Another Lockout? - We Can Only Hope Not

We are now in yet another offseason of hockey but as always that doesn't mean things are quiet. Starting at the end of the season things become very busy for management of the teams with the draft and then the push to sign players that have contracts ending, this after the decisions take place on who to keep and who to let go. Then you have free agency when teams are throwing out their best bids for the players that they think will help their team the most in the coming years. Throw in the HHOF selection, the awards show, and development and rookie camps all before you even get to training camps and things are busy indeed.

This year happens to be even busier yet. Earlier in the year the NHL club owners voted to cancel the final year of the current CBA so as of September 15th there again won't be a CBA in place unless an agreement is come to by then. The last time this happened the league locked out the players and the entire 2004-2005 season was lost. Hockey came back stronger and better than ever but still the pain of losing an entire season was real. Now we face a similar situation this year where despite claims that the NHLPA is ready to play even if a CBA is not in place it is very possible the league won't start on time if there isn't, just as it was eight years ago. At this time the first discussion between the party is to take place at the end of June, and while the lack of intelligence of not having any discussions between the parties prior having known of the impending end of the CBA for some time seems obvious, that isn't the point of this writing. Neither is the point of this writing to champion my thoughts on why if we lose hockey yet again less than a decade after the last lockout it should cost some high profile people their jobs. Rather the point of this writing is to point out a few things in my opinion that truly do need fixed. Yes, hockey has come back strong and the sport has been very successful, however that doesn't mean that things can't be improved or don't need addressed either.

Past Meet Present - An End ... For Now

While I haven't played in some time because of this or that, mostly work, the campaign was picked up by the group and put through another small adventure by one of those previously playing.

Perhaps someday we'll all be able to find the time to return to the game and finish things up properly. I know that I had a pretty large amount of storyline left for these characters and their relationship with Bastion. Daisy's brother still sits out there somewhere.  Temeris still is looking to become part of the Royal Explorers. What of Bastion and this man they wanted the group to track down?  Lots of story lines left out there still...

For now though, here is the recap of the sessions they went through recently thanks to the writing of Jeremy once again (and placed here for completeness).

The Week(s) That Was the Avs - 3/16-End of Season

Well the season for the Avalanche is now over.  There are certainly reasons for optimism going forward for this team and I can't wait to see what they do in the offseason, however that isn't the point of this writing.  This will be the last "week that was the Avs" for the 2011-2012 season.  I realize that I got a bit away from weekly reporting as I took on more at work and became busier, but I hope those that read this enjoyed it and maybe took a thing or two away from it as well.  I think I'll definitely pick back up next year, and likely will have some things to say through the summer, but for now here we are with a wrapup of the last few weeks of the Avalanche season.

No Avs? Sucks but Bring On the Playoffs!

So the NHL regular season is now over but that just means the best time of the year has arrived and playoff hockey is set to start.  While my beloved Avs just missed out this year that doesn't entirely ruin the playoffs, though I will admit they would have been much better if they had made it in.  However there are some great matchups and while I will go back and look at how I did predicting this season later, right now I am going to take a look at the first round and give my take on who has a chance of not only making it deep in the playoffs but winning it all.

Past Meet Present - Dispatching Orcus

I have slacked in my duties to post the game recaps even though the hard work of writing them for the last two sessions was done by Jeremy once again to assist in my busy hours.  With the last two sessions, recaped below, the party closed their first major arc in the story out.  Moves, busy lives, and conflicting schedules have delayed things taking off again but in the meantime the party heads into new waters courtesy of a "guest" GM ... leading to the third recap below.  Enjoy...

The Weeks That Were the Avs – 2/24-3/15

Given that I have missed a couple weeks this recap, covering three weeks, has the potential to be fairly lengthy. Because of that I am going to try to keep the individual game recaps a bit shorter where I can. Thus, without further ado here we go…

The Week ... Ok, Placeholder for Upcoming Avs Recap...

My appologies to those that actually read this and like my recaps for not being able to do my normal recaps these last two weeks. I do plan on doing a full recap of not only for next week but the time I missed these past two as well in next weeks recap but I have been swamped with work and this past weekend a trip to Texas to visit family before they move to Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands (the island is about 3 miles long, 1/2 mile wide and is part of many islands about half way between Hawaii and New Zealand). I do want to put out a few little tidbits however that you might find interesting.

Kwajalein...