Friday links: Gangster Gibbs and T.J. Oshie edition
Friday night is football night. It's starting to feel like fall outside. It's starting to feel like hockey season.
Blues news
- Some tool at SB Nation St. Louis wants to put T.J. Oshie on the third line. Tool. [SBNSTL]
Hockey news
- On the Forecheck introduces you to the Preds new beat writer. [On the Forecheck]
- Nucks Misconduct looks at who took, and who drew, the most penalties last season. Not surprised Ryan Kesler drew the most — if I played against him, I know I'd slash him constantly. [Nucks Misconduct]
- Earl Sleek is awesome. [Battle of California]
- In Lou We Trust plays the blame game regarding Ilya Kovalchuk and the contract that won't get approved. [In Lou We Trust]
- Jordan Staal will miss the beginning of camp with a foot infection. [ESPN]
- Carey Price, aka Smokey McFornicator, is staying in Montreal. [ESPN]
- Antti Niemi is now a Shark. Officially. This was reported yesterday, but it's always wise to get the official word to confirm stories. As Mike Wise showed earlier this week, anyone can make shit up on the internets. [ESPN]
- Blues killer Chris Stewart is getting paid. I figured he'd be making 200-300 less if he never played against the Blues. [TSN]
- Marc Savard's agent goes off on the NHL. [TSN]
Other links
- The world of milkshakes is crazier than you think. One complaint about the list: Grape Kool-Aid is "Purple" Kool-Aid. [WomansDay.com]
- First day of school pictures always awkward. No kid is happy to be going back to school. [Buzzfeed]
- Texting can be very dangerous, and I'm not talking about driving. [Manofest]
Video
I've been sitting on this video for a while, but today seems like the perfect day to unleash it on the masses. For starters, Gangster Gibbs is awesome. However, the real reason I wanted to share this with the class is for today's topic of discussion. At 1:16 in the video, a Blues hat makes a cameo appearance. To me, this is the most random Blues logo spotting I've ever seen — the Blues note in a rap video not by Nelly? Never seen it. So I ask you, friends: What's the most random Blues logo you've spotted in pop culture. Does this take the cake?
Anyway ponder that while enjoying Freddie Gibbs.
That's it for me today. Poor College Student will be your tour guide for the weekend. Send him stuff to gametimelinks(at)gmail.com
Also, F-U Friday returns and well, you're not going to want to miss it.
Late Night Poll. Work on Friday.
Chris Rock's latest tour talked about the difference between jobs and careers. I've had both. I've also overindulged on the nights before I was expected to show up for both. There are different ways to deal with those days. Regardless of your job or career, how do you deal with your late night bad decision-making?
Mandi's Miracle, A Donor Found
As all you readers know, we do not shy away from what others call inappropriate writing here at Game Time. Hell, we have 'Fuck You Fridays' for God's sake. But there are times in life were seriousness has to be looked at. Luckily, it is a positive side of being serious that grabs our attention today.
Jaden Schwartz, the St. Louis Blues 14th overall pick this past summer in the 2010 NHL Entry draft., it didn't take long for the story of Mandi Schwartz to take over the hearts of the Blues faithful. Mandi, Jaden's sister, was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia on December 8th, 2008.
Since Jaden was drafted, Mandi has had her ups and her downs. She was placed in remission at one point, only to have her cancer return and she had to return to the hospital for more chemotherapy. Now, back in remission, the best news for anyone following her story, and especially her and her family, has to be that a donor has been found and she is currently awaiting a stem cell transplant in a Seattle, Washington.
Miracle could be an appropriate word to describe Mandi's situation. That an exact donor has been found for her after nearly two years of being diagnosed with cancer.
Mandi, her family, the Blues, and anyone else who has been following her story are praying that the worst is now in the past. Here is to hoping that the transplant goes perfect and that Mandi can start getting back to the life that she loved before the leukemia started attacking her.
To find out more information on possibly becoming a cord blood donor, check out www.becomemyhero.org and you can possibly become a hero in another persons life, just like someone has become a hero in Mandi's.
Lets keep our thoughts and prayers with the Schwartz family while they all prepare for Mandi's operation.
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Thursday links: Tired of hearing about the CBA edition
I hate the CBA. I hate the NHL owners. I hate the NHLPA.
Blues news
- The Blues have released a roster for the Prospects Tourney. Ian Cole, wearing an old-style jersey in his mug, and Alex Pietrangelo, sporting an Edge jersey, will be on the team. [Blues]
- Mandi Schwartz, the sisters of Blues draftee Jaden Schwartz, is in remission. [Blues]
Hockey news
- Puck Daddy breaks down the NHL's ultimatum. [Puck Daddy]
- Darren Dreger opines about the NHL and the NHLPA and Ilya Kovalchuk. [TSN]
- Friday is the deadline for the newest Kovie Kontract Decision. [TSN]
- The Canadiens are still trying to lock up Carey Price. [TSN]
- Nikolai Khabibulin was sentenced to 30 days in prison in a Scottsdale, Arizona for his extreme DUI. [TSN]
- Antti Niemi better know the way to San Jose. [ESPN]
-
Five for Howling looks at the Coyotes mystery buyer. [Five for Howling]
Other links
- From Bryan: The greatest piece of art ever commissioned. [Kotaku]
- Generations have always had big dreams for future cities only to have laziness take over. I mean, we could have had Boozetown for crying out loud. [WebUrbanist]
- People will buy any shit you put on the ebays. [Manofest]
Video
This movie looks awesome. I guarantee you'll like this. If you don't, we're no longer friends. via
That's it from me. See you all tomorrow?
gametimelinks(at)gmail.com
Wednesday links: Predicting the outcome open thread edition
No links today, I have too many other things to do. Apparently I'm a machine and can write stories and produce special sections with ease. Who needs sleep and days off? Plus, it's not like anything is going on — I'm not going to talk about Kovie until he actually suits up for the Devils
But enough about me, how are you all? Since this is an open thread, I'll give you something to chat about: Let's say nothing goes wrong for the Blues this year — no major injuries, no sub-par seasons — where do the Blues end the season? Simply put: If the Blues have a perfect year, what is the outcome?
For your viewing pleasure: Donald Duck stars in Full Metal Jacket.
Links will return Thursday.
gametimelinks(at)gmail.com
Tuesdays With Hildy: What Do The Forwards Need To Work On?
Looking at the Blues' Season Preview that's already up on the official site, I figured hell, I know stuff (actually, I pretend to), so why not do a season preview of my own? I watched last season's disappointment agog with agog-ment at the flatness of the team at times, and the regression of many of the forwards. The goaltending was relatively solid (11th in the league in GA as far as teams go at 2.66 , which isn't awesome but not bad, either) aside from the occasional 3rd period meltdown and Chris Mason's soft goal a game. Defense wasn't horrible - Weaver really picked his game up and EJ, while not mind-blowing, rebounded from his year off pretty well. The only defensive weak point that was really glairing, not to beat a dead horse, was Eric Brewer with his -17 and ability to be on the ice for every goal against.
The bottom six forwards weren't horrible either. Heck, Alexander Steen scored 24 goals and 23 assists last season. That was good for fourth on the team. His +/- also improved from a -6 to a +6. Brad Winchester, for all of our unhappiness at his lack of scoring ability, improved his +/- by four. Janssen and Crombeen improved their defensive numbers, although they were still in minus territory. Silent Jay McClement had a career renaissance in some way, going from a -10 to even.
Then you shift to the top six, or who the fans would consider the "top six." Their scoring dropped off - not entirely, as Perron's stayed steady. Oshie and McDonald looked like they improved their numbers, but when you take into consideration the fact that both of them played more games this season than last and didn't score significantly more, you can assume that if they had played the entire season the year before that those point totals would have been higher - and last season's would have been stagnant or less in comparison. Patrik Berglund and Brad Boyes' point totals took the most noticeable drop, while David Backes' assists went up as his goals went down.
Obviously, scoring is the most important fix, right?
To be contrarian, what about +/- ratings? I know that some people consider them a bunch of hooey - more dependent on the others on the ice than anything that the player necessarily does - but the +/- ratings of some of the top six were abysmal. Berglund's plummeted from a +19 to a -5. Perron dropped from a +13 to a -10. Oshie dropped from a +16 to a -1. I know that the Blues weren't goal scoring machines last season, but the team wasn't much better the year before, either. Defensively speaking they were about the same both years, but the responsibility seemed to shift from the front lines to the bottom six, and the top six failed to make up for that with goals. The only player on the top six that improved hugely in +/- was Brad Boyes, who leaped from a -20 to a +1.
Goal scoring is a wonky thing from year to year (explain that to Brad Boyes), but working on team defensive strategy is something that can happen at camp as well as at practices. It might be easier to fix. But, dear readers, which do they need to look at first - goals or offensive defense?
Tuesday links: No free food this year edition
So much to do, so little time.
Blues news
- The Blues have some promotions. DanGNR points out that there is A) No free food game and B) No Paul Kariya bobblehead night. [Blues]
- The Blues have officially signed David Spina. [Blues]
- Peoria is getting two new assistants. [PJ Star]
- Ben Bishop is on the Twitters. [The Portland Press Herald]
Hockey news
- Dominik says players should whine about the CBA — it's making GMs be a little wiser with their money. [Lighthouse Hockey]
- The Rangers have signed Tim Kennedy. [TSN]
- Marc Savard is available for trade. [ESPN]
- Paul Bissonnette is back on the twitters. [Twitter]
Other links
- Some helpful tips to make your life easier. This is really handy. [Geekologie]
- A theme sketchbook. The theme? Batman getting hit in the dick. [Comics Alliance]
- Our dyslexic readers will enjoy this site. [elgooG]
Videos
I can't wait until Jaroslav Halak highlights have him in Blues uniform.
Monday links: Hoping the party starter starts the party in 2010-11 edition
Some people may disagree on the awesomeness of Friday, but I think we can all agree Monday's suck. Oh well, back to the grind.
Blues news
- After a poor showing last season, Patrik Berglund is working hard to improve this year. He's still young, but I think 2010-11 might be a make-or-break year for him. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
Hockey news
- Defending Big D picks the Top 5 NHL jerseys. Spoiler alert: The Blues "alternate" that the team wears way too much is on the list. [Defending Big D]
- Copper and Blue looks at faceoffs. [The Copper & Blue]
- Ryan Lambert covers twitter, and the blogger/access kerfufle. He pretty much echos my thoughts. Teams are wrong to have blanket statements to ban websites. However any hack with a url shouldn't expect access. As a journalist, I have to work my way up to bigger assignments. Bloggers should do the same thing. Longevity, ability, and yes readership should go into account when credentialing blog. Teams shouldn't ban websites, but all blogs shouldn't be given access. [Puck Daddy]
- Lee Stempniak is staying in Arizona. The Coyotes got a freaking steal with a two-year deal for Dutchie. [TSN]
- Speaking of Phoenix, things still suck there as far as ownership and whatnot. [ESPN]
- Sam Gagner gets the David Perron "prove it" two-year deal.[TSN]
Other links
- Never doubt mans ability to deep fry anything. Like beer. Yes, deep-fried beer pockets exist. [Geekologie]
- Fart jokes were funny when I was 5 and are funny at 25. [BottomRocket]
- Life is full of options. Let the internet help you decide what to do today. [What Could I Do Today?]
Videos
From Andy: A classic horse race call. I have a feeling some of the ladies might enjoy this.
Inspired by Dan, I give you Alex Steen's theme song.
Toodles.
gametimelinks(at)gmail.com



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