Meet Present - What Masterful Sculptures!

Last night concluded yet another night of gaming for the "Royal Karameikan Fist Adventuring Company" and our adventurers have found themselves a fight that has left them in a bad spot.  We'll pick up right from the beginning and get right into the recap...

My RDO Camp for the NHL

Recently I had a post regarding the Research and Development camp that the NHL held where it looked at potential changes to the game of hockey.  While the game is as good as it has ever been in my opinion I love the fact that the NHL is being pro-active in looking to improve game play and player safety rather than re-active, and I've stated that on many occasions.  I have also commented on a number of their changes, either in opposition of or curious about them.  However one thing I haven't done thus far is present my ideas for what could be tested out in the camp.  With this post I change that as I present many ideas for things that I would have the NHL test out in the next RDO Camp if I had a say in the decision making process.

There are many things which I would likely look at again if they don't make the list of changes this year, and from the sounds of things while lots of ideas have generated discussion the only ones likely to see implementation soon are the verification line and shallower nets.  The first is a bit of a no-brainer, and the second I'm looking forward to seeing live myself.  There are also things that haven't been looked at that I would like to see.  Here is my rundown of things I would like to see looked at for the first time, or looked at further.

EA Sports - NHL12

Here soon the demo for EA's NHL 12 game will be released, and soon after that the actual game will be coming out and I think thanks to a great wedding gift we got (a gift card to Amazon) I'll be getting the game once again this year.  Of course the wife could talk me out of it since I have NHL 11, but each year they change the game a bit and each year the new game becomes the next "best hockey game out there."  I have been playing this franchise, though not every year of it but close to, for a decade now and I honestly think that not only is there no one close in terms of hockey games, but the EA NHL games are the best sports games out there period.

I look forward to this year's version continuing this trend.  Last year the "Be a Pro" mode was introduced and it will be continued this year.  That is likely the single best play style I've had the chance to play.  In that mode you actually take on the role of your player, starting in the juniors and getting drafted, then earning your way from the AHL to the NHL and playing out your career.  While your player is on the ice you play them.  If your player is on the bench ... or in the box ... you watch just as if you were there.  By far my favorite mode to play in.

Predicting the Avs Future

Today I am going to pull out my crystal ball and predict the future.  What is the potential Avalanche lineup in the season of 2014-15?  That is the answer I am going to try to get to using just the current roster and the players in the system.  Obviously this will leave a few spaces that will be occupied by free agent signings so my roster won't be 100% correct, but I am going to look at the prospects coming through the system and touch on what I realistically expect of them, then using that present a roster for the team three years from now.

I will also have to look at the current roster as well, but I will only touch on those pieces in creating the final picture as much of this will focus on the prospects coming up through the system.  I'll start from the forwards and work my way back towards goal in my efforts, and beyond that there won't be a real order to the players that I put forth. 

You will see references to a hockey prospects site that I visit from time to time called hockeysfuture.com, but other than using them as a reference point the opinions given will be mine.  You will see "grades" that this website gave to many of the prospects, but as they haven't updated them in the last year nor given this year's draftees a grade I will mention them, but also give my thoughts on what they are likely to be this year or should be.  The grade is a number 1 through 10 ranking potential with 10 being a generational talent going down to AHL star at 5, so the grades will be between there, and then a letter where 'A' represents the likelihood a player will reach that level and each grade below that the player is less likely to reach that level.  Thus a player that is a 8B is said to have potential to reach 1st line status and likely could but could end up as a second liner.  Of course the grades are educated guesses on their part, but for further explanation of them check here ... http://www.hockeysfuture.com/playerprojections/

Past Meet Present - Into the Mountain

When we last left off so long ago our adventurers had just overcome extremely bad odds in defeating a group of Zhentarim.  Real life events have kept us from playing for a few weeks but last night we were back at it and that is where they picked up.

Vampires Don't Glitter

A while ago I made a deal with my wife in which I agreed to read the Twilight series if she would read the first book of my Wheel of Time series, "The Eye of the World".  While she hasn't started yet because she wants to wait until the last book comes out in case she enjoys it and wants to finish the series, I decided to go ahead and bite the bullet and start the Twilight series.

While I have seen the movies I worried about the book as I've heard it is a tween romance type novel, and honestly that doesn't appeal to me at all.  However I do enjoy reading and like being entertained, so I dove right into the book and honestly it was pretty easy reading and I flew through the first book.  I grabbed the second one this morning, but before I get going on it I'll touch on the first book here first.

What's Best for the Prospect?

Whenever fans begin to talk about their young prospects who are nearly ready to make the jump from their current league to the big club a regular argument occurs about what is best for the player's long term development.  This argument generally focuses on two main possibilities, that the player stays in the AHL (or other league) and gets top line minutes playing 20 minutes a night give or take in all situations or that the player plays in the NHL but only getting 5 to 7 minutes a night on a lower pairing and only in certain circumstances.

Sure there could be other possibilities, such as with Duchene coming into the league and getting 2nd line center responsibilities right away and getting good playing time in many different situations, but generally those top lines and high-responsibility minutes will be filled with someone having more experience so in the end it will likely be one of those two argued scenarios that the young player ends up in.  So what is better for their long term development and their career?

A Bunch of Movies

This past weekend we watched a number of movies once again as we relaxed around the house.  I figured five was a bit much for the title of the blog so didn't put them all in there, but those five movies were "No Strings Attached", "Red Riding Hood", "Source Code", "Lincoln Lawyer", and "Arthur".  Yes, we do more than just watch movies but we do enjoy a good movie and it is a good way to relax at night, especially now where we don't have many shows that we're watching as seasons have ended and we haven't really found that replacement for "Lost" on Netflix.  I'll take on the reviews in the order that they were watched once again.

Why Choose Anything Else?

I've always felt that if a person looked at what they liked about their favorite sport they would find that the NHL and hockey at many levels would have what draws them to their game and often time on an equal or greater level than the sport they love.  Finally I decided to reach out, ask people what their sports were and what about them they like specifically, and put this to the test.  While I didn't get as much response as I'd like I did get a few and have things I've heard or read in the past to draw on as well.  Using what feedback I got, here goes my comparisons of sports though certainly not an all inclusive look.

RDO Camp is Back

The NHL's Research, Development, and Orientation camp is scheduled to take place once again this coming week.  Last year few changes came from it but I maintain that I really like the fact that the NHL is taking a pro-active path to examining the game both to make it safer and better rather than a re-active one.  I also like the fact that while many of the things they are looking at they are doing so just to see them before ruling them out or giving them further consideration.  It is a good thing to look to improve your game but not make changes without having a good grip on them, and not to make changes just for the sake of making changes or for bringing in fans that aren't going to be interested anyway.

This year they are going to be looking at some of the same things that they looked at last year, giving them further evaluation, as well as looking at other potential changes as well.  My thoughts on last year's camp can be found here ... http://avinnebr.blogspot.com/2011/03/nhl-examining-rule-changes-fb-post-from.html ... and for the most part everything said there still holds true so I'll only touch breifly on any changes that are being re-visited from last year.

Tangled, Rango, Witch, Hall Pass and Rio

I have had a chance recently to see a number of new movies.  Most were watched this previous week, and one was watched just last night.  I didn't get around to reviewing them prior to now but before too much time passes or too many movies pile up I want to get a little something about each of them posted.  Thus, here we go in the order they were watched.

NHL Stars of the Last 15 Years ... My List

A post on a forum I check out from time to time (HFBoards.com which has some great topics come up from time to time and has one section devoted to fan thought up trades which rarely are thought provoking and often bad enough that reading them and the replies that come are humorous and entertaining) recently had a post where the topic of discussion was the top 20 NHLers with the biggest impact on the sport in the last 20 years.

This was a great topic as it left so much open to interpretation.  The top 20 "impacts on the game" ... so how was impact to be defined?  Did that mean those that had memorable events such as Bertuzzi/Moore should be considered because that was one of the more memorable events even though a singular event and negative at that?  Did that mean those with singularly great seasons such as Selanne's seemingly unbreakable record of 76 goals as a rookie get into the conversation?  Is it players that were only truly stars?  The topic created some great replies and some great lists based on a number of different criteria based on how each person interpreted what it meant to "impact" the game.

For this post I am going to put forth my list of players, hoping to stick to around 15-20 as well, which I think of when I think of my time watching over the last 15 years or so.  I chose 15 years as opposed to 20 as I really wasn't watching in the early 90s so I can't truly consider that.  I am also going to make this list as players that are considered "greats" and people that come to mind as such for me during that time and I'll try to give some reasoning for each as well.  These will be positive impacts, not one time negatives like Bertuzzi/Moore.

Past Meet Present - A Show of Force

Another session has come and gone and I have to admit I was left shocked and second guessing a number of things afterwards ... things such as if I completely underestimated the party abilities (not players, characters).  An encounter I set up that I intended to take some patience or at least some crafty decision making and tactics from the party, and certainly not one I intended to be tackled head on without deaths to be had, was tackled head on and while part of it is luck of the draw the party, short a member already and then with another removed for a time because of a bad roll, took on double their number in foes and not only defeated them soundly but did so quickly and without taking much more than scratches themselves.  Anyway, without further delay we'll jump right to the recap...

NHL Free Agent Awards

Summers are really long when one is a hockey fan, and this one is just as bad as any other as we have passed free agency and signings and trades are few and far between now.  Teams have basically done most of what they will though there are a number of players out there that may or may not get contracts still, and now everyone waits for the start of training camp.  Sure, many teams may have a "rookie orientation" which may or may not have on-ice sessions but not all teams do and despite the very welcome glimpse at the future of the team, or potential future in all that youth anyway, it isn't until Rookie Camp and then Training Camp that things really get started.

For someone that does most of their blogging on the sport this is a time of year when the time between blogs can really grow, even when filled with things such as movie reviews and recaps for myself.  I've got some things in mind to help fill these gaps, and this is one of them.  This blog will look back at the time around the free agency period and give some of my own winners and losers to come from that time.  Without further delay, here we go.

Transformers from the Moon

Recently the wife and I took the kids to see "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" (that really is the title I guess, not "Dark Side...").  I used to have some Transformers when I was growing up and watched the cartoon as well.  I really enjoyed the first one, the second one was ok, so I was unsure about this one coming into it.  Just as with the second one though I found it to be ok, and for many of the same reasons.

Past Meet Present - To the Treasure!

On a night where I was suffering from little sleep after the week began as hectic as any in recent memory at work the group found themselves not only battling the setting and the game but occasionally a memory lapse or incorrect information from their GM.  All in all I think things went fairly well though considering the condition of the man "behind the screen".

No Bryz, No Coyotes?

So I began wondering a while back if losing Bryzgalov would spell doom for Phoenix ... and then he went to (and was later signed by) Philly.  Then after that it is announced that the investor that had shown interest in the Coyotes was now out of the running leaving the team without a potential buyer.  While not the only issue, could losing Ilya Bryzgalov spell the end of hockey in the desert?

Past Meet Present - Out Into the Rain

Yet another night has come and gone and the Karameikan Fist finds itself short a couple of people as they head West towards the x-marked location on the "treasure map".  The recap can be found after the jump...

Free Agency was a Frenzy

It turns out that this year's first day of free agency was pretty frenzied unlike the trade deadline and last year's free agent opening day.  At one point there were nearly 50 signings for contracts totaling over $200 million.  There were a number of minor signings and plenty of major ones as well, including the Rangers getting the most prized player available in Brad Richards, but I'm going to focus on just two teams.  The first will of course be the Avs, the second will be my girlfriend team, the Florida Panthers.

Killers - the movie

This one is going to be short, I'm sure, but a couple of nights ago we watched the movie "Killers" via Netflix instant play (you really have to love technology today).  The story is about a couple who meet, and the guy who previously was a hit man type gets out after falling in love, then later he becomes the target.  A pretty done over storyline with little originality, though this one was a comedy rather than a thriller.  It wasn't great, wasn't horrible, but rather was an ok movie that was worth spending the evening watching.

Past Meet Present - A Prisoner Exchange

After leaving off with the somewhat shocking events of last week I was ready to see what turn things would take next.  I knew that last night's game would likely be little to no combat and all roleplay opportunity as the party dealt with the events of the previous week and in trying to get Temeris back, and indeed there turned out to be no combat at all.  Here is how things played out last night...

Go With It, The Hangover II

This past weekend I got to spend some great quality time with my wife.  We were able to take in a couple of concerts at Nebraska Land Days, seeing a few country artists including Brad Paisley, then seeing My Darkest Days and Hinder the next night.  Both were great shows and worth seeing.  Before we came home we went to see Hangover II in the theater, and then watched Just Go With It when we got home.

The Next NHL Stars...

The NHL Draft is now complete and in the books.  There were some trades and some surprise picks, but teams can now send their scouts out to start looking at the potential picks for the 2012 draft while the front office prepares for free agency.  Here's a look at some of the things from this past weekend...

Past Meet Present - Wait ... What?!?

Another session has come and gone in the campaign I am running and last night held the first moment that really took me aback and shocked me.  The title of the blog isn't story related as the rest have been but rather a direct result of how things turned out last night.  Without further ado, here is the recap which will explain the title...

A Draft Prediction

I'm probably going to be way off on this but predicting things, especially things as wide open as this, can be fun.  Last year's draft was fairly wide open with a couple players falling well below where they were projected to go such as Cam Fowler dropping from the top 3-4 to 12 and a couple of players jumping up such as McIlrath at 10 and the Avs own Hishon who was project in the second round but went to them at 17th overall.

This year's draft has a top end guy but isn't a consensus #1, then there is a top 5 or 6 with a couple of players just outside that making the first 9 picks in some order fairly agreed upon in mocks and by experts, though that can certainly end up having a wrench thrown in it (see Fowler last year again).  After those top 9 or so players though it is really wide open.  In fact, if you go to random experts and mocks drafts you can find perhaps 30-40 different players in the next 20 spots in all sorts of orders, just depending on which mock or which expert you're looking at.  That makes things this year much more open than in some years.  I'll do my best to predict the first round however (not taking into account potential trades)...

With the Second Pick in the 2011 NHL Draft...

With the NHL season now wrapped up with the Bruins hoisting the Stanley Cup it is now time to start looking at next season.  That starts first with the draft which just happens to be this weekend.  The draft represents a chance for the clubs to grab pieces of their futures and this year Colorado will have a couple of high draft picks to add to their future with the 2nd and 11th overall picks, even though the draft doesn't appear as strong as in some past years.

With this post I'm going to first take a look at the organizational needs of the Avalanche, then take a look at some of the players that may be available with those picks and discuss what I think about the Avalanche could do, and finally bring up some potential trade scenarios that have been talked about as well.  Before I get going though I want to mention that http://bruins2011draftwatch.blogspot.com/ has become a favorite blog of mine with great information and their blogs along with many other sites on the internet (and draft guides I have bought) have been a great source of my information.

Where Am I Going?

I have been able to see a few places in my lifetime, Vegas recently, the Black Hills, Nassau in the Bahamas, but there are a number of other places that I would like to see as well.  Many places I'll likely never get to not being a rich man, not to mention that I still have to help my wife get over her fear of flying to see most of the more remote places on my list, but I do have a great number of things and places I want to see in my lifetime.  Here is a look at that list...

Final Final Thoughts

Congrats Boston!  Now to go with your championships in football, baseball, and basketball in recent years you now will be bringing home the greatest trophy in all sports ... the Stanley Cup!  Great fight, great play, great season!

Congrats as well to those damn Nucks as well for an incredible season that left them just short.  While I don't like the team and some of the players I do respect what they managed to do as a team and respect a number of their players as well.

Some thoughts on the series...

Past Meet Present - The Foundingstone!

In a session that ran past our normal time last night by quite a bit thanks to combat taking longer than I ever expected (sorry to everyone for that by the way), the heroes found themselves the leader if the chitine and quite the fight ensued afterwards.  Here is a recap of the evening...

Free Agent Frenzy!

Each year as the NHL season draws to a close, much as it is now with only 1 or two games left in the season this year depending on the outcome of tonight's game, there are two major dates in the following weeks that keep the attention of hockey fans a bit longer.  The first is the NHL Draft which I will have a couple posts on in the coming weeks and then following up with thoughts about it afterwards.  The second date is July 1st, and it is that date every year that I can remember.  That date is the date that teams can once again begin signing free agents for the coming seasons.

This year is much like all others, with a great number of players that would fill lower lines available and looking for teams, and it is also similar in that there are a number of bigger name players that could make a huge impact with a new team this coming year also available.  While I strongly, strongly believe that the Avalanche will be very quiet in free agency again this year, instead choosing to develop talent from within and sign their own players that have expiring contracts, I do think they may bring in one or two players, and definitely a goaltender during this time.  There will be plenty of names moving to new teams though, and this post is to just touch on a number of them and give my thoughts about where they might end up.

Anyone But Them!

Last night the Dallas Mavericks beat out the Miami Heat for the NBA Championship.  I could really care less for the most part, but a part of me truly was glad to see it turn out that way.  Why you may ask.  Well, even though I have no rooting interest what-so-ever in the NBA, don't watch games at all, and could care less if the league folded today to never re-open, I really didn't want to see Lebron James win a championship.  His 1-hour, all about me, spectacle on ESPN where he basically held a few teams and their fan bases hostage while he made an ass out of himself, the league, and EPSN with his "all about me" crap just made him one of those guys that put himself above everything else and made him someone I never want to see succeed.

That outcome certainly brought a bit of a smile this morning, though brief and other than this post I am again past caring about the egos and the rather boring game of the NBA, but it did also spark the idea behind this post.  In nearly every league there are teams that I just can't stand for one reason or another, teams that I don't want to see succeed even if I don't follow those leagues.  Previously I mentioned how I hated the Canucks and the Red Wings in a purely hockey related post.  Here I will touch on teams from other leagues that I can't stand.

Where Could the NHL Go?

With Atlanta currently losing their team to Winnipeg and with Phoenix being rumored for a couple years now as a team that could also potentially move if ownership issues aren't solved I began thinking about where I would consider putting NHL teams.  At first I thought about just taking all 30 teams off the board and replacing all 30, something I still might do down the road in another post, but for now I'm just going to take a look at a map and throw out 10 or so cities that I think should be (or could have been) considered for NHL teams.  Keep in mind while reading this that I fully believe hockey in Atlanta would have succeeded had ownership ever put a good team on the ice that would have had some success and even as it was the fan base wasn't as bad as some claim anyway with decent attendance given the product on ice every year.

No NFL? No Problem...

There's not many people in the US that haven't at least heard about the possibility of the NFL not playing next season, and certainly fans of the game are watching the CBA talks drawn through the mud and courts very closely right now.  It has even been recently reported that the NFL is prepared to go with an 8 game season if it comes to that but the new CBA would have to be signed by early November for even that to happen.  For those not sure what is going on, in short the players and the league have a "Collective Bargaining Agreement" or a set of rules that both sides abide by in determining contracts and many other things, and this past year that agreement expired and the two sides were miles apart on agreeing upon another one.  Without that agreement in place the league basically shuts down.

Now for many this is a horrible thing, and I certainly hated every second of the lost season the NHL suffered when they were in a similar situation several years back and hockey fans lost an entire year of NHL hockey, but for me personally I really don't mind.  In fact other than missing out on Yahoo's fantasy football league if the season isn't played I am kind of rooting for a season long lockout for pro football.

Past Meet Present - A Fortunate Meeting

With the group unable to play for a couple weeks, and with a new player joining us, things got off to a slow start last night.  Once the rust was shaken off however things moved along fairly quick in a night that saw plenty of action with little time passing or events occurring.  As such the recap will be somewhat short, however welcome to the new guy ... and I invite all the players to comment in with their thoughts on the night and also to bring up some of their favorite moments of the game to this point in the comments...

Number 4 Bear Fockers

Another weekend has passed and we again watched a movie a day.  This weekend it was "Yogi Bear" followed up with "Little Fockers" the next night and then "I Am Number Four" on Sunday.  None of them were mind-blowingly good, however all were at least decent as well.

Atlanta to Winnipeg

When I originally thought about writing this it was believed that Atlanta would be losing the Thrashers to Winnipeg but nothing was set in stone at that time.  However now that I'm actually getting around to writing it much more is known and finalized.  The Thrashers are indeed finished and will be playing in Winnipeg starting this upcoming season.  The following season divisions will likely be re-arranged to make more sense given that Winnipeg being in the Southeast doesn't quite work.  Even though the deal is done to move the team there are still some uncertainties that exist, and I've got a couple of thoughts as well to add about the entire situation.

A Vegas Vacation

This past week I spent 5 days and 5 nights in lovely Las Vegas, and while I went there to get married the time that we were there also allowed for it to be a pretty good vacation as well.  Normally 5 days and nights would allow for time to see most sights and provide a little rest as well, however with Vegas that barely scratches the surface.  We did quite a bit while there in addition to getting hitched, however there are so many shows and sites that a month long vacation would have perhaps come close to providing enough time to see most things.  Needless to say I don't have the time or the resources, especially in Vegas, to take a month off work and lounge about.  What we did have time for however and what I thought about Vegas I'll put forth here though, in a bit of a "good, bad, and ugly" format...

A Vegas Wedding

In the first of a few posts that will touch on my recent Vegas trip, I'll begin with thoughts on my entire reason for going in the first place ... my wedding.  On the 28th of May of this year I married my love, Lisa, at the Little Church of the West in Las Vegas.

From Around the League

I've done a post on players I hate, and I've done posts on my favorite Avs of all time as well as Avs players that I'm glad to have seen move on, so naturally it would make sense to do a post of players around the league that I like that don't play for Colorado.  At first I thought that I would just throw maybe ten names give or take out and do a little on them, but then I changed my mind.  Instead I'm going to look at all 29 other teams and see who on those teams I enjoy watching or really like.  Thus since this is going to be a long enough post I won't waste anymore with the introduction and jump right into the first team, alphabetically of course.

Avs Gone ... With Pleasure

I have done my list of my favorite Avalanche players, and I've done a list of NHLers that I just can't stand, so now I think it is time for a list of Avalanche players that I'm not upset to have seen move on.  There are few that I really didn't like, plenty that were just members of the team and I didn't cheer individually, but few that I didn't like for one reason or another.  Here is a list of those that I could put in that "didn't care for" category however...

Pirates - Stranger Tides

Friday night my soon to be wife and I went out for dinner and a movie.  That movie just happened to be the fourth installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.  I truly enjoyed the first three but coming into this one with two thirds of the main cast not coming back I wondered how this movie would turn out.  As it turned out, the show could go on and do so quite well.

How I Hate Thee ... Let Me Count the Ways

I love hockey, but as with any sport that you watch that you really enjoy there are going to be teams and players that you just can't stand.  Some of those teams and players you'll have logical reasons for, such as the player's attitude or the team being a major rival of your team.  Some of those teams and players it isn't logic though and is just a gut dislike of.  I certainly have teams and players that fit into both categories.  Here is a far from inclusive list of some of those players and teams for me in the NHL.  I think you'll notice a bit of a trend...

Past Meet Present - The Strange Door

Last week's recap was removed when Blogger was doing their maintenance however it looks to be back in my drafts so I could re-post it.  Thanks Blogger for retrieving that!  On to the recap for this week however, the last week we'll play for a while as I'm off to be wed soon.  :)

Where we left off last week was with the party split into two groups separated by a wraith-like "guardian" in the hallway outside their doors.  That is where we began this week...

Past Meet Present - Between a Rock, a Hardplace, and the Unknown

Another night has come and gone and it was quite the adventurous one for the Karameikan Fist.  The group began with discussing their options, returning below, and encountering a number of things that left them in a bit of a hard place.  The night ended with the group splitting as they fled from their last encounter ... but the recap is below, not here in the first paragraph.

2012 Winter Classic

The NHL recently announced the location and the participants of the 2012 Winter Classic with this year's event being at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia between the Flyers and the New York Rangers.  Previous years games have been good games and the event has been fun to watch and has brought a lot of positive attention to the sport.  Last year HBO produced a great 4 episode "24/7" series that was a behind the scenes look at the Capitals and Penguins who were last year's teams, following them for several weeks prior to the event itself.  The show was an incredible look at hockey beyond the ice and will be done again this year for most likely these two teams.  This year should be another good game and fun event, however it isn't free of criticism.

After the Playoffs, the Draft Excitement

Tonight and tomorrow night the second game of the conference finals will be played so there are at least 10 more games to be played to find our champion in the NHL this season (and potentially as many as 19 games).  As such it might be considered being a bad fan to be looking forward to and talking about the NHL draft coming up in June this early.  However the Avalanche have long been out of it and as such being an Avalanche fan I fully embrace the upcoming draft as the team looks for more pieces to get it back to the finals in the future ... and I can do so while enjoying what has been some great playoff hockey thus far.  (Go Sharks! ...can't stand the Nucks...)

It has only been in the past few years, in fact the year that the Avalanche finished 28th in the league and drafted Matt Duchene, that I began getting interested in the draft itself.  However since that time my interest in the prospects and the draft have grown and each year I look forward to it once the season is winding down and ending.  Not more than the hockey itself, but quite a bit.  In this post I'll talk about why I enjoy the draft so much, and a part of that will be the differences in the NHL draft versus the NFL draft (the only other one that I really have any experience with or that really means anything) and part of that will address the challenges that scouts and teams face when drafting.

ESPN Loses, NHL Wins

Recently the NHL signed a new 10 year contract with NBC and Versus (who is actually going to be renamed NBC Sports) which will pay the league $200 million a year.  While the NHL negotiated with other broadcasters including ESPN, this they felt was their best offer and what was best for the sport.  I tend to agree.

Yes, ESPN is the "sports leader" in broadcasting but I don't think they are really the best option for the NHL.  They do have name recognition, and they are on nearly every TV everywhere, so the NHL does miss out a bit there.  They are also considered one of the top sports stations available and likely have more viewers than any other sports network.  So why do I think that the NHL did it right this time by NOT going with ESPN?

The Calder is for Rookies, Right?

The Calder Trophy is the award handed out each year "to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League" ... but does it really get given to that player?  Sure, I suppose it can be argued that it does, however there is a pretty big problem with who is considered a rookie and who isn't.  I have gone into changes I believe should be made with other trophies but previously I haven't discussed this one.  However that changes here today.

The Avalanche Offseason

Even though the playoffs still rage on the Avalanche season has been over for a while now and thus it isn't too early to start considering what the team should do heading towards next season.  The draft I will touch on in its own blog, but here I will focus on the current members of the Avalanche and give my thoughts on whose contracts should be renewed and who should be allowed to go on their way.  I may even touch on some free agents that will be out there and comment on who I think the Avalanche should pursue.

You'll find that this writing will touch on everyone that ended this past season as an Av and will also have a few of the young guys coming up in the system as I will be listing them and commenting on each, and then I'll give additional thoughts after that.

Past Meet Present - Wait, the Treasure Map is Real?

After a week off because of a busy work schedule the "Karameikan Fist" adventuring company was back at it again last night.  A good deal happened last night and we saw our first in party disagreements, and by the end of the night they discovered that there may be more to Temeris's treasure map than they initially gave credit for.  Here is what happened...

Tron, Hereafter, 127 Hours

Yet another weekend has passed and we got the chance to watch a few more movies.  This week I got to check out the new Tron, then watched "Hereafter" which I knew little about going into it, and we also got to see why all the awards were talking about "127" Hours and James Franco (or as you'll come to read, we didn't get to see why in my opinion).  Without further ado, here are my brief thoughts on those movies.

Huskers in the Draft

It was a pretty decent draft for the Huskers this year.  With no real star power on offense, and a defense that has some good players but few true stars as well, having 7 players taken is a pretty good day. 

The first of the group, and highly rated cornerback, was Prince Amukamara.  Being a shutdown corner I was hoping he would go to Detroit who could use his skills.  Despite being a 49ers fan growing up I have rooted for the Detroit Lions for a while (despite the bad years or maybe because of them) and then when Suh went there last year Detroit actually got much more of my attention than the '9ers.  Having another Husker on the team would have been nice but Detroit instead got another defensive tackle who is supposed to make that defensive line one of the best in the league.  Instead though Prince fell to the Giants at 19th.  Unfortunately I will wish him the best but can't root for the Giants.

Avalanche recap - a Season of Disappointment

Life sure has been busy of late, leaving little time for writing of anything.  Then add to that the content of this post, a recap of the Colorado Avalanche season, and you get more hesitation in writing as the epic collapse during the second half of the season took a while to get over and fully sink in.  Going from in a playoff spot in January to winning only a handful of games and falling all the way to 29th in the league over the last couple of months, along with some trades that I wasn't a fan of, the injuries that were ever present in the season, and disappointments all around, and it isn't surprising that this writing has been started and stopped as well as delayed a few times.

I had considered doing a player by player recap and even breaking this into three posts, one focusing on the offense, one on the defense, and then a final one on the goalies and the front office, however in the end I'm just going to do the one post and while some players will be touched on it won't be a review of every player as I had initially thought to do.  Thus, without further ado, here is a recap of a season that was painful to watch near the end...

Past Meet Present - Below the Stones

The third night of adventuring has come and gone in our RPGTonight campaign.  Below you'll find the recap of the evening in which our adventurers encountered strange creatures, agreed to help them discover what had become of their previous leader though they offered little in return, and came across a strange altar and even stranger room...

A Year of Fantasy Hockey

As the playoffs roll along I'm going to take a few moments to recap another portion of the past NHL season, this portion being my participation in the Yahoo Fantasy Hockey Leagues that I was in.  This year I was in 5 leagues in all, four of them using points given based on how you ranked against the other players in a number of categories such as goals, wins, and so on.  The last one was my first ever head-to-head league which I joined along with a number of other listeners of the Puck Podcast.  Overall I would say that it was a successful season (outside of one league which was horrid), finishing 1st in 2 of the 4 points leagues and finishing 1st in the head-to-head league as well.

My Jersey Wishlist

I love the hockey sweater (or jersey if you prefer).  They look great, are comfortable, and I own a number of them but want more.  In fact I have often wanted a jersey from each team on the walls around my pool table, though of late I have given some thought to selling that since it has gone unused for much of the last several years and the basement has turned into more storage than "game room".  My interest in a jersey collection has grown however.  The only thing really holding me back from getting the collection truly started though is the price as customized replica jerseys with player names can be $150 or more, and some harder to find jerseys are even more.  Even a non-customized jersey will run $100 or more.  However, should I ever begin to collect here is my starting "wish list" of jerseys, and while I want at least one from each team in the NHL and a number from other leagues/teams I have only listed the ones that I know the players whose jersey I want.  I also prefer to have the "home" non-white jerseys unless stated otherwise for the broad range of colors that would be represented.

Deadliest Catch

A few days ago another TV show that I have come to not only watch regularly but look forward to returned, that being "Deadliest Catch".  The show is a documentary on the king crab fishing in the Bering Sea and films four main boats as well as others at times and the Coast Guard as well.  It does this using film crews on the boats as well as a "chase boat" that will go from boat to boat for shots as well.  The show does an incredible job showing just why this profession is considered the "deadliest on earth" with stunning video and great work in bringing the captains and crews and the life they live to the viewers.

Past Meet Present - A Circle of Stones

Last night we played our second night in the recent Forgotten Realms campaign using the RPGTonight website.  At times the pace seemed to slow a bit but despite not having any combat the entire evening there was some good roleplaying and the evening ended at a great spot to pick up from next week.  Below is a recap of the evenings events...

How Did I Do Predicting the NHL Season?

Before the season began this year I wrote up my prediction over on Facebook of how I thought the conference standings would turn out this year.  I remember doing a lot of moving teams around right up until the time that I posted it, but in the end I had felt pretty good about my predictions.  How did I do though?  Let's check it out ... complete with comments from prior to the season...

It's Playoff Time!!!

The NHL regular season is now over and despite the abysmal 2nd half of the season for my Avalanche, and the fact that they not only didn't make the playoffs but ended up with the 2nd worst record in hockey, I can not wait for the playoffs to begin.  I've said it before and I'll say it again.  There is nothing better in sports than playoff hockey.  Take hockey, the greatest sport there is, then intensify it tenfold.  It just can not be beat.

This year's playoffs feature matchups in the first round that only add to the excitement.  Every round is going to have the potential for big series upsets and it is truly anyone's game to win as we begin things.  Unlike the NBA where no 5-8 seed has ever made the conference finals, the NHL is a league where if you get in you have a chance.  Last year the Flyers made it as an 8th seed on the final day of the regular season and made it to the cup finals.  Who could be this year's Flyers?  Only time will tell but here are my impressions on the first round as well as a prediction on how the playoffs this year will pan out.

Plenty of Movie Time

I swear that we did more than just sit around and watch movies this past weekend even if it doesn't appear that way.  In fact we spent almost an entire day down the road doing shopping and stuff.  However we did fit in four movies again this weekend (Due Date, Sex and the City 2, Love and Other Drugs, and Case 39), and while I won't go into great detail on any of them, I will comment a bit on them all.

NHL Controversy Avoided ... Mostly

Today the last playoff spot for this year's Stanley Cup Finals was given to the Chicago Blackhawks, and I say given because they lost in their chance to claim the spot themselves only to have Dallas lose it as well later in the day.  This turn of events however, just as having Carolina lose yesterday, could have prevented what would have been a major point of controversy in the hockey world.  If either of those outcomes would have been different then a team with an equal number of points but fewer total wins would have been in the playoffs.

My 2011 NHL Awards Winners

Another NHL regular season draws to a close meaning that playoffs are coming just around the bend. I can’t wait for the playoffs to begin despite my favorite team having been out of contention for several weeks now, but before they do I am once again going to take a moment to make some comments on who I think will win hardware at the NHL Awards Show after the season is over. I did this last year as well and that can still be found over on my Facebook page as a note.

NHL Awards Changes

Last year around this time I wrote a "Note" on FB about changes that I would make to the NHL awards trophies.  I repost that here, below, as I prepare to write up a blog about who I would choose to win the awards this year.

>>>>>

Changes to the NHL Trophies

In the NHL there are currently a number of major awards that are voted on each year. They are given to those voted to be the best goalie (Vezina), the best defenseman (Norris), the rookie of the year (Calder), the coach of the year (Adams), the “player deemed to be most valuable to his team” (Hart), and so on. Each year there is always discussion regarding who should win and who should be nominated in every category. However there are a couple awards that go beyond just who should be nominated to who should even be considered.

Farewell Footer

People believed that this was likely Adam Foote's last year, and when it was reported that he was rumored to be signed up to be an assistant coach for his sons' youth hockey team next year speculation grew.  Then today it was announced that he and the Avalanche would be holding a press conference tomorrow it all but confirmed it.  It won't be official until then but it doesn't change anything; this will be Foote's last season of hockey.

It Begins - Past Meet Present night 1

The first night of the game is now in the books.  There was a period of getting used to the new virtual table top as well as getting rolling on Vent, and there were some nerves from the GM who hasn't played in some time and then there was the fact that most of these people have never played together, but soon it was full steam ahead. 

The game has some great characters already and has already brought about a few laughs.  One young lad is overly enthusiastic expecting adventure behind every corner and believing there is more to everything than there is, then there is the young lady who really is more gruff than the dwarf, and speaking of the dwarf he and the other young man are both characters themselves with their own unique personalities.

Below is the recap of the evening...  (Note that this is not written as a story, just as a recap...)

Captain Kirk it Won't Be

If Adam Foote retires from hockey this offseason as it appears may be the case, who will become the next captain of the Colorado Avalanche?  This question has been asked many times over recent months, but who will fill that role next season should it come to that?  One thing will be for sure, it won't be "Captain (Shatten)Kirk" as he was traded away and wouldn't have been ready to be a captain this coming year anyway.  Here are my thoughts on the possible captains however.

NHL Examining Rule Changes - A FB Post from August

The below was a post I put on Facebook as a note (as I had done at times) prior to having a blog.  I might be putting a few more such posts on the blog now from FB here and there.  This one written last August was in regards to the NHL looking at potential changes to the game I love.  I still feel pretty much as I did about the contents now as I did when I wrote it and maintain that the game doesn't need to be changed to fit the desires of those that aren't really fans, and it doesn't need changed for the sake of change, but there is nothing wrong with looking into ways of improving the game and in making it safer just as long as the changes that do come about make sense and improve either the quality or the safety of the game.

My Top 10 Avs

A recent episode on the Puck Podcast (worth listening to even for casual hockey fans ... http://www.puckpodcast.com/) had a section in which they talked about how the Sharks did a poll of their fans to find out who the fan favorites were and how Dany Heatley wasn't even in the top 10.  After listening to this I decided that I would soon create a post (and voilà, here it is) in which I tried to lay out my top 10 favorite Avalanche players of all time.

Now there are a couple things worth pointing out at the very beginning.  First this is not a list of the 10 greatest Avalanche players of all time; it is my list of 10 favorite Avs of all time.  Second, while I watched an occasional game prior to the 2000 season it wasn't until then that I went to my first live game and was completely hooked on hockey, thus my list will show this by the lack of players from the time before that and I know there were some greats that I didn't fully appreciate because I didn't get to see them play regularly like I have the players since then.

Destination Truth

The new season of Destination Truth started on SyFy not that long ago (just about 2 weeks ago in fact) and I've begun watching the first season on Netflix as well because I didn't know what I was missing until I caught a later season.  I have to say that of all the "truth finding" shows that are out there this one is my favorite by far.  Unlike many other shows (such as Ghost Hunters which is 2nd on my list and Ghost Adventures), this show began not hunting paranormal but hunting other legends such as Bigfoot.  It wasn't many episodes in before they did their first paranormal investigation but they still hunt more "legends" than ghosts.

An Avalanche of Help on the Way

Ok, corny title I know but I stuck with it.  The Avalanche have lost a lot of games over the past couple of months as well as traded away two very popular and young players along with a starting goalie that may or may not have given up on the team.  Needless to say it has been rough being an Avalanche fan.

However of late the organization has begun signing a number of its top flight prospects to entry level contracts of late.  Specifically they have signed Joey Hishon, last year's surprise first round pick, defensemen Tyson Barrie and Stefan Elliot, and goaltender Calvin Pickard.  The team has also brought Super Joe (Sakic) in as part of the management team, but I'm looking at these signings in this writing.  Now odds are none of these four players makes the team out of camp next year, however it is possible that at least a couple of them will get callups at some point during next season and we'll surely get a good look at them in training camp.  So just who are these players?

When Losing Becomes Winning

When does losing in sports, professional sports specifically, start to become better for the franchise than winning does?  Is such a thing really even possible?  Fans get upset, ticket sales decrease, overall interest wanes ... but at some point does losing become beneficial?

At the beginning of the Avalanche's epic collapse I was upset with each loss the team suffered.  At the time it started they were right in the thick of the playoff race.  Two months later the Avalanche had managed just one win in those nearly 60 days falling from playoff possibility to 2nd last in the entire league.  They have won their last two games now, both in shootouts, pulling to 28th in the league rather than 29th, but the season is nearly over and the playoffs have long been out of the picture.

A Stirring in the Realms - Past Meet Present prologue

The year is 1369 DR.  It was a particularly harsh winter but the snow is starting to melt as Spring has once again come to the lands.  Although the Gods themselves have returned to where they came from after their war the people are left behind to deal with the devastation as is normally the case.  Families are torn apart, many are homeless, and thousands are dead.  Zhentil Keep where most of the battle occurred is nearly entirely destroyed but the Zhentarim continue to exist and insist the Keep is not destroyed and will be rebuilt.  However those of Hillsfar are pushing their advantage and claiming territory, though the winter has halted their advance.  Mulmaster has positioned their ships to cut off supplies to Zhentil Keep, an effort made easier by the fact that much of the Zhent fleet was destroyed.  It would seem that the Zhentarim are weakened considerably right now.

Face Off - SyFy

Two nights ago the season finale of the SyFy series "Face Off" aired.  I missed the first episode of this series despite being very interested in seeing it from the first preview I saw.  The premise behind this reality competition show was one that hasn't been done before (to my knowledge) and actually looked interesting.  In this series "aspiring make-up artists" would go into each week with a challenge that would see them putting their skills as movie special effect make-up artists to the test, and each week they were judged by some pretty well known Hollywood names from the effects world and one person would be sent home until in the end only one remained and of course that person would get the awards.

The Law in Sports

The recent hit by Zdeno Chara on Max Pacriorety has started up a massive storm of controversy and again brings actions in sports and the legal system head to head.  On the 7 year anniversary of one of my most hated players in the game, Todd Bertuzzi, stalking and striking Avalanche forward Steve Moore from behind, fracturing his neck, and ending his career, Chara's hit which wasn't nearly as premeditated but looked just as vicious resulted in an injury that could end Max's career as well as he was carried off on a stretcher and found to have a concussion and a fractured vertebrae as well.

Now it could be argued that the hit was dirty, that the hit was something that wasn't dirty but an unfortunate result to a hit that was in a dangerous area of the ice (Max's head hit the stanchion between the benches), or any level in between ... and in fact that argument rages on right now.  It is my belief that he intended to hit him, perhaps even put him into the bench, but not to hurt him ... and I agree that it was interference though not as late as some people are claiming it to be ... but no one really knows the intent of the action except Chara.  The arguments will go on as they should because player safety is a serious concern, however that isn't the intent of this writing.  The purpose of this writing is to discuss the law stepping in on these occasions.