Fusspot rants, embarrassing photos of yourself and general correspondence go here: universalnicks@gmail.com



Consider this an explanation...

I wrote this week's column on the Senators' excess of Wade Redden-type defensemen. It's my belief that Ottawa has a plethora of blueliners who fit into the mould of No. 6, and not enough traditional stay-at-home guys. And it's ironic, considering that the team believed that Redden's attributes are difficult to replicate (one of the biggest reasons why they resigned him).

Anyway, the Redden replicas went on a tear tonight, scoring five of the seven points put up by Sens defensemen.

How bloody infuriating, especially considering that they were seven shades of brutal during the Avs game on Thursday.

Regardless, I stand by my argument because a) I believe the defense's offensive output tonight was an aberration; b) Chris Phillips is consistently one of the best players during the second season (the season that matters) and they could use more of his ilk during that critical period and c) as long as players like Jason Spezza continue to cough up the puck, you need someone who won't get caught up trying to join the rush, because he was in too deep at the other end. Basically, you need someone that's a safe precursor to the heart attack-inducing expense known as Martin Gerber.

In short: I'm not trying to be a downer; I'm not looking for the negative stories when everyone will be concentrating on a badly needed redemption game. I wrote this column on Wednesday. I am forced to write the columns early, because of scheduling. It almost always works out. Tomorrow it won't, and I'll look like an a-hole.

Now you know why.

3 responses to "Well, don't I feel like a jackass"

  1. It's interesting to note that while the Redden clones put up a plethora of points, Redden himself is still left point-less.

    It hurts me very deeply.

    Miss. Scarlett

  2. Why do you have to submit your stuff so early, when the other guys can do it the night before?

    I mean - your columns have to be 650 words or less, right? The formatting shouldn't be a big deal...

    Maybe it's because you're known to be such a loose cannon that the editor has to look at everything with a magnifying glass?

    "What the - another punk rock reference? This is OTTAWA! This has to be re-done. Get Nicks in here, right now!"

    -A

    Wardo

  3. The columns tend to run between 720-740 words. It's my editor's doing, and I don't ask questions. As a freelancer, I don't like to rock the boat.

    The Pennywise interview was such a trip. I was in this tiny basement room downtown with Fletcher Dragge (who would give Chara a run for his money in the height department), and Keith Morris from the Circle Jerks. Morris is the Jerks' frontman, is 51 years old, and has dreadlocks that fall to his waist. He's like a walking punk legend/museum. Both Morris and Dragge were extremely friendly, and considering that I really asked Fletcher only one question, he talked to me for a good 10-15 minutes. Very SoCal -- very low-key. It was probably the weirdest (and most memorable) interview I've done to date.

    The Universal Cynic