dlbalr

Well, of course there's only 1 way to find that out Seriously though, you're more than welcome to join, even if you do regularly follow the NBA. We need the managers, anyone's welcome to join.

To pass the time during the lockout, some of the HW staff have formed a Fantasy NBA pool through Yahoo, and we're looking for managers. No previous experience is necessary, you don't even need to be a fan, this is a fun game to pass the time. We currently have 7 managers, and we're hoping to get at least 3 more to make 10. [Edited on 2004/10/22 by dlbalr] [Edited on 2004-12-30 by puck7x]

For the ALCS, I'll take the Sox in 7. The Yankees get game 1, the Sox take game 2 (Who's your daddy now, Pedro? ) After that, I'm not going to guess on who wins when, but the Sox break the curse this time. As for the NLCS, if the series goes to 7 games, Houston takes it, as Clemens or Oswalt would be available for that one. However, it won't get that far, Cards in 6, so yes, Houston will have to lose another home game.

It should be a great ALCS though. I got both teams right, but predicted 1 extra game in each. What a lousy way for Minnesota to lose though, A-Rod steals 3rd, and scores on a Pat Borders blunder, trying to make the fancy catch instead of blocking the ball. As for the ATL/HOU series, it's not over yet, Atlanta's "ace" in Ortiz gets the nod tomorrow, and hasn't yet thrown in the postseason. Clemens goes on 3 days rest tomorrow, and is still not feeling 100%. That being said, I expect Houston to win tomorrow. I can't wait for the 2nd round to start in the ALCS, Mussina vs Schilling, yee haw.

You may want to revise these picks, at least the last one for sure. It's best 3 of 5, not 2 of 3. (Although the first 3 picks could happen if there's sweeps.)

Well, the baseball playoffs start tomorrow, with a trio of games on the sked. As a result, don't expect to be able to watch anything on SNET, who's committed to showing every second of every game of every series, oh goody. Anyways, why not make some picks? 1st round is a best of 5, 2nd and 3rd best of 7. Matchups: AL- Boston (WC) vs Anaheim (ALW) AL- Minnesota (ALC) vs New York Yankees (ALE) NL- Houston (WC) vs Atlanta (NLE) NL- Los Angeles (NLW) vs St. Louis (NLC) My 1st round picks: Boston in 4 Yankees in 5 Houston in 4 Los Angeles in 5 I hate to pick Boston and the Yanks, but I have a gut feeling they'll wind up facing each other in the 2nd round. I'm rooting for Anaheim and Minnesota though. What are your picks?

Just a little update on him, as most of you are aware, we no longer hold his rights. Recently, he signed a tryout contract with Houston (AHL). http://www.aeros.com/team/news/?id=5380 Also of note, Patrick Traverse has signed an AHL contract with the Aeros, Dallas' other AHL affiliate. This ensures that he will not be back with Hamilton this season. Another ex-Hab also has a tryout slot, that being former tough guy Dave Morrisette.

What you read is right, Bulis is in Pardubice, while Bonk is playing for Trinec. http://www.sport.cz/04/01/40.html (Scroll to the bottom of the page, there's a whole list of all the Czech players.) Bonk had 3 assists in his Trinec debut as well, but it appears he's been held off the scoresheet since. I haven't been able to come up with more on Bulis yet. The other names are accurate too. As for Koivu, he said he was going to take some time off to start, but would strongly consider playing overseas if the lockout persists, same with Theodore, although he'd likely go to Russia.

Realistically, 3 of those 4 players won't stay in the AHL when the NHL resumes. Ott, as you mentioned, will be an energy player on the Stars' 4th line. However, Ellis is highly touted to be the backup goalie to Turco, and Daley currently has a 3rd pairing spot solidified in Dallas as well. Personally, I feel the Habs need to get another goalie under contract, most likely Michaud. Like I said, when the NHL starts up again, there will be one goalie left in Hamilton, and at that, he is unproven at the time (Yann Danis). Two players still have to be sent down. I'd expect another defenceman, and likely a winger, given the high amount of centres already.

I can't speak for Habitforming, but I'd say it's a realistic guess. I simply cannot see Columbus keeping Beauchemin out of hockey for the entire season (unless he heads overseas). Thus, the Blue Jackets will probably try to send him to Syracuse, but of course they'll have to waive him first. Under the rules of the now-expired CBA, the Canadiens have the first shot at claiming him off waivers. From there, they CAN send him down for a conditioning stint minimum, but quite possibly for good as well (remember Bouillon? We claimed him back and sent him down for a long time.) (Note: Since this waiver agreement involves both the NHL and AHL, it remains in effect throughout the lockout; at least, this is how I understand it.) So, in my opinion, it seems pretty realistic to say that there's a good chance that Beauchemin will be back in the Habs organization at some point, assuming they want him back - it may not be at the beginning of the AHL season, but at least at some point or another.

Earlier today, the Stars sent 4 players to Hamilton as part of their affiliation agreement. They are: Goaltender Dan Ellis Defenseman Trevor Daley Center Antti Miettinen Center Steve Ott This means that Danis will battle Ellis for the starters role, while Hamilton also gets another quality d-man in Daley (although he is currently in trouble with the law-issue at a nightclub). I'm not too thrilled that we got a pair of centres, considering we already have Plekanec, Morgan, Dusablon, Locke, and Urquhart (I have Higgins on the wing here). Nonetheless, both Miettinen and Ott will be quality additions to the Bulldogs. And, even better news: Traverse has not been sent down to us! Unfortunately, he hasn't been sent anywhere yet, so he may still wind up with us yet.

You know what's interesting about this signing? There's a high probability that Traverse is going to wind up playing for the same team he did last season, the AHL's Hamilton Bulldogs. Dallas' newest affiliate in Idaho doesn't begin play until next season, so Dallas will be sending 7 players to us, including 2 d-men I believe. Of course, there isn't a guarantee he'll be sent to us, they also have an affiliation in Houston, and of course there's the possibility that he may crack the Stars, assuming there is a season. Believe it or not, there's a decent chance of that happening. The Stars are pretty weak depth-wise at that position. Here's their depth chart of players under contract, without Traverse: Zubov Boucher Klemm Sweeney Daley Erskine Jancevski MacMillan Berenzweig I could easily see Traverse cracking that top-7 if and when the NHL season starts. Here's hoping he's headed to Houston though, considering the unlikelyhood of there being a season for a while.

I think the game was a grittier one than most of the other games in Europe, but to say that both teams are dirty is a little farfetched. There were some good battles today, and it was an entertaining, hard-fought game. I think Finland got ripped off personally with the late penalty call, but it made things interesting in the end. While I was watching the game today, CBC's colour guy mentioned that the general consensus is that Lundqvist should be starting, but Nilsson and the rest of the coaching staff are hesitant to do so, because of his lack of international experience. What I'm wondering is, are the papers and stuff in Sweden saying the same thing? I thought he wasn't too impressive in the WC's vs Canada, so I'd stick with Tellqvist and go back to Salo before Lundqvist.

I honestly thought that after the 2nd that it was going to get ugly, I was thinking 6-1, 7-1 or so, but at least the game became exciting in the 3rd. Nothing like a Czech PP in the final minutes of play to get your heart pumping... I was a bit puzzled as to why Sweden's checking line (Johansson-Jonsson-Axelsson) was not out there as often as it should've been when it was 4-0. As soon as Hardy started playing them in the 3rd, things began to stabilize, at least for a short period of time. Tellqvist played well I thought, the 2nd goal was a bit shaky, but the saves he made in the last 2 minutes made up for it. The Swedes haven't faced a real test yet (aside from today's 3rd period), but they will when they head for Finland. That'll be a good one to see.

I thought Sweden too played a decent overall game, but keep in mind, it was just the Germans here. One thing the Swedes have to be careful about is crashing the net, they had 3 goalie interference penalties, 1 could prove to be fatal later on. Salo had a shaky game, although I somewhat don't blame him. At times, he went 5 minutes without facing a shot, let alone barely moving from his crease. Also, I believe it was his first game in Sweden since the infamous Belarus game in 2002, so his nerves were probably quite high as well. That being said, the 2nd goal was unacceptable though, and the "3rd goal" he got lucky when Ludemann gloved it in. I expect Tellqvist to be in tomorrow vs the Czechs.

The match listed above is vs Canada tomorrow. Hopefully he'll play in the tourney, I'm looking forward to seeing Hab players again. :hlogo: http://www.wch04.com/generated/RUMdfXtU7T.html (EDIT: Adding link) [Edited on 2004/8/28 by dlbalr]

You missed a couple key cogs from last season, well, at least before they got hurt - Mike Johnson and David Tanabe. So their lines I think look more like this: Doan-Comrie-Hull Nagy-Nedved-Johnson Chimera-Ricci-Devereaux Savage-Taffe/Sjostrom-Rupp Morris-Gauthier O'Donnell-Hulse Tanabe-Mara (I may be off position wise-LD or RD) Their lines/d-pairings are quite good, but goaltending appears to be a problem once more, with Boucher and Johnson, a pair of underachievers (aside from Boucher's shutout streak.) Trade wise, a good move for both teams, Calgary now has a better #1 centre than Reinprecht to play alongside Iginla and either Gelinas/Simon (the two split time on the top line last season.) Calgary showed in their postseason run that they could make do without Gauthier, now Commodore has a permanent spot, or Phaneuf can come in. Saprykin was often in the doghouse much to the chagrin of my fantasy team, so he was expendable, now Kobasew may have a spot. As for Phoenix, look at it this way: They got Nedved, Gauthier, and Saprykin for Langkow. 'Nuff said right there.

We're still looking for new teams, don't be shy, sign up. No experience is necessary. Draft time is this Friday night, assuming we can get another entry. Sign up, and stop me from making these boring posts!

I just want to point out that Payton and Malone didn't actually win a championship with the Lakers - they lost 4-1 to Detroit in the Finals this year. (And Malone is still searching for a championship as far as I know - don't really know much about the old Utah days.) The rest of your comment is true though, although Robert Horry was never the contributor like Rice or Richmond then, or Shaq and Kobe (at least until now.) Anyways back to on topic, we're up to 3 medals now and counting! Woo! Oh well, win or lose, it makes for decent TV watching.

According to Kostitsyn's Russian teams' website, the Habs have completely bought his rights, so there should be no further complications from here on in. A loose translation: The executives of the CSKA hockey club have officially announced that there is a cash settlement regarding the acquisition of forward Andrei Kostitsyn by the Montreal Canadiens. CSKA received all of the transfer money, therefore all rights to Kostitsyn have been granted to the Habs. http://www.cska-hockey.ru/

When you put it like that, one would think that virtually every team would be interested at that type of cost. However, it's a little more complex than that. Prospal still has 5, count 'em, 5 years left on his contract. In this time period of fiscal uncertainty, not a whole lot of GM's are willing to take on a player for 5 more years, albeit for a talented player at a relatively low cost. (Prospal's contract was front-loaded; he made $6.6 M or so this past season.) If there were just, say, 2 years left on his deal, Anaheim's asking price would've been a lot more than just a 2nd round pick, and there would've been plenty of interest for him.

Today, an arbitration awarded $3.9 M to TB W Cory Stillman, a raise from $2.75 M last season. However, Tampa has rejected the award, and Stillman is now a UFA. In order to replace him, the Bolts have re-acquired W Vaclav Prospal from Anaheim in exchange for a 2nd rounder, as the Ducks continue to cut salaries. So, Tampa cuts the guy they acquired to replace Prospal, and then got Prospal back. Interesting... http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?id=95097

We're still looking for managers guys, 6 spots remain in the pool. Anyone here can join, no prior experience is necessary, we all just want another way to enjoy the NFL season besides listening to the weekly commentary of Pat Summerall. Don't delay, sign up today!

Normally, Q60 runs the pool, but as of yet, I haven't heard anything from him about it. Believe it or not, I was thinking about the pool the other day and wondered when we'll be able to enter. As for you winning, I think not, this year, I'm going to make it to the finals, with my team actually healthy enough to do something. (Lousy postseason choke after regular season championship) (By the way, if you're wondering how your post got moved out here, I did that, so we can keep the fantasy pools in its own forum.)

Uh, no, he was a captain. Maybe if you took a look at the OTR video like I asked you to, you would have found out. Gettin Iggy wit it As you can see, Weinrich is clearly wearing the C, and like Landsberg clearly says, he's captain. And he's the one getting injured. So, he was the captain for a period of time when Koivu was injured, which means he got to wear the 'C'. But, as my link clearly shows, he was never the official captain of the Habs. If you still don't believe me, check out canadiens.com, they're a very reliable source, moreso than OTR. (And, if you'll notice, I never said that he never actually wore the 'C', I only said that he never was officially the captain.) [Edited on 2004/8/2 by dlbalr]