Thursday links: Coping with last night's game the only way I know how edition

by averagejoe on Jun 10, 2010 5:00 AM CDT

Look, friends, last night sucked. I've gotten used to seeing the Red Wings win but the Blackhawks? Ugh. But we're moving past that today. If you want coverage of the Blackhawks, go to Second City. If you want to move on with stuff that makes me happy, enjoy the links.

Blues news

What do the Blues, Kings and Maple Leafs have in common? You don't want to know. [National Post]

That's it ... no more hockey news. Too depressing.

Other links

Healthy Scratch says names are overrated. [mental floss]
Keanu Reeves, the finest actor working today, is sad. He must have Chicago, too. [Sad Keanu]
Not all Frat guys are douches, but the ones who are ... holy shit are they terrible. And funny. [Total Frat Move]

Videos

Puppies, man, puppies. I got my first dog when I was in the first grade. I graduated college two years ago. Shameless (my mom named him after a Garth Brooks song) will be 18 in September. He is awesome, and so are other dogs. Enjoy some puppies.

You know what's good? Burgers. Milo found a great one.

Do you like this story?

Comments

I think Sean and I, at the least, are proof that not all frat boys are douches.

But to not admit that a big chunk of them give the rest of us a bad name is . . . well, quite honestly, an understatement.

St. Louis Game Time . . . I need another beer.
And I can also write things in 140 characters or fewer.

by Donut King on Jun 10, 2010 7:50 AM CDT reply actions

I love how...

the National Post’s rundown of the 11 teams who have yet to win a Stanley Cup did not even mention the BJ’s. It’s as if they don’t exist.

"When I gave up a grand slam to Pete LaCock," Bob Gibson said later, "I knew it was time to quit."

by The Classical on Jun 10, 2010 8:41 AM CDT reply actions

I didn't even notice that.

Ha! It just kind of confirms what the rest of us already knew.

Anyways, did anyone have deja vu last night to the GWG Olympic goal thing of “Why’d it have to be Crosby?” “Why’d it have to be Kane?” was the first thing that popped into my head. Anybody but him or Buff and I could cope with it a little better, but for that snot nosed entitled little shit to have scored it… ugh. I kind of would have preferred Toews scoring it, since he seems like a nice guy and a decent team player and all.

It’s nice for the long-term Hawks fans, I guess – people who didn’t know hockey existed before 3 years ago have just gotten super spoiled. If they hang around long enough, they’ll have to wait 49 years too, because the cap nightmare they’re going to be in this summer’s going to suck.

And this is weird to say, but I’m happy for the horticulture teacher where I work. He’s 70, and has been a Hawks fan since he was a really little kid – he’s from up around Chicago. I won’t begrudge him this win, even though it drives me insane that the Hawks won it. Honestly, this Cup final was a match up of my two least favorite teams in the NHL. Regardless of who won I’d still be pissed off – I just went for the lesser of 2 evils.

Thrashing the Blues

Reporter: There`s a "stamp out the Beatles movement" underway in Detroit. What are you going to do about it?

Paul McCartney: We`re going to start a campaign to stamp out Detroit.

by hildymac on Jun 10, 2010 10:38 AM CDT up reply actions

Anyways, did anyone have deja vu last night to the GWG Olympic goal thing of "Why’d it have to be Crosby?" "Why’d it have to be Kane?

God yes. And that 70-year-old colleague of yours, I guess that’s cool. That kind of stuff makes it a little less awful. I need to find one of those, ’cause all my Chicago relatives went to their graves without seeing a Hawks Cup win.

But actually, I don’t even know what you’re talking about. Nothing happened last night. As far as I’m concerned, June 9, 2010 did not happen, does not exist. All I see is puppies.

Lighthouse Hockey: Playing the NHL Lotto

by Dominik on Jun 10, 2010 11:04 AM CDT up reply actions

Someone on Twitter thought of it this way...

… it’s funny, because look at how Cubs fans must feel.

Focusing on Walt (the guy that I work with) is making this whole thing bearable. Maybe that’s why I’m handling this better than when the Wings won. That, and I kind of view the Hawks as what happens when the gameplan of cultivating youth pays off – so it’s gotta happen for us some time, right? Right??

Thrashing the Blues

Reporter: There`s a "stamp out the Beatles movement" underway in Detroit. What are you going to do about it?

Paul McCartney: We`re going to start a campaign to stamp out Detroit.

by hildymac on Jun 10, 2010 11:35 AM CDT up reply actions

I'm not 70!

Now I feel special! Thanks Hildy!

Chicagoan in the Lou.

by Mike Martin on Jun 10, 2010 6:59 PM CDT up reply actions

i said it in the gdt

my hockey dreams are just going to be ruined by OT goals by guys i hate. first yzerman, then crosby and now kane. ugh.

St. Louis Game Time

by averagejoe on Jun 10, 2010 11:20 AM CDT up reply actions

I was trying to think of someone worse to have scored that goal...

… and I couldn’t. There are very few guys in the NHL I dislike on principle, and Kane is one of them. Ott, Orr, Downie, and Cooke are the others. Good company, there, 20 Cent.

Thrashing the Blues

Reporter: There`s a "stamp out the Beatles movement" underway in Detroit. What are you going to do about it?

Paul McCartney: We`re going to start a campaign to stamp out Detroit.

by hildymac on Jun 10, 2010 11:33 AM CDT up reply actions

Absolutely.

It was such a weak-ass goal, too. (Not that Crosby’s was “weak,” but you still hate to see a guy score the GWG on a completely uncontested open look that probably should have been saved, which is what happened in both cases.)

Is it bad that I knew that even my girlfriend knew exactly what was going to happen? 2 minutes into OT she’s like, “Man, Philly has had the puck almost the whole time…but I bet Chicago’s going to take like one quick shot and score.”

by Washoo on Jun 10, 2010 2:28 PM CDT up reply actions

And he had such an unremarkable final, but now he gets to be known as the Cup winner. For the love of Bobby Nystrom*, it just ain’t right.

*I’d use a Blues reference there … if only I could {sob}

Lighthouse Hockey: Playing the NHL Lotto

by Dominik on Jun 10, 2010 3:04 PM CDT up reply actions

PSA

If you see a very angry looking 15/16 yr old being escorted out of a Blues/Fuckhawks game it will most likely be because i have beat the shit out of a gloating Fuck the Hawks fan.

My Hatred of detriot Knows no Bounds.

by BulldogOshie on Jun 10, 2010 10:32 AM CDT reply actions

When I left the bar last night it was tied

Whenever I looked at the TV something bad would happen so I had to GTFO. Beer never tasted so terrible.

He raged at the world, at his family, at his life. But mostly he just raged.
Just because Jay McClement is the best defensive forward in the NHL doesn't mean he should win the Selke.

by Icion on Jun 10, 2010 11:01 AM CDT reply actions

Consarn It!

It’s been awhile since I’ve been on here. After the Blues’ ignominious finish to the regular season I took a step back from obsession. Nevertheless, despite the pain, I continued to tune in to the playoffs. As not only an out-of-market Blues fan, but an out-of-any-market fan, you take your televised hockey where you can get it.

Now that the Apocalypse has arrived, it’s time to ask myself what I truly believe: do I hate Chicago? Given my relative youth, the sum of my rage, bile, and hate has been solely reserved for Detroit. Heretofore Chicago has garnered only ambivalence and pity.

But as the end of the world unfolds before my eyes, as the armies of darkness march over the ice to claim the Holy Grail… I can feel it… an inchoate hate. Not some mindless fury but a calm, reasoned loathing is forming in the depths of my soul. Maybe it’s always been there.

So Fuck Chicago.

Yeah, that feels right.

by PersonalJustice on Jun 10, 2010 11:15 AM CDT reply actions

I'm not as upset as I thought I'd be

I’m glad for Coach Q.
Hate Kane if you must, but remember that he turns out for USA Hockey whenever he’s called.

by briandunne on Jun 10, 2010 12:04 PM CDT reply actions

I did crack a smile at Coach Q.

Loved how the CBC guy interviewing him kept him away from the team photo being taken – he even acknowledged it was being taken, and then kept on with the interview. Real smooth.

Thrashing the Blues

Reporter: There`s a "stamp out the Beatles movement" underway in Detroit. What are you going to do about it?

Paul McCartney: We`re going to start a campaign to stamp out Detroit.

by hildymac on Jun 10, 2010 2:03 PM CDT up reply actions

I'm still sad.

www.stlouisgametime.com

by Brad Lee on Jun 10, 2010 12:59 PM CDT reply actions

Don't go all Elliott Smith on us, dude.

St. Louis Game Time . . . I need another beer.
And I can also write things in 140 characters or fewer.

by Donut King on Jun 10, 2010 11:06 PM CDT up reply actions

Well, at least we know that it’s winnable by someone in the division other than Detroit, right? Let’s see the Blues win the Cup before the Wild or the Blue Jackets get their hooks on it.

by Paperwork Ninja on Jun 10, 2010 2:28 PM CDT reply actions

A slim bright side

Supposedly Duthie tweeted this:

Toews gets a 1.3 million bonus for winning Conn. Because Chi was at cap, it will count against next year, so add that to their cap issues.

Lighthouse Hockey: Playing the NHL Lotto

by Dominik on Jun 10, 2010 3:24 PM CDT reply actions

Would be wonderful news, but I need proof.

I thought that all the potential bonuses in ELCs were already added to the cap figure. And his next contract shouldn’t have started yet. So I’m not sure how this bonus would have an impact on next year.

I’m ready and willing to be proven wrong, though.

by BleedBlue42 on Jun 10, 2010 3:44 PM CDT up reply actions

Bonuses have an impact on next year when you use the “bonus cushion” (an amount of wiggle room that let’s you theoretically go over the cap with entry-level contracts) and the bonus is actually triggered, pushing you over for a given year. That tweet didn’t say whether the entire bonus is over or what.

His next contract starts next year, this is a bonus for his ELC. Page 216 in the CBA says in legalese:

A Club shall be permitted to have an Averaged Club Salary in excess of the Upper Limit result ing from Performance Bonuses solely to the extent that such excess results from the inclusion in Averaged Club Salary of: (i) Exhibit 5 Individual “A” Performance Bonuses and “B” Performance Bonuses paid by the Club that may be earned by Players in the Entry Level System and (ii) Performance Bonuses that may be earned by Players pursuant to Section 50.2(b)(i)© above, provided that under no circumstances may a Club’s Averaged Club Salary so exceed the Upper Limit by an amount greater than the result of seven-and-one-half (7.5) percent mult iplied by the Upper Limit (the “Performance Bonus Cushion”).

Then, later:

then the Club’s Upper Limit for the next League Year shall be reduced by an amount equal to such excess.

Lighthouse Hockey: Playing the NHL Lotto

by Dominik on Jun 10, 2010 3:54 PM CDT up reply actions

Gotcha.

Here’s CapGeek’s 09-10 cap page; looks like the Hawks only had $300K under the cap before bonuses, so the Toews bonus should put them $1M over. If I understand correctly.

I wonder if any other ELC bonuses (bonii?) kicked in for the Hawks as a result of this year’s playoffs.

by BleedBlue42 on Jun 10, 2010 4:10 PM CDT up reply actions

Yeah, I don’t know — I’ve seen a few different cap figures thrown around. That’d be great if some other bonuses did kick (Kane maybe?).

God forbid they made this stuff easily locatable and understandable for fans. The best source for salaries is a site that assaults you with rollover ads when you visit, and the only way to make sense of the CBA is with a decoder ring from a box of Lucky Charms.

Lighthouse Hockey: Playing the NHL Lotto

by Dominik on Jun 10, 2010 4:50 PM CDT up reply actions

Firefox's default pop-up blocker beats Capgeek.

My home browser uses ABP and NoScript, but I don’t need either of them to deal with CapGeek. (hockeydb.com, on the other hand, needs the big guns.)

by BleedBlue42 on Jun 10, 2010 5:16 PM CDT up reply actions

That will be the beauty of the offseason

Seeing that team be dismantled before our eyes. Its going to be like watching rats drop off a sinking ship. They better enjoy it this year, because its going to be a LONG time before it happens again.

Barret Jackman is my hero.

Fueled. These new shores burn. Shadow, my sweet shadow, to you I look no more.

Crosby and Malkin. Two girls, one cup.

by BluesTiger on Jun 10, 2010 7:03 PM CDT up reply actions

hold on there

RE: the Leafs and Blues and Stanley Cup droughts:

Apparently, the Leafs drought is more notable because we’re all such bigass losers, and expansions teams that have yet to win in the same time frame are not such huge failures. This is coming from a leafs writer: http://www.pensionplanpuppets.com/2010/6/10/1510967/same-old-song-and-dance

then again, it IS Damien Cox, who only serves as an example of how not to write.

Article1: "I WANT HER TO BE A PRINCESS! THIS MAKES HER LOOK LIKE A SLUT!"

by loser domi on Jun 10, 2010 5:09 PM CDT reply actions

And I love Border collie pups. Love’em to pieces.

Article1: "I WANT HER TO BE A PRINCESS! THIS MAKES HER LOOK LIKE A SLUT!"

by loser domi on Jun 10, 2010 5:09 PM CDT up reply actions

Apples and oranges, all of them rotten

The Leafs’ drought probably is more notable since they were an established team, with established assets, versus the rancid platter of scraps that Pollack and the Original Six gang left the Expansion Six to contend with. (“Here, you can have the 40-year-old guy we cut and the second-tier minor leaguer who will never make it. That should start you off right!”)

But who cares, really (except for Cox, an ass of the lowest order). The common thread of every lengthy Stanley Cup drought: A lengthy period (or multiple periods) of shitty ownership.

Lighthouse Hockey: Playing the NHL Lotto

by Dominik on Jun 11, 2010 11:19 AM CDT up reply actions