Ortmeyer & Nichol are San Jose Sharks.
The sentence I just typed is full of Predators fail. Not so much on the Ortmeyer front though, because his injuries have hurt him. However, Nichol was a veteran guy with lots of heart. On what's shaping up to be a team full of rookies, Scooter would have been a great guy to have around. Looks like we'll be relying on Sullivan to provide the bulk of the leadership this year, because frankly I'm not sure Arnott and Dumont know ow to say the right things anymore.
Some rumors floating around have Bonk playing in the KHL and Pihlstrom going to Europe. All I can say is that I hope Bonk head checks a certain traitor over there. Can you say concussion? Karma is a funny thing ain't it? As for Pihlstrom, from what I gather, the problem is that he wants a one-way deal and the Predators are offering a two-way deal. Not sure I'm understanding why this is an issue. He played at the NHL level for more than half of last year. He's fast and gritty; a good guy for the 3rd or 4th line. Give the kid a one-way deal and be done with it. He's got some NHL level experience under his belt, unlike some of these other kids. Hate to say it, but Santorelli's time in Nashville was anything less than spectacular. I'd rather see Pihlstrom playing up here.
I am still hoping for another forward signing. I've got my eyes on Sykora, and I hope Poile does too. The jokes I would endure over the course of the season would be totally worth it. I'm willing to take the abuse and laughs at my expense if it means we have a bonafide top two scoring lines.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
A break from the sports world
I did this on Facebook and thought it was fun and that I should put it in my blog. So enjoy :)
If I get bored at work tonight, I may add on additional artists.
Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. Pass it on to 15 people you like and include me. You can't use the band I used. Try not to repeat a song title. Repost as "My life according to (band name)."
Pick your Artist:
Garth Brooks
Are you a male or female:
She's Every Woman
Describe yourself:
Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)
How do you feel:
Learning to Live Again
Describe where you currently live:
This Ain't Tennessee
If you could go anywhere, where would you go:
The Beaches of Cheyenne
Your favorite form of transportation:
The River
Your best friend is:
Two Pina Coladas
You and your best friends are:
Friends in Low Places
What's the weather like:
That Summer
Favorite time of day:
The Night I Called the Old Man Out
If your life was a TV show, what would it be called:
Shameless
What is life to you:
The Dance
Your relationship:
Unanswered Prayers
Your fear:
If Tomorrow Never Comes
What is the best advice you have to give:
Do What You Gotta Do
Thought for the Day:
She's Gonna Make It
How I would like to die:
The Thunder Rolls
My soul's present condition:
What She's Doing Now
My motto:
I Don't Have to Wonder
______________________________________________________
Don't hate! I was, and still am, a Backstreet fan girl.
Pick your Artist:
Backstreet Boys
Are you a male or female:
Poster Girl
Describe yourself:
One In A Million
How do you feel:
Incomplete
Describe where you currently live:
Weird World
If you could go anywhere, where would you go:
Back To Your Heart
Your favorite form of transportation:
Set Adrift On Memory Bliss
Your best friend is:
No One Else Comes Close
You and your best friends are:
Never Gone
What's the weather like:
Shining Star
Favorite time of day:
Love Will Keep You Up All Night
If your life was a TV show, what would it be called:
I Want It That Way
What is life to you:
Hey Mr DJ (Keep Playin' That Song)
Your relationship:
Quit Playin' Games With My Heart
Your fear:
Lose It All
What is the best advice you have to give:
Get Another Boyfriend
Thought for the Day:
How Did I Fall In Love With You?
How I would like to die:
Don't Wanna Lose You Now
My soul's present condition:
Time
My motto:
As Long As You Love Me
If I get bored at work tonight, I may add on additional artists.
Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. Pass it on to 15 people you like and include me. You can't use the band I used. Try not to repeat a song title. Repost as "My life according to (band name)."
Pick your Artist:
Garth Brooks
Are you a male or female:
She's Every Woman
Describe yourself:
Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)
How do you feel:
Learning to Live Again
Describe where you currently live:
This Ain't Tennessee
If you could go anywhere, where would you go:
The Beaches of Cheyenne
Your favorite form of transportation:
The River
Your best friend is:
Two Pina Coladas
You and your best friends are:
Friends in Low Places
What's the weather like:
That Summer
Favorite time of day:
The Night I Called the Old Man Out
If your life was a TV show, what would it be called:
Shameless
What is life to you:
The Dance
Your relationship:
Unanswered Prayers
Your fear:
If Tomorrow Never Comes
What is the best advice you have to give:
Do What You Gotta Do
Thought for the Day:
She's Gonna Make It
How I would like to die:
The Thunder Rolls
My soul's present condition:
What She's Doing Now
My motto:
I Don't Have to Wonder
______________________________________________________
Don't hate! I was, and still am, a Backstreet fan girl.
Pick your Artist:
Backstreet Boys
Are you a male or female:
Poster Girl
Describe yourself:
One In A Million
How do you feel:
Incomplete
Describe where you currently live:
Weird World
If you could go anywhere, where would you go:
Back To Your Heart
Your favorite form of transportation:
Set Adrift On Memory Bliss
Your best friend is:
No One Else Comes Close
You and your best friends are:
Never Gone
What's the weather like:
Shining Star
Favorite time of day:
Love Will Keep You Up All Night
If your life was a TV show, what would it be called:
I Want It That Way
What is life to you:
Hey Mr DJ (Keep Playin' That Song)
Your relationship:
Quit Playin' Games With My Heart
Your fear:
Lose It All
What is the best advice you have to give:
Get Another Boyfriend
Thought for the Day:
How Did I Fall In Love With You?
How I would like to die:
Don't Wanna Lose You Now
My soul's present condition:
Time
My motto:
As Long As You Love Me
Saturday, July 4, 2009
There are no words
I know I said this would mostly be a blog for hockey, with the occasional post about the Cubs, but today calls for a post about football. One of the men I grew up watching is dead. Steve McNair was shot in the head in Nashville earlier today. Details are still unknown, but that doesn't change the fact that he is gone. The man I watched lead my Titans to Superbowl 34 is dead. I so enjoyed watching him scramble and run around, always keeping the defense guessing. Even without stellar receivers on the Titans, he found a way to make things happen. He brought us within a yard of a possible Super Bowl victory. But beyond that, he played through countless injuries, and was a workhorse for the team and Jeff Fisher.
I am in complete shock. Air McNair was a cornerstone for the Titans for many years, before leaving for the Baltimore Ravens. He was always the picture of leadership, sportsmanship, and work ethic. He is the kind of guy I miss having in Nashville. McNair, Wycheck, George, and Mason were the great ones for this team. They were good guys; good in the community, always giving back, and people that kids could look up to. Now we have crybaby Vince Young, and went through the drama of Pacman Jones.
I wish there were more guys like Steve out there, and it just pains me to think of his life ending the way it did. Nashville, and the world, lost a great soul today. I can only hope for peace for his family, wife, and kids he left behind.
RIP Steve "Air" McNair
I am in complete shock. Air McNair was a cornerstone for the Titans for many years, before leaving for the Baltimore Ravens. He was always the picture of leadership, sportsmanship, and work ethic. He is the kind of guy I miss having in Nashville. McNair, Wycheck, George, and Mason were the great ones for this team. They were good guys; good in the community, always giving back, and people that kids could look up to. Now we have crybaby Vince Young, and went through the drama of Pacman Jones.
I wish there were more guys like Steve out there, and it just pains me to think of his life ending the way it did. Nashville, and the world, lost a great soul today. I can only hope for peace for his family, wife, and kids he left behind.
RIP Steve "Air" McNair
Free Agency Part 2
Since I talked about the guys we lost in the last blog, I figured I should mention those who's fates are still unknown. Nichol, Bonk, DeVries, and Ortmeyer ar all UFAs who have yet to be signed by anyone, including Nashville. I guess I'll give my take on these four.
Nichol: Of the four, I think Nichol is the only one who should be signed. If we can get him cheap, I'd be happy with seeing him do fourth line and PK duty. Granted he can lose his head sometimes, and he's had some issues with concussions. However, I think he's a good leader and someone I'd like to keep around.
Bonk: This was a gross overpayment two years ago. One which I haven't been too pleased with. I will not be sorry to see him walk. Yes, it was fun to yell his name when he had the puck, but the play just is not good enough to warrant another contract. I'd much rather see a bunch of the young, energy guys doing third and fourth line duty next season. That doesn't mean I won't forget his awesome contribution to the comeback in Montreal in 07-08, but it's time to move on.
Inside joke note: "You just got Radeked" is twenty times more funny than "You just got Bonked!"
DeVries: Or Disease, Febreeze, and Dinosaur as he has so lovingly been called over the past two years. Veteran defenseman or not, I will be so glad to see his grossly oversized salary off the books. If the Preds decide to bring him back, it had better be for much less than he was making. He's another one of those who is a terribly nice guy off the ice, but I just can't stand to have on the ice. He wouldn't make a horrible 7th d-man, but I'd rather have the rookies in the top six.
Ortmeyer: Oh Jed, you lovable man you. Jed Ortmeyer might be the most adorable thing to ever put on a Preds uniform. He is another amazing person, note person, not player. Injuries screwed him the past couple years, and he spent some time in Milwaukee last season. Again, with the younger guys coming up, I'd rather see them playing limited minutes to get the experience at the pro level. Love him to death, but he's more like a career AHLer.
Now, I'm still hoping for another FA signing. Would love for that signing to be a forward so we don't have to watch Ward on the second line with Erat and Legwand, but budget constraints will likely see this dream fail. Nothing is set in stone now. And things can change throughout the season. The first glimpse of how the team will shape up won't come until September, so I guess I've got a few months to speculate. Although, rookie camp starts next week. Too bad work will all but prevent me from seeing any of it. Oh well, the time off from hockey can be nice. I've been enjoying the outdoors and the joys of being an adult and juggling two jobs. My summer class starts in two weeks, so no hockey is actually a very good thing right now. Free agency is about all I have time to keep up with.
Nichol: Of the four, I think Nichol is the only one who should be signed. If we can get him cheap, I'd be happy with seeing him do fourth line and PK duty. Granted he can lose his head sometimes, and he's had some issues with concussions. However, I think he's a good leader and someone I'd like to keep around.
Bonk: This was a gross overpayment two years ago. One which I haven't been too pleased with. I will not be sorry to see him walk. Yes, it was fun to yell his name when he had the puck, but the play just is not good enough to warrant another contract. I'd much rather see a bunch of the young, energy guys doing third and fourth line duty next season. That doesn't mean I won't forget his awesome contribution to the comeback in Montreal in 07-08, but it's time to move on.
Inside joke note: "You just got Radeked" is twenty times more funny than "You just got Bonked!"
DeVries: Or Disease, Febreeze, and Dinosaur as he has so lovingly been called over the past two years. Veteran defenseman or not, I will be so glad to see his grossly oversized salary off the books. If the Preds decide to bring him back, it had better be for much less than he was making. He's another one of those who is a terribly nice guy off the ice, but I just can't stand to have on the ice. He wouldn't make a horrible 7th d-man, but I'd rather have the rookies in the top six.
Ortmeyer: Oh Jed, you lovable man you. Jed Ortmeyer might be the most adorable thing to ever put on a Preds uniform. He is another amazing person, note person, not player. Injuries screwed him the past couple years, and he spent some time in Milwaukee last season. Again, with the younger guys coming up, I'd rather see them playing limited minutes to get the experience at the pro level. Love him to death, but he's more like a career AHLer.
Now, I'm still hoping for another FA signing. Would love for that signing to be a forward so we don't have to watch Ward on the second line with Erat and Legwand, but budget constraints will likely see this dream fail. Nothing is set in stone now. And things can change throughout the season. The first glimpse of how the team will shape up won't come until September, so I guess I've got a few months to speculate. Although, rookie camp starts next week. Too bad work will all but prevent me from seeing any of it. Oh well, the time off from hockey can be nice. I've been enjoying the outdoors and the joys of being an adult and juggling two jobs. My summer class starts in two weeks, so no hockey is actually a very good thing right now. Free agency is about all I have time to keep up with.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Free Agency
The whirlwind that was July 1st is over. Okay, so whirlwind may be an exaggeration. After all, people have jobs and don't have time to sit and refresh the computer over and over to see who their team got. For those like myself, who were at work a large part of the day, we relied on text messages to spread the news. Not surprisingly though, my phone was not lit up with texts about the Preds. We made a whopping two signings. Both of which happened pretty much after I had gotten home from work.
Ward signed a two year deal and will be making 1.5 million each year, which I believe is an overpayment. He had one semi-good year. But hey, I'm not a manager; what do I know? And how do I know that money may not have gone to better use getting a bonafide top six power forward? Nevertheless, the deal is done, and we'll just have to see how things play out.
Considering the calendar had reached July without a deal with Sullivan, I assumed he was as good as gone. Around roughly 5 pm, via Twitter of course, it was revealed that Sully's house was not for sale and that a deal had been reached! It's a two year deal, worth a little more than 3.5 million per year. I am satisfied with that. A full year of , Sully, Dumont, and Arnott may make them seem less lazy. But if the SAD line sucks it up and Arny and Darshmont are lazy, I'm calling them on it.
The only thing that makes me nervous about these two year deals is this: Arnott, Sullivan, Ward, and Weber will all be up after the 10/11 season. Sullivan may very well be done after this, but I don't want us to screw ourselves financially and not be able to keep Weber. Granted, he will be an RFA that year. However if he keeps improving like he has, he'll be due a nice raise from his 4.5 million per year contract.
On the UFA front for losses, the Preds have definitely lost Fiddler and Zanon. Fiddler will be making 1.1 million per year for two years in Phoenix. I hate to say it, but see ya! He was one of the nicest guys off the ice, but the on ice Fiddler is not worth that contract. He can go bother Phoenix with all his offsides antics. Zanon went to Minnesota and will be making close to 2 million a year for three years. Again, nice guy, but there are too many young guys in Milwaukee for us to pay Greg that kind of money. I'd rather watch a rookie make mistakes than see Z take himself out of the play blocking shots.
As for the rest of the NHL, I was sad to see Gomez go to the Canadiens. The also got Cammalleri. Lucky d-bags. Winchester is staying in St. Louis, which I love. Joining the Blues is Ty Conklin. Snort. Good luck with Howard Detroit; not sure that's gonna pan out too well. Last, but certainly not least, for now at least, Hossa signed a TWELVE year deal with Chicago. His contract will be up 2021, in which he will be making "just" $750,000. The deal is ridiculously front loaded. For the first seven years, he will make just under 8 million each year. By the end of the deal, he will be 42 years old. Will he even be alive?! Sweet Jesus. I just don't think the Hawks made a very wise decision seeing as how they are paying Campbell and Huet stupid money and Kane and Toews will be demanding significant raises in the near future. But if one of the young guys must go, please send him to Nashville. We haven't seen the likes of a pure scoring forward since Kariya left. This is the Predators fan in me talking, but I hope Chicago shot themselves in the foot with this contract. I would love nothing more than for Hossa to be a complete bust. This is a text I sent after his "fight" with Suter earlier this season: "anyone who has literally been undressed by Ryan Suter should never be allowed on the ice again." Hossa, I hope Chicago fans treat you with the respect you "deserve." Try not to cry the first time they feel like voicing their opinions about your play by booing the daylights out of you.
/angry Hossa rant
It's almost 4 pm July 2nd and the Preds have done nothing else. Not like I'm expecting much. Another forward is clearly too much to ask. Poile better pray Shea nets about 30 goals this season.
/angry Predators not getting scoring forwards rant
Ward signed a two year deal and will be making 1.5 million each year, which I believe is an overpayment. He had one semi-good year. But hey, I'm not a manager; what do I know? And how do I know that money may not have gone to better use getting a bonafide top six power forward? Nevertheless, the deal is done, and we'll just have to see how things play out.
Considering the calendar had reached July without a deal with Sullivan, I assumed he was as good as gone. Around roughly 5 pm, via Twitter of course, it was revealed that Sully's house was not for sale and that a deal had been reached! It's a two year deal, worth a little more than 3.5 million per year. I am satisfied with that. A full year of , Sully, Dumont, and Arnott may make them seem less lazy. But if the SAD line sucks it up and Arny and Darshmont are lazy, I'm calling them on it.
The only thing that makes me nervous about these two year deals is this: Arnott, Sullivan, Ward, and Weber will all be up after the 10/11 season. Sullivan may very well be done after this, but I don't want us to screw ourselves financially and not be able to keep Weber. Granted, he will be an RFA that year. However if he keeps improving like he has, he'll be due a nice raise from his 4.5 million per year contract.
On the UFA front for losses, the Preds have definitely lost Fiddler and Zanon. Fiddler will be making 1.1 million per year for two years in Phoenix. I hate to say it, but see ya! He was one of the nicest guys off the ice, but the on ice Fiddler is not worth that contract. He can go bother Phoenix with all his offsides antics. Zanon went to Minnesota and will be making close to 2 million a year for three years. Again, nice guy, but there are too many young guys in Milwaukee for us to pay Greg that kind of money. I'd rather watch a rookie make mistakes than see Z take himself out of the play blocking shots.
As for the rest of the NHL, I was sad to see Gomez go to the Canadiens. The also got Cammalleri. Lucky d-bags. Winchester is staying in St. Louis, which I love. Joining the Blues is Ty Conklin. Snort. Good luck with Howard Detroit; not sure that's gonna pan out too well. Last, but certainly not least, for now at least, Hossa signed a TWELVE year deal with Chicago. His contract will be up 2021, in which he will be making "just" $750,000. The deal is ridiculously front loaded. For the first seven years, he will make just under 8 million each year. By the end of the deal, he will be 42 years old. Will he even be alive?! Sweet Jesus. I just don't think the Hawks made a very wise decision seeing as how they are paying Campbell and Huet stupid money and Kane and Toews will be demanding significant raises in the near future. But if one of the young guys must go, please send him to Nashville. We haven't seen the likes of a pure scoring forward since Kariya left. This is the Predators fan in me talking, but I hope Chicago shot themselves in the foot with this contract. I would love nothing more than for Hossa to be a complete bust. This is a text I sent after his "fight" with Suter earlier this season: "anyone who has literally been undressed by Ryan Suter should never be allowed on the ice again." Hossa, I hope Chicago fans treat you with the respect you "deserve." Try not to cry the first time they feel like voicing their opinions about your play by booing the daylights out of you.
/angry Hossa rant
It's almost 4 pm July 2nd and the Preds have done nothing else. Not like I'm expecting much. Another forward is clearly too much to ask. Poile better pray Shea nets about 30 goals this season.
/angry Predators not getting scoring forwards rant
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