...because I'm a hypocrite for going to SoCal. Why don't I just take up smoking?
·Donald Brashear displays his disdain for Brokeback Mountain and the NHL -- although not necessarily in that order. The Philly enforcer apparently has a problem with the game being adjusted to favour the skilled players. Don, you'll just have to adapt -- after all, Domi did. Oh, wait a minute...
Speaking of Domi and the Leafs, they're currently rocking the outside of the playoff bubble like no one's business. You had to love that 1,000 game ceremony for Domi before the Sens dropped the hammer on them (again) Saturday night. And how about the Leafs kicking in for Domi's new wine cellar? After all, nothing says "tough guy" like letting the entire world know you're an oenophile.
(Aside -- can you ever get enough of that picture? I know I can't.)
· Meanwhile, Steve Simmons has up and lost his mind (yes, again)
by suggesting that the Leafs drop McCabe and go after Chara in free agency. After all, "you could build a winner around Chara". Get the bloody hell outta here! Really? And all this time I figured we were trying to do that with Varada. Anyway, you can trust this scenario would occur over John Muckler's already-embalmed corpse. If Zdeno were to jump ship to the dark side, it would make the Johnny Damon incident look like a tea party.
· After watching 24 tonight, we now know why Elisha Cuthbert hasn't been posting on her NHL blog -- she's trapped in the communications room of CTU, attempting to escape the "Syntox nerve gas". And is anyone seriously disappointed that Edgar kicked it? My money was on Curtis. Next up: President Logan's wife. (Please, for the love of God...)
(Aside #2 -- I know you were hoping for an Elisha picture here. It's my blog, damnit. Too bad.)
· Finally, the biggest local story of last week (besides the Marcus Allen-esque insistence that the Sens are going after Olli Jokinen), involved the resignation of Lonie Glieberman from the Renegades. The Driver was dead-set on getting me to write about the 'Gades this week, but I refused. Why? Well, it might have something to do with the fact that no one cares about Ottawa's CFL team...especially in Ottawa. The timestamp on the above TSN story is 12:23 p.m. When I went back to check for comments at midnight on the same day, guess how many there were? Zero. Even now, nearly five days later, there are only 23 posts. Combine that, with the recent poll the Team 1200 had on their website -- the question was, "With Lonie stepping down, are the Renegades taking a step in the right direction?" -- 38.4% said they didn't care. I echo that sentiment wholeheartedly. There's nothing that could possibly hold my interest in the CFL. Even the players for the Lynx are working towards something. The CFL is nothing more than an NFL dumping ground. I'm convinced that this city hadn't thought beyond hosting a Grey Cup. Now they're stuck with a dying football franchise that they don't know what to do with. Lovely.
I'm leaving for SoCal on Wednesday, but I'll try and post something from there. I spell like the English, curse like the French and am paler than JJ Redick -- I guarantee at least one of those characteristics will freak the locals out. See you later this week.
Posts
have a safe trip!
HockeyKnight
1:26 p.m.
Steve Simmons isn't that far off the mark with Chara.
I have a bet going with my friend, which player will Ottawa keep, Redden, or Chara? (This assumes the team loses one of them, of course.)
His horse was Redden because (at the time of the bet) Redden was having a better season statistically and has more career upside (he thought) than Chara, who has only really come into his own the last year or two. And: "those big guys, they don't last. Look at the Hatcher brothers. Kevin Hatcher, big guy who hit a lot, big blue-line presence. Sound familiar? Washed up by 35. Same as Darien will be. Just like Chara will be. Redden will still be putting up the points by age 40. The Senators keep Redden."
My bet was Chara, because he's a one-of-a-kind player in the league who can't be replaced. Huge, can score, kills people with his bare hands. And the emergence of Mezsaros this season essentially renders Redden expendable, as he's already slotted into the top-4. Chara, has to be.
But now I'm thinking - if Chara is that irreplaceable, he'll command the maximum salary in July. Some team like New York or Phoenix will dangle it, and he'll take it. Redden? I don't see him getting the same dollar figure, I just don't. And with Melnyk making noises about operating under a $35 million budget, maybe they'd target Redden instead.
The Leafs? Chara would go in a second. Athletes don't care about "loyalty" - why should they? The moment they start stinking, out come the boo-birds. But they'd never get Chara because they won't have the money to pay another player 7.4 million, which is what it'll take to get him.
-A
Wardo
12:15 a.m.