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I tried this new thing this weekend where I went to bed earlier than usual & tried to wakeup at about 3:30-4ish to get you your morning links on time.
Needless to say, that experiment failed.
BLUES NEWS:
- In case you missed it, the Blues have traded Roman Polak to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Carl Gunnarsson and the 94th overall pick yesterday, which they then used to select Finnish goaltender Ville Husso (or as Tyler & Tim would say on Beyond Checkerdome, "Another fucking Finn goalie."). Opinions on the deal seem to be fiercely divided 50/50: Leafs fans hate it, and Blues fans love it! Still, best of luck, Italian Polish-man. [SLGT]
- For everything else that the Blues did the last couple of days at the Draft in Philadelphia, including the grand larcenies pulled off by picking Robby Fabbri at 21 in the first round and Ivan Barbashev in the early second, check out Brian's Draft story stream. [SLGT Prospects Dept. HQ]
- In hockey especially, it's difficult to really judge how well or poorly a team did 3-5 years...nevertheless, the Blues seemingly made out like gangbusters, and are at the top of the list of draft day winners this year! (Sticktap to CCR.) [The Score]
- You may have missed it with all of the draft day hubbub, but our resident stats man Robb put to the test a statement I made on Twitter the other day comparing Patrik Berglund and Vladimir Sobotka defensively. Looking at those figures month to month, you can really see how their respective roles evolved over the season - you can also clearly see when Hitchcock's Sobo-ner started popping through his pants. [SLGT]
HOCKEY NEWS:
- Right on the heels of Robb's fancy stat-ing, do you still need a crash course to jump on board the hockey analytics train (haha..."anal-y tics"...)? Then here's a fantastic starter's guide for you, with a sticktap to Robb himself! [Habs Eyes on the Prize]
- Back to the draft, the first round on Friday night had some pretty entertaining moments (three words: Brian. Burke's. Hair.). Here are...oh, let's say...12 of them. (Sticktap: CCR) [The Score]
- With the 89th overall pick, the Washington Capitals selected Nathan Walker, making him the first Australian player ever drafted into the NHL. Sports writers Down Under reacted a bit...heavily...to this news, calling it "one of the biggest achievements ever by an Australian sportsman." [Puck Daddy]
- Brendan Lemieux - Claude Lemieux's son - would like to play and be treated like his father. He was also quite upset that he fell all the way to 31st overall, so basically look for him to threaten the All-Time Games Suspended list. [Pro Hockey Talk]
- What's it like growing up as a top level hockey prospect? HP began a series detailing the paths to the NHL taken by a number of OHL players - and part one just happens to include Blues first round pick Robby Fabbri. Another great find by CCR! [Hockey Prospectus]
- In trade news, Ryan Kesler has chosen to force his team to trade him to the Anaheim Ducks. [Ducks]
- Meanwhile, Jason Spezza has chosen to tell Nashville to fuck off. A decision we can all really get behind. [Silver Seven Sens]
- James Neal on the other hand, has been traded to the Predators, and he immediately makes them a better team. Just how much better depends on who his center will be, but still threatening. [On the Forecheck]
- Speaking of trades that make Conference III teams better, the Blackhawks have finally caught on to native St. Louisan Brandon Bollig 's sabotage mission and traded him to the Calgary Flames. You did the best you could to bring down Those Fuckers Up North from the inside, Brandon, and we thank you for your service! [Pro Hockey Talk]
- Martin Brodeur has trouble letting things go, such as his historic NHL career or that 6th slice of cheesecake. As such, he insisted on testing the free agent market, and since NHL teams are ran by idiots apparently, as many as 6 teams are reportedly interested, including the Blackhawks, Penguins, Bruins, and as Brendan Shanahan has officially confirmed, the Leafs. The Leafs just keep on Leafing, don't they? [Fire & Ice]
- You know how Canadians all sound like arrogant assholes when they claim hockey as "Their Game" that they invented and it belongs only to them and their hockey-related shit smells like freshly resurfaced ice? Well, not only are they full of shit, it turns out they also could be entirely wrong - new research shows that hockey's roots could trace back to England! [CBS Sports]
2014 GARY BETTMAN'S SOCCER SPECTACULAR WORLD CUP:
- In the first of two all South American match ups yesterday, Brazil kicked off their knockout round campaign by pulling out a win over Chile by the absolute skin of their teeth, as the 1-1 game went to a penalty kick shootout, where goalkeeper Julio Ceser (who plays for MLS team Toronto FC, by the way) bailed their ass out with two saves. Brazil advance to the quarterfinals, where they'll face... [SBNation World Cup]
- ...Columbia, who downed a Suarez-less Uruguay to make their first quarterfinals appearance, led by all-world young talent James Rodriguez. And let me tell you, the way the two teams have been playing so far, there is every reason to think Columbia can knock off Brazil in the next round! [ESPN FC]
- Today's action features a very intriguing game between the highest scoring team in the group stage, the Netherlands, against the stoutest defensive squad, Mexico. Don't worry though, the Oranje should easily take out El Tri, because obviously. Later on, Costa Rica will continue their best every Cinderella run with a very winnable game against a very unwatchable Greece. [SBNation World Cup]
- You think England let Leighton Baines get torn apart - an English fan in Brazil had part of his ear bitten off during the Three Lions' match against Uruguay. [Dirty Tackle]
OTHER SHIT:
- Hipsters are having babies now, so we've come to the stage where kids are being given hipster names. Ask anyone named by hippie parents how that turns out. That said, a few of these are surprisingly good names. [Elite Daily]
- We're very fortunate to live in a golden age of television, with so many different kinds of innovative shows that break new ground every week - and chances are you're fucking it up for everyone. [Cracked]
- Game of Thrones soccer jerseys. I can't put it any more awesome than that. I consider myself Team Dragon, but I would seriously buy that House Baratheon kit! [i09]
VIDEOS:
I'm not a big fan of any late night host who isn't currently on Comedy Central (only 74 more episodes of The Colbert Report left...:-( ), but one thing Jimmy Kimmel does that's awesome: Celebrities reading Mean Tweets about themselves.
I can't wait for Guardians of the Galaxy to come out in a few weeks, in part because of the awesome trailer. If only some old school classic sci-fi adventure film had a trailer like that. Wait a minute...TO THE INTERNET!!!
Send shit to Donut King - he probably won't miss days. He's responsible and shit and probably has a system or something.
- gtdonutking AT gmail DOT com
- @KingDonutI
It's Sunday, so you could be looking a at a Prospect Sunday with some sort of draft retrospective later today...or Brian might be so pooped out. Stay tuned!