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by Poor College Student
on Jul 4, 2009 6:00 AM CDT
1 comment
Happy 4th of July!
I just got back from a week of too much booze, boating, swimming, and the like down at the Ozarks. Damn them's some good times.
Blues News:
- This is the closest I could come to "St. Louis Blues" coverage that hasn't been linked to in the previous days: The W.C. Handy song.
NHL News:
- Canucks sign Mikael Samuelsson and kindly ask him to exchange the Flying Tire for a Whale.
- Columbus, OH finally exhales and then goes back to worrying about college tackle football. Rick Nash gets a bunch of money.
- Wysh gives us a B- on his Free Agency Report Card. I hear Gallagher will do anything for that "A"...
- Mirtle discusses the $406 million in contracts given out on July 1. And thanks for the birthday wishes, folks. I got drunk and went tubing and smashed my face into some water. It was awesome.
- Give James Mirtle Marc Savard or give him death!
Other Stuff:
- That's a new kind of hurt.
- Blow shit up without leaving your computer!
- I did not know such a job existed. I can only hope there's some kick-ass insurance plan.
- Even Michael Jackson's press coverage has it's own press coverage.
- And for the fourth, here's how America began. As told by an 8 year old.
Video:
I can imagine some of you might have seen a patriotic video coming. Here's the Hendrix rendition of the Star Spangled Banner from Woodstock
Happy 4th from SLGT! Now go blow some shit up.
Gametimelinks@gmail.com
1 comment
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Screw The Blues, Please
by Rich of GASL
on Jul 3, 2009 4:52 PM CDT
15 comments
To this point I haven't minded that the Blues have made no other splash in the Free Agent market other than signing Ty "One On" Conklin. All Blues fans know the major pieces of the puzzle are working their way up through the organization (for a change), so we don't have to be real committed buyers, and that is a good thing. For starters, the Blues need not get into bidding wars for anybody. We are not desperate. Right now the Blues are the hot chick with the great body who isn't looking for Mr. Right and the long term relationship. 
That being said, I sure wished the Blues would act like they want to get laid by Mr. Right Now.
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Friday Links
by averagejoe
on Jul 3, 2009 3:42 AM CDT
4 comments
The bachelor party was a great success. The future groom is passed the fuck out while I'm doing links. These are gonna suck. Good lucks come tomorrow with PCS. Enjoy.
Blues news
- I would have loved to have drafted an autobot. [herenb.com]
- Farewell Mike Glumac. [Canadiens]
- The motha fuckin EJ is back. He better be awesome. [Blues]
- JR's chat ... answered. [STLtoday]
Hockey links
Other links
- Hey look, more Mike Jackson. [Deez Teez]
- Real men of genius. [Epic Carnival]
Video
Jigga killed autotune. You dont like this? Tough shit. I'm drunk and I like Jay-Z.
My head hurts. I'm trying really hard to type. Good night. gametimelinks (at)gmail.com
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Thursday Links
by averagejoe
on Jul 2, 2009 6:00 AM CDT
28 comments
LIVE! From Kansas City, it's the Thursday links.
Blues news
- SYAK: Ty Conklin brings his sparking outdoor game record to the Blues. [STLtoday.com]
- JR will be having a chat. Over/under on Roman Polak questions is set at three. [STLtoday]
- Jeff Gordon likes what the Blues are doing. I do as well but I don't have a column in a newspaper. [STLtoday.com]
Hockey news
- So many deals yesterday ... here's a free agent tracker to break 'em all down. [ESPN]
- ESPN blogged a ton during the FA period. [ESPN]
- Think of this page as the link dump. [TSN]
- Dany Heatley is a bitch. [ESPN]
- This is epic and awesome. Kudos Wysh. [Puck Daddy]
Other links
I could watch Firework Fail all day long. [Buzzfeed]
Uhhh nice shoes. [SadAndUseless.com]
Food on a stick is a better. [Now That's Nifty]
Video
I love Jon Lajoie. This is awesome. Lyrics very not safe for work.
gametimelinks (at) gmail.com. bachelor party tomorrow. might be some mr. k on cinco de mayo links. be warned.
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"That's (Polak's) prerogative to wait and we're just trying to work on putting something together. We own his rights, there's no panic in the streets or anything. Some things take time. We've discussed amongst ourselves what Roman and his agent are asking for. We're in the middle of it."
2 days ago
Brad Lee
19 comments
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Chicago Blackhawks Sign Marian Hossa To 12-Year Deal
by Brad Lee
on Jul 1, 2009 2:19 PM CDT
42 comments
The Blackhawks realize there's a salary cap, right? And that Brian Campbell and Cristobal Huet make too much money already? And 12 year contracts for 30-year-old forwards might not be a good idea? Oh, and those guys named Kane, Versteeg and Toews will all want raises in a year or two, right? Right?
Apparently the Hawks think that to get past the Conference Finals, they needed to commit more than $5 million a year of their salary cap for the next 12 years to the most ridiculed star player in the league. Amazing. No wonder they couldn't re-sign Matt Walker. Marian Hossa is good, but was he worth this?
Who would have thought that the Chicago fucking Blackhawks would be the most aggressive team in free agency two years in a row, throwing around big contracts to the splashiest free agents on the market. Is Rocky Wirtz that determined to prove he's not his dead father, "Dollar" Bill Wirtz? We get it, Rock. Dad's dead. Home games are on TV. We know. The team is willing to spend to compete. Bully for you. But damn, this still looks risky and maybe a little foolish. The fallout could be serious.
One wrinkle is the structure of the deal. TSN says more than $59 million of the money is in the first eight years of the contract, meaning that less than a million dollars a year remain on the deal during the last four making it a prime situation for him to walk away and retire or be bought out from his contract at a pretty small penalty to Chicago. But eight years is still pretty damn long.
Look, we get that Hossa is an all-star talent. He's good with the puck, is a gifted skater and makes the Hawks the No. 1 rival for the Red Wings in the Western Conference (sorry Sharks). But that status is guaranteed for about one season. That's when the salary cap could go down because of reduced league revenues due to the economy. Pair that with big raises for young star players and the Hawks could be looking at some very difficult decisions.
From our perspective as Blues fans, it makes the Central Division that much more competitive -- possibly the most difficult division in the NHL. But the drama this could create for the Hawks is so juicy. I can't wait for Kane and Toews to hit RFA status and see the Hawks not be able to match. Blues, keep some cap space open for that day, please. Remember, the Blues wanted to trade all three first round picks to move up for Kane three drafts ago. Or, I'm sure T.J. Oshie would do whatever he could to bring his Fighting Sioux brother down I-55.
Our friends at Second City Hockey were on the verge of passing out from the news. From their running commentary today:
I'm literally at a loss for words now. It's all so scrambled. Hossa at a tick over just 5 million is a fine number, and if I was willing to go that high for Havlat, you'd have to be for Hossa who's simply a better player. But 12 years? Unless it's totally front-loaded? We'll need details. I think people also need to widen the focus past Hossa's playoff performance last season. As I've said, the year before he was a mastadon (yeah, i did), and had two years in Ottawa where he was a point-per-game in the playoffs. Maybe this deal signals the end of Patrick Kane here, though I don't know that it does. If Buff can be jettisoned, possibly Sharp might have to go to (McClure just had a stroke) the core can be kept.
So Blues fans, what do you think? Let us know down below.
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Blues Add Ty Conklin; Two Years at $1.3 Million/Season
by gallagher
on Jul 1, 2009 1:32 PM CDT
25 comments
The Blues have acquired a solid backup goaltender. Ty Conklin becomes yet another former Red Wing backup goalie to join St. Louis. Following in the footsteps (though hopefully not too closely) of Manny Legace and Chris Osgood of the recent past, Conklin with be with the Blues for two seasons at a cost of $1.3 million per year.
Conklin, 33, played with Detroit last season after playing with Pittsburgh the season before, meaning he has played for back-to-back Cup finalists as well as being a participant in three Winter Classic games (with Detroit, Pittsburgh and Edmonton back in 2003).
On top of thiose resume items, Conklin has played in 149 NHL games over six seasons with a career 2.58 goals-against average and a 90.9% save percentage. His career record is a surprisingly good 73-43-10 with 10 shutouts. He has appeared in only ywo playoff games.
Conklin is the backup, which is exactly what the Blues wanted to get. He knows his position, makes less money than starter Chris Mason and is quite comfortable in the second slot. Unlike the situation last year, there is no confusion in the Blues' net heading into the regular season.
EDIT BY BRAD: I might as well toot my own horn. Our free agency primer post from earlier this week:
Potential targets: Ty Conklin was good enough to play backup to Chris Osgood. I'd think he's good enough to play backup for Mason.
Your Pick 3 lotto numbers for today: 5, 1 and 9. And you're welcome.
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TSN Says Hossa Close To Signing With Hawks
The link is to Darren Dreger's Twitter account.
Wait, so the most mocked star in the league could go to one of the two teams we hate the most?
I need to go sit down for a minute.
UPDATE: Hossa signs a front-loaded 12-year $63 million contract with Chicago. Hope they're excited about losing in the Finals next year.
2 days ago
Brad Lee
4 comments
0 recs
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