NO kidding. Who the hell wants to see the Stars on opening night. That's like catching a glimpse of your mother taking a shower. Sure, you get to see boobs, but it could have been so much better had it been your sister. - WayneZ
- shvingter88

Has Mark Mitera?

Please stop saying Hickey was WAY down because it PROVES just how much YOU don't know about hockey.

Hickey was going to be taken in the 1st round. Where players are RANKED vs where they are taken is a testament to those who evaluate players for a LIVING.

Here are some quotes from Lombardi:

"In publications, people might have had him 25 to 30 (that's 1st round Toe), but there was too much buzz on him. THAT TYPE OF DEFENSEMAN IS HARD TO FIND. I drew a line under a certain number and I said "I can't go below that or I'm going to lose him". HE WOULD HAVE ENDED UP GOING 10 TO 13. That's why Timmonen gets 7 million dollars. People find value in that kind of player. When you have a number of players in a certain layer, you lean towards POSITION. IF ANYBODY FOLLOWS MY HISTORY IN TERMS OF DEFENSE, I LIKE PLAYERS WHO CAN GET UP THE RINK IN A HURRY. I look at this as hopefully being similar to Stuart and Hannan in San Jose. Karl (Alzner) is going to play in the NHL next year. He's more mature. Alzner is a very good player and a VERY SAFE PICK. Hickey is riskier but the upside is HIGHER."

"It came down to TWO PLAYERS. One offense and one forward. We really microanalyzed it."

THE FOLLOWING DAY, LOMBARDI ADDED...

I FOUND OUT FOR SURE HE WASN'T GETTING BY EIGHT (held by Boston). That's why we knew we couldn't drop down too far."

I guess NHL scouts from NHL teams seemed to think Hickey was much more valuable than the 25th or 30th ranking that NEWSPAPERS had.


So shut up.

-Matthew Barry

This thread is awesome. Nominee:

Is it me or does he wear smaller pads than any other goalie in the league? Also it wouldn't surprise me if Leclaire somehow got hit in the head with a book or something today during the earthquake and will be out until December.
- sabres51

This thread is awesome. Nominee:
- Travis Yost

Nomination REJECTED

Nomination REJECTED
- Crimsoninja

Like basketball or some other strange American sport where the word rejected is used by highlight people.

Like basketball or some other strange American sport where the word rejected is used by highlight people.
- DTF69

GET THAT OUTTA HERE!

Alright Crimson, we're now at war.

Alright Crimson, we're now at war.
- Travis Yost

After today's blog you need to start an army. Might I suggest M.Barry?

Nomination REJECTED
- Crimsoninja

Alright Crimson, we're now at war.
- Travis Yost

Ok. But are you sure you know what "war" means? Because apparently you haven't been able to grasp the concept of "epic".

Ok. But are you sure you know what "war" means? Because apparently you haven't been able to grasp the concept of "epic".
- Crimsoninja

After a random selection, you will assume Zanzibar, and myself, the United Kingdom.

Where is the blog that Ek uses "the orstrl" for Komisarek? That needs to be here.

Where is the blog that Ek uses "the orstrl" for Komisarek? That needs to be here.
- vaden21

Start searchin the archives for chrissakes. We can't do everything around here.

Ek's twitter: Byfugkian traded.

Guys, for f*cks sake he reports RUMORS. If he only reports trades he thinks will actually happen he'll only be updating his site once every month or so and then you guys will cry that he's not updating cause he's not a "Real" reporter in the industry. There's no possible way for him to win. If he doesn't report EVERYTHING he hears than this site will become just as boring as spectorshockey.net or thefourthperiod.com. - no disrespect to them but...you know

Clearly he reports what he hears no matter how dumb it sounds.

Definition of a rumor cause clearly most of you don't understand:
1. A piece of unverified information of uncertain origin usually spread by word of mouth.
2. Unverified information received from another; hearsay.

Crack on me for sticking up for him and make fun of me for jokes and to make yourself feel better but you guys constantly bash him for giving you rumors and then visit his site every single day as if he's Jesus, clearly he's doing something right. Do you realize how dumb that makes you look?

Bring it on, bash me for sticking up for him but you'll be back tomorrow, reading the same "frauds" rumors all over again.

-Juice

Guys, for f*cks sake he reports RUMORS. If he only reports trades he thinks will actually happen he'll only be updating his site once every month or so and then you guys will cry that he's not updating cause he's not a "Real" reporter in the industry. There's no possible way for him to win. If he doesn't report EVERYTHING he hears than this site will become just as boring as spectorshockey.net or thefourthperiod.com. - no disrespect to them but...you know

Clearly he reports what he hears no matter how dumb it sounds.

Definition of a rumor cause clearly most of you don't understand:
1. A piece of unverified information of uncertain origin usually spread by word of mouth.
2. Unverified information received from another; hearsay.

Crack on me for sticking up for him and make fun of me for jokes and to make yourself feel better but you guys constantly bash him for giving you rumors and then visit his site every single day as if he's Jesus, clearly he's doing something right. Do you realize how dumb that makes you look?

Bring it on, bash me for sticking up for him but you'll be back tomorrow, reading the same "frauds" rumors all over again.

-Juice
- nikoli1206

Thanks nikoli1206, i was going to post it, very epic...

Thanks nikoli1206, i was going to post it, very epic...
- beerisgod!!!

Juice always has a hard on for Ek...I don't get it.

Well done. Excellent post.

I've tried defending Ek in the past, but have gotten nowhere. It really doesn't bother me either way what people say about him, but it does bother me to see total ignorance.

He's now "called" two of the biggest trades of the of-season (BOS/FLA and CHI/ATL). Wanna bash him when his rumours (again, most people don't seem to get what a rumour is) don't transpire? Fine, but you better praise him 10 fold when he pulls one out of the dark and nails it.

I think that people who try to calculate his accuracy based on some percentage of deals that actually happen are using flawed methodology. If Burke talks to 10 teams about Kaberle, Ek reports them all, then Kaberle gets traded somewhere else, did Ek make a mistake? Did he make 10 mistakes?

Generally, his rumours seem to reflect the overall trends and prevailing wisdom of the NHL. Do I think he's right all the time? No, I think he may have some questionable sources. But do I trust him generally to give us a good feel for wher things are headed.

Case in point: the infamous "This is Not a Drill" post, for which he was roundly criticized. A few months later, and Phaneuf is indeed traded.
- Leeman4Gilmour

http://sports.yahoo.com/tennis/blog/busted_racquet/post/Isner-and-Mahut-deadlocked-at-59-59-in-historic-?urn=ten,250772

suspended due to darkness after 10+ hours 59 games to 59games

Consider: The longest previous set at Wimbledon lasted 46 games. Isner-Mahut didn't just shatter the record, they obliterated it.

Among the other remarkable statistics from the match:

— It's the longest match in tennis history: 9 hours, 58 minutes. The previous record was 6 hours, 33 minutes.

— Longest set in tennis history: 118 games.

— Most games in Wimbledon history: 153 (previous record was 112).

— Both players broke the ATP record for most aces in a match. Isner had 98, Mahut hit 94. The previous record was 78. Combined, the two had 192 aces, more than double the old record of 84.

— Mahut had just three break points during the entire match.

— The first four sets took 2 hours, 54 minutes. The fifth set is at 7 hours, 4 minutes and counting.

— Mahut won 448 points to Isner's 428. Isner had more winners: 333 to 318.

— The final set is longer than the previous longest match in tennis history. That was 6 hours, 33 minutes.

— Isner had four match points, one at 11-10, two others at 33-32 and another at 59-58. The first and last match points came nearly six hours apart.
At 50-50, Mahut had two break points and Isner promptly served a 134 mph ace.

— With Mahut serving at 52-53, the pair exchanged a 16-shot rally which ended with a Mahut forehand winner. It was the longest rally of the match. On the next point, Mahut dove for a backhand at the baseline following another long rally.

— The players took their first bathroom break at 58-58. While walking in the tunnel, they exchanged pleasantries, the first time they had spoken all evening.

— Mahut only qualified for Wimbledon after winning a qualifier match in a 24-22 final set.

— The match is almost two hours longer than the longest Major League Baseball game in history (an 8:06 game between the White Sox and Brewers in 1984).

— The scoreboard stopped working at 47-47.

We'll never see the likes of this again.

The match is scheduled to be completed on Thursday afternoon. But Wimbledon organizers may want to keep a court open for Friday, just in case.
- dellio

i faht and a little bit of poop came out

-hockeyman7

i faht and a little bit of poop came out

-hockeyman7
- CaptainRivet

Not remotely epic. (frank) off you heathen.

Not remotely epic. (frank) off you heathen.
- sanfordnson

Not remotely epic. (frank) off you heathen.
- sanfordnson

Maybe Crimsoninja should keep this thread under control the way he does in the Dr Dellio thread, might keep some of these less than epic posts out.

Maybe Crimsoninja should keep this thread under control the way he does in the Dr Dellio thread, might keep some of these less than epic posts out.
- aschuter82

Never met you before, I'm ryan78.

Ek's twitter: Byfugkian traded.
- DTF69