Chips

We are all political animals. I'm a poli. sci. minor. If we didn't have strong opinions we would not be here contributing and adding our two cents. I agree that there are limits in any forum, we must learn to play by the rules. Personally I enjoy reading the thoughts and musings of each of you, with all the colour and life you all represent. Now, if I'm not mistaken, this is the lounge, so lets kick back relax and enjoy a few drinks! I'm buying everyone a round. em.. there is a bar in this lounge right? Or is that banned too? thats it! If this is one of those dry lounge's I"m outta here..

I won't defend Shea's outbursts and attitude but, having just added a baby girl to our family I can tell you from experience that its an emotional time and the stress levels can be overwhelming. Having to deal with a new addition to the family specially during the first few weeks can be challenging. Not for everyone. Having said that its still not acceptable behaviour from a professional! I agree with Zaun, he's a star in my book; for sharing his thoughts and standing up for the team, specially now a critical time for any team looking to make a run at the playoffs.

Good news or should I say bad news for the golfers. The weather for sat. includes rain showers, day three is moving day and should be fun to watch. Woods strategy has been to out drive the bunkers to keep them out of play and if the weather turns that should negate the advantage for Woods. As Pierre points out maybe the weather will not return as its usual unpredictable self, however the rain showers could make this a tougher challenge for the golfers.

Well, Tiger's Lead is not so commanding anymore. Can he hold onto that tomorrow. Els, and DeMarco both shot 65, even Goosen's keeping pace. So Woods needs to keep this pace up for the next two days. If he does this would be the first major win since the passing of his father.

When Markov was hurt Streit did step up and play the power offensive defenseman role. Now mind you he certainly has plenty of room to improve but thats his upside. Its only going to be a matter of time when his skills, comfort level and experience payoff and he starts to dominate.

I would not be surprised if tickets were expensive and in Montreal, sold out in minutes. Its the 100 year aniversary celebration, I"m sure it will be a good show and sold out before anyone can get their hands on the cheap seats.

Sportsbook.com gives odds for winning the cup in 06-07. Detriot 6-1 Ottawa 7-1 Montreal 30-1 Toronto 40-1 Islanders 50-1 Chicago 100-1 So according to Sportsbook they think the east will look like this... Eastern Conference 1. Ottawa 2. Carolina 3. Buffalo 3. Philadelphia 3. New Jersey 6. New York Rangers 7. Tampa Bay 8. Montreal 8. Atlanta 8. Florida 11. Toronto 12. Boston 13. New York Islanders 14. Pittsburgh 15. Washington Sportsbook.com, full article. http://205.134.167.60/lines/lines.cgi?devi...2&sport=523

I don't have a problem with that letter. He's calling the Globe out on their article; its completely opinion, no facts if the sources are not revealed. Put yourself in their shoes, would you like it if the Globe wrote an article blaming you without naming a source or asking you to comment on the allegation?

http://www.tsn.ca/golf/news_story/?ID=171925&hubname= The British Open started yesterday. Tiger has a commanding lead again on day two. He's 12 under par, with a openning round 67 and a 65 today. There aren't too many golfers who have won the British open back to back. I'm a Tiger fan, can Woods win another? Who might upset his try for the second British open in a row? Canadians in the hunt. Ames 3 under par, Weir is 1 under par today. Els, DeMarco shot a round of 65 as well... Leader Board as of 2pm Fri July 21st. Pos Player Holes Par 1 Tiger WOODS 18 -12 2 Ernie ELS 18 -11 3 Chris DIMARCO 18 -9 4 Retief GOOSEN 18 -8 T5 Miguel Angel JIMÉNEZ 18 -7 T5 Adam SCOTT 18 -7 T5 Mikko ILONEN 18 -7 8 Robert ROCK 18 -6 T9 Thaworn WIRATCHANT 18 -5 T9 Rory SABBATINI 18 -5 Its Golfin' Season, any guesses?

In the last paragraph of this article, theres a reference to Roster players. Are they players who will be in Hamilton?

I agree with simonus, I did not have vegas on my radar but, the more I think about it; the more I feel it would be financially viable and with Vegas being a destination for many, you can get cheap flights. It would get loads of publicity. A good addition to the western conference. possible names.. Vegas Gamblers Vegas Warriors Vegas Thunder Vegas Sands Vegas Bandits Vegas Wranglers (name taken, ECHL team)

You just don't see heavy weight fights like that anymore. Players really paid the price and did their job defending their respective teams with passion.

Wow! Belfour must be done, I thought he had a shot at Florida with Keenan calling the shots. But I guess he's done and needs to hang up the skates. I just can't see anyone else asking for his services.

O'Byrne looks and sounds like Chara's younger brother. I say lookout when he gets into the habs lineup in the near future, we are going to kick it up a notch!

Damn! we traded away our best enforcer! I guess it will be upto Ribs to step up and fight for his team this coming season. I knew we resigned him for a reason.

My Guess is Vancouver! and he will need to sign for less than 2Mil.

There is absolutely no reason to make this move now. We have the changes that make financial sense at the moment. I would entertain this in the middle of the season or before the trade deadline, but not now. If it does play out in some fashion, it would not be at the expense of the our current chemistry. BG made it very clear, he will only make a move if it makes financial sense and improves the product on the ice for the team and the fans!

For this to happen another team must pickup and move to Quebec! The League has said very clearly, they have no intensions of adding any more teams in the near future. I for one would like to see more hockey north of the border. Quebec, Hamilton, Winnipeg are all prime targets for an NHL team. With population density on the rise in the Southern Ontario region specially around Hamilton this should be a hot bed for future expansion. And anyone who says it will cut into the Toronto market and Buffalo space is not living in the area and has no idea of the passion that is alive and well; Most of the tickets sold in Toronto go to coporate accounts, only a handful for us fans. There is more than enough cash floating for a very strong fan base in Hamilton. Yes,the bulldogs live in Hamilton but they could find a home closer to Montreal. Buffalo gets a large amount of cross border traffic but that does not mean hamilton will reduce their base. Having said that I agree Quebec deserves the next team hands down! We need to re-establish the Quebec rivalry.

Well Said Everyone! I wouldn't put too much into that article; The weather in Toronto has been killer, I"m sure this is just a result of too much sun! We will have a team to beat this year. Injuries can hurt any team; you just can't predict the fallout. Nevertheless we have a brilliant coaching staff, wonderful competitive fan base. Gainey has numerous options to trade and bring in talent if we are hurt really bad. ie. maybe we find out in the new year that Koivu's eye injury has cause more damage than first assumed. (just a senario) Well, Gainey is not going to sit back and watch our dear habs play without a #1 center; he will pull a rabbit out of the hat and put us on firm ground. All I'm adding to this discussion is that; of all the teams in our division or conference, we have the best options for trading or call ups from the minors. And there is no one better at the helm than Gainey to make brilliant moves. In Bob we Trust! and everyone else will go bust!

AlexStream. Brilliantly put! Well written. you've put into words what many of us think of saying but often hold back. Bravo!

This is not good. Andre Savard was huge for our development group and staff. Habs will find a replacement, but we will only know if that was the right choice two years from now after we draft the next batches of rooks'.

One year 2.5mil is my guess; any higher and he could be included in a trade offer out of town. I really don't want to see that happen, but if his demands are too high Gainey won't hesitate, shipping him out in a trade. The really difficult part of this is that in the last couple of seasons he's been a consistant scorer. Even in his year in europe, he put up the numbers. I wonder if an arbitrator must consider or will consider his time spent in europe? I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Gainey and Ryder find some middle ground and resolve this before the arbitration.

Belfour, should sign with Florida. He has a good history with Mike Keenan. Aebi stays put untill Gainey can leverage him for another big pickup. Probably, the big scoring center we need to make a good effort in the playoffs, if we are in a good position to challenge in the playoffs then expect a trade mid season; including Aebi and one other...

Well that should statisfy all you doubters. Garth Snow is a good judge of talent!

He's 6'2" and 202 lbs, and being compaired to Emelin, Trevor Timmins is a good judge of talent, he's proven that year after year. I trust they have a sleeper... I hope he wakes up in time to play. --- Pavel Valentenko, D 5th round (139th overall) Neftekamsk, Russia 1st Division Ht: 6’2, Wt: 202 Timmins compared the big Russian blueliner to another player in the organization, Alexei Emelin. “He’s a defensive defenseman with a big, heavy shot who plays physical,” Timmins explained. The young Russian caught Timmins’ eye during his participation in a Russian touring that played against CHL All-Stars. “After that we sent some scouts out to watch him – the rink where they went to see him was nasty cold – probably the coldest, most unpleasant place they’ve ever seen.” --- full article. http://hockeysfuture.com/article.php?sid=8903