Author Archive for The Acid Queen

23
Jul

Roll It Up

BREAKING NEWS: Claude Avery didn’t talk about his Infamous Page 2 article this morning. He said (among other things) “Until we can do it right, it doesn’t make much sense to do it.”

Fair enough–though I seriously wonder what “do it right” entails. (edit: Claude went on to say in the commentbox that “doing it right is framing a conversation that would actually be productive and worth the time to have and listen to.” Which is fair enough. Vague, but fair enough.)

Also: QMJHL scout Martin Madden has left the Smallest Scouting Staff in the NHL to take a job as chief of scouting for the Anaheim Ducks.

The Hurricanes now have a scouting staff of 9 (unless they did stealth-hiring when nobody was looking)…and people wonder why our drafts wind up being head-scratchers half the time, really.

21
Jul

Save the Drama For Your Mama

…cos the AcidQueen don’t wanna hear it.

So many things to talk about today, so let’s get down to it shall we?

ISSUE ONE: The Defence.

Luke DeCock has opened a lovely can of worms with this week’s iteration of The Monday Debate–and I, of course, had to go and chum the waters a bit. I should have probably been a bit more blunt-force, but what would be the fun in that?

Simply put, our defense is fearsome–and not in the happy fun way, either. Joe Corvo is best when used in strict moderation. Joni Pitkanen is a question mark. Josef Melichar should have been left in Sweden. Nicky Wallin should go back to Sweden (his best season was 05-06. Seriously kids. I love the man but he’s done like dinner). Timmy Gleason…eh. When Tim Gleason and Joni Pitkanen are your likely top pairing? Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Am I being too harsh? No. This team should have laid out the coin for Aaron Ward, but no–Uncle Pete has decreed that the nickel-and-diming shall continue, and so we get Yet Another Nickel-and-Dime Defence.

ISSUE TWO: Bomani Jones and the Survey of Doom

You all remember Bomani Jones’ pitiful excuse for an attempt to take a potshot at hockey in the South find Hurricanes fans back during the 2006 ECF. He deliberately went to places like Sammy’s (which has never been a destination for fans–mostly because it’s pretty exclusively NCSU-oriented and also because the owner is just a teensy bit hostile towards us damn carpetbagger Caniacs…nevermind that a lot of State fans are also Hurricanes fans), the fringes of Durham (where of course he just had to toss out the gratuitous bit of sports racism–i.e. “hockey is for white folks”), and the inboxes of a couple buddies of his (one of whom is a NASCAR fan and the other one of whom isn’t even a fan of the Hurricanes).

Bomani decided to, after getting hit with the Ten Ton Hammer by half the Caniac Nation for being such a douche, whine and cry that he was just trying to be funny. Of course you were just trying to be funny, Bomani. Of course you were. And I am the King of Siam. Et Cetera, Et Cetera.

So–why am I bringing all this up? Because Bo decided to bring up a survey of the 500 residents of Hyde County (glove-tap to janeybell for that zinger) that supposedly showed that nobody in NC gives a fig for (or even knows about) the Hurricanes, and then use that as an excuse to show his ass yet again (on the heels of Greg Wyshynski’s mild clowning on the survey in the midst of getting some quotes from Hurricanes’ Media Czar Mike Sundheim)…after which Bo pussed out when questioned in the commentbox about what his “point” was supposed to be.

SUMMATION: Bo doesn’t know dinky-doo. He’s also a whiner–apparently anyone who took issue with him even in the slightest is an “oversensitive fan who missed the point”. Dudeman is a turtler, bigtime; therefore, I shall dub him Claude Avery.

(BTW, for those who have IMed or e-mauled me asking me to call in: I would like to, but I don’t have a phone at my desk nor do I know if I’ll be able to get into the equipment room at work so I can use the phone there. They don’t pay me teh moniez to hammer Bristoleros on the phone, yanno.

My major issue with the survey is that the sample size is pretty damn miniscule. It’s like Jeremy Clarkson asking a question of one audience member on Top Gear and then saying “There you have it, nought percent of the British population own a Prius/like diesels/want speed cameras/whatever”–which he does specifically to poke fun at pollsters. 500 people is not a sufficient sample size to give a good result, unless the base that the sample is drawn from is also very small (e.g. 500 people out of 10,000). Moreover, where was the survey conducted? Do I have to get out the Barbecue Map and show you mooks the sports breakdown of North Carolina or something?

I also have to wonder what the author of that poll was drinking when he came up with it–but that’s a question for another day.

ISSUE THREE: The Schedule

Yay, schedule’s out. Whoopie-ding, Detroit is the last game before the State Fair Road Trip (and of course, somebody’s already engaged in asshattery over it–quelle grande surprise).

Big deal. SlugFans are worse than Wings fans anyway–except that once the SlugFans sober up, they can at least talk hockey in a semi-intelligent manner.

Now that that’s out of the way:

I’m far more interested in the fact that the schedule is finally back to some semblance of normalcy–of course, since division rivals get played 6 times a piece, invariably some mental giant out there is going to start bringing out the “DEE DEE DEE, SE Division only gets a seed cos they play a weak division, durrr.”

The Red Wings win the President’s Trophy damn near every season because they play a weak division, and I don’t hear anyone saying anything about that. So why does the Southeast Division get hailed on? The Sabres won the President’s Trophy with the exact same division record that the Hurricanes had the year they won the Cup–but I don’t hear anything about that except for the random SlugThug calling me “bitter and angry” because s/he’s too drunk or soaked in his/her own personal issues to come up with something actually intelligent to say. So why does the Southeast Division get hailed on?

I keep hoping to have a cogent discourse with somebody on this topic–but so far it’s been about as fruitful as a Wipe Club raid*.

WARNING: Very funny, especially if you’re a WoW player, but there’s lots of profanity thrown about at that link. Don’t listen at work or with the kids around.

15
Jul

A New Hope….?

Guess Who Might Be Coming For Dinner? — LSB

I don’t even fucking believe it. Jeff O’Neill? The guy who needed shipped out of Raleigh before he wound up piledriving himself into a bridge abutment after getting tanked at Crowley’s?  The guy who was surly with fans (including his #1 fan on the whole damn planet, who he ripped a new one just for saying “hi” to him on the street), surly with the media, and whose best year was the Year of The Great Finals Run (well OK, and the year before, when he became the franchise’s first 40-goal man since Brendan damn Shanahan)?

The dude who played in a beer league all last season rather than play in the minors?  What?  I would HOPE he’s being looked at as an Albany signing, fo realz. I would also hope that O’s managed to get it through his head that if he wants to have anything even remotely resembling a career in the NHL again, he’s going to have to start in the minors and work his way into The Show.

And I’ll let the Tribal Elders take care of the other stuff.

06
Jul

A history lesson

4 March 1991. Eddie Johnston–then the GM of the Hartford Whalers–trades away Whalers captain Ron Francis, defenceman Ulf Samuelsson, and forward Grant Jennings to the Pittsburgh Penguins for John Cullen and Zarley Zalapski. As soon as the Whalers’ season ends shortly thereafter, Johnston himself resigns and takes a job with–dun dun dun!–the Penguins, who go on to win the first of their two Cups that season. To this day, anyone who was a fan of the team back then still considers that move a deliberate kneecapping by a dishonest scuzzwipe.

Why do I bring this up?  Because of the following letter that appeared in the N&O’s sports section this morning:

Canes could be repeating history

Flashback to March 4, 1991: General manager Eddie Johnston of the Hartford Whalers trades fan favorite Ron Francis to the Pittsburgh Penguins, alienates fans, and the Penguins go on to win the Stanley Cup.

Brilliant.

It would appear that fools are bound to repeat history. Shortsighted, one-sided trades are the most damning legacy of this team.

Will we have to wait eight years and slog through a dearth of lousy replacements before we see Erik Cole in Raleigh again? And will Edmonton win the Stanley Cup this year?

Jennifer Fitts

Raleigh

Thanks for that letter, Ms. Fitts–in one fell swoop, you and your errant grasp of history have managed to further the stereotype of female fans as dim-witted puckbunnies who know dick-all about hockey (and the tool who write the same thing to the Fayettenam Observer furthers the stereotype of Hurricanes fans in general as a bunch of uneducated rubes who know dick-all about hockey).

I fail to see the comparison between The Eternal Captain and the super-caffeinated Erik “Espresso” Cole, and it’s a little early to call the trade “one-sided”. Have you watched Pitkanen play?  More than likely not. Have you read any scouting reports about him?  More than likely not. I’m more than happy to reserve final judgement until the middle of December, but really?  The team needed (still needs) defence, and Cole was the only tradeable asset. Had more been given up along with him, then yes–the trade would have been one-sided. But really?  As it stands now it’s pretty even.

So please, people–before getting all up in teh dramaz and making comparisons that don’t exist, learn a little bit about history. Seriously.

05
Jul

Saturday Odds and Sods

First off: The SS Kevin Lowe has finally launched a retaliatory strike at Burkeistan. The only thing I take issue with is the crack on the market in Anaheim, because it reeks of the elitist snobbery that every franchise south of Chicago has had to take for years regardless of success. That was bush-league. The rest? Oh man, I was lollerskating around the room kids. That was just some classic bitchiness, and I was loving it to death.

Issue Two: According to the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch, Tampa Bay Lightning San Jose Sharks defenceman Dan Boyle is more than a little upset with the floppy red pair of clownshoes new regime in T-Bay for first telling telling him that he’d be a part of things, and then turning around and asking him to waive his NTC so he could be traded to San Jose (along with Brad Lukowich) in exchange for Matt Carle and a couple draft picks–after threatening to put him on waivers and making sure that Atlanta would get him.

Issue Three: Washington is fux0red. After making the playoffs for the first time since 2003, the Capitals decided to let Mr. Regular Season walk (and get signed by Chicago) and opted for Jose Theodore instead. Gutsy move there by GMGM–what’s he going to do when Theodore winds up being less than useless to him and Aleksandr Balshoii can’t score enough to make up for all the goals that get let in?

Issue Four: Cujo is back in Toronto. *points and laughs*

And finally: The Ottawa Senators are apparently wanting to get their mitts on Frankie Kaberle. Granted, it IS Bruce “Less Right Than A Busted Watch” Garrioch saying this–but if the Sens want to take Alien Frankie off our hands they are welcome to him. We’ll be glad to give him to you in exchange for like Antoine Vermette or somebody. *snicker*

02
Jul

UFA Open Thread

This is an open thread only because I’m swamped here at work and can’t spare the time to come up with a rant about Josef freaking Melichar.

The floor, folks–it is yours.

01
Jul

Yes, I know.

So as I said earlier, I knew about the trade the minute it was announced on NHL Live. My head hit the desk, because really–I know that Snatch (who is an RFA) is going to want stupid money that he’s not worth, which means that when JR signs him so that he can save face, we’ll effectively be done looking for defencemen.

We are so fux0red. Not as fux0red as Tampa or Washington, but we’re still fux0red.

So, Cole. Not the same since he got Orpiked, but still–he was one of our better forwards and he was getting back into form. Dudeman was also our only tradeable asset, thanks to the 23987234724 NTCs that JimR handed out like Halloween candy–and with John-Michael LiLOLs out of the picture, JimR kinda had to trade for what he could trade for.

He better not be done.

More of a breakdown from Luke, who was at the Presser (and who takes a nice potshot at Perez Eklund).

We better damn not be done.

19
Jun

Gleason signs; Caniac Nation erupts in spontaneous rejoicing

Gleason signed for 4 years. Hurricanes also trade for rights to tough guy Darcy Hordichuk — LSB

There is still much work to be done on this team, if manglement expects to be able to compete this coming season–but the signing is a positive sign.

15
Jun

Can You Spell “Overrated”, Boys and Girls?

Way to be, toolbag. (850 The Buzz blog, comments)

To sum up: A fan went into a thread that should have been about applauding Glen Wesley, and decided to crap all over it by talking about how his boy Bret of the Gimpy Hip was the real loss to our defence.

I quote one of this clown’s “gems”:

A healthy Hedican was the backbone of both the 02 and 06 Stanley Cup runs. No healthy Hedican, no playoffs!

Excuse me, what? Nevermind that the Hurricanes were going to make the playoffs anyway both seasons, and that the Hurricanes were already running away with the Southeast as of February 2002 (when Gimpy came to the Hurricanes). And let’s just forget about the Season From Hell, where Gimpy was healthy–and we finished dead freakin’ last.

And plus-minus? Yes, that is a real sure-fire indicator that a defenceman is good–Marek Malik shoulda won the Norris Trophy in 2004, if a high plus-minus means that you’re great. +35? BEST DEFENCEMAN EVER, CLEARLY. A++++ HALLOFAME PLAYER WOULD SIGN AGAIN.

*snort*

Give me a break, Hedi-homers. I liked the guy, sure. Yes, a good plus-minus is a strong indicator of a defenceman’s tendencies–but I remember how craptacularly Marek Malik was treated by a lot of the “fans” here, and how he got blamed for everything from the price of tea in China to the Armenian Genocide…now suddenly a guy who made more defensive gaffes and brainfarts than I’ve ever seen Harry make is the Second Coming. Do what?

The backbone of our two Finals runs and one Cup win? What are you idiots smoking, and where can I get in on some of that action? Seriously, I’m asking here. I credit Ron Francis’ leadership for 2002, and Cam Ward’s amazing Drydenesque play in goal for 2006–and Aaron Ward was the backbone of the defence in BOTH those seasons. Gimpy? He was a supporting player. An important cog in the machinery of 2006, of course. But he was a medium-sized cog at best.

Just sayin’.

13
Jun

An Army Navy of Two

I’d like to welcome DaveG as my partner in blog. Dave’s been a fan of the Hurricanes since the Hartford days (along with the Penguins), and is a regular poster on hfboards.com where he’s the Hurricanes board’s resident Amateur Draft Guru. He serves up commentary with a healthy side of sarcasm (and a little less gonzo than yours truly), and I’m delighted to have him on board.

Draft preview coming. Be afraid, be very afraid.

11
Jun

We Can Has Backup?

Hurricanes ink Michael Leighton to 2 year deal — ch.com

Thank the gods for that, too. This will give us some stability in goal, which will help immensely. I just hope that they don’t suddenly decide to start fighting again.

In other news: Salaries are higher now than they were pre-Ragnarok. WTF?  Frakkin’ hell people, why did we have a lockout in the first freakin’ place?

09
Jun

Job Swap ftw? (and a scouting rant)

Daniels, Rowe swap positions — LSB

Press release — ch.com

This should be interesting–though really I am more interested to see how Jake does in Albany than I am to see how TRowe does here in R’lyeh.

And as an aside, OG Whalercane Robert Kron was hired by the Hurricanes as the team’s European scout. It’s not that I mind this, but even with this hiring we only have a scouting staff of 10. Even the Avalanche, who have possibly the most weak-sauce farm system in the League, have more than the Hurricanes. Only three more, but they still have more–three of whom are in Europe.

But that, my friends, is a rant for another day. Or later today. I haven’t decided yet.

08
Jun

no good deed goes unpunished (and alumni nights)

I write a post congratulating the Red Wings on winning the Cup. I was–so I thought, anyway–quite complimentary, laudatory even. I went out of my way to praise them, even. The Chief links it, showing the contrast between my post and the rather venomous screeds that were posted by a few Avs and Blues fans.

As you see from the comments, I wound up getting blasted by some of the Chief’s regulars anyway.

*facepalm*

That’s what I get for trying to show a modicum of good sportsmanship, I guess.

(I had some less-complimentary things I was going to say as part of the above, but I decided to follow the example set by–of all people–the Red Wings’ current and previous Captains and stay classy)

Moving on:

A guy on X Random Messageboard seriously suggested that Bret of the Gimpy Hip’s jersey be retired…only to immediately backtrack and say “I was really just stirring the pot” after being challenged by a couple people. Of course you were just stirring the pot, dude–that’s why, when you were originally challenged, you said “Oh, I want to see him recognized for all he’s done for the team”.

Dude, srsly. Give Gimpy a nice gift when he comes back with whatever team he signs with in the offseason or something–that’s what the Hurricanes that made it through the Greensboro years all got together and did for Kevin Dineen. Have an alumni night some years from now where our first Cup team gets recognized (perhaps when the Warchief’s jersey gets retired). But retiring his jersey? Hell no. No way has he done anything to warrant that.

Just being “a leader” is not enough. Just winning a Cup is not enough. Getting a jersey retired is and should be a singular and rare honour that is given only to those people whose career with the team stands out far above anyone else’s. It’s why I don’t think Ray Bourque’s jersey should have been retired by Colorado. Yes, he won a Cup with them–but he was there for a season and a freaking half. He totally deserved having his jersey retired by the Bruins…but the Avs? That was a freakin’ joke right there.

Just sayin’, of course.

06
Jun

Two Carolina Originals

This week saw the retirement of the last two Original Whalercanes in the NHL.

Sami Kapanen announced his retirement from the NHL amid precious little fanfare, and is going back to Finland to play his last few years with KalPa Kuopio, the team that he has a majority ownership stake in (and that he played for before being drafted into the NHL). Perhaps best-remembered here for winning the Fastest Skater title in each of his All-Star appearances (2000 and 2002), Sami is best-remembered by the rest of the NHL for taking a nasty hit from behind by Leafs dirty cheap-ass piece of crappest-slash- cheapshot-artistagitator Darcy Tucker in the 2004 playoffs, and fighting his way back to the bench.

Sami also had the assist on The Goal That Saved The Team’s Ass (The Warchief’s Game 4 OT game-winner) in the 2001 playoffs. A lot of people blasted Sami here because he didn’t score 293872498724 goals. I, however, will never say anything bad about the man that helped turn this team away from what would surely have been a most ignominious demise.

Glen Wesley announced his retirement yesterday that also served to announce his hiring as Director of Defenceman Development. Everything that can be said about #2 would take many long days to retell, so I will spare you the thousand words and leave you with a picture that sums it all up:

Thanks for the memories, Glen. It’s been an honour and a privilege to watch you play.

04
Jun

And now you see that Evil will always triumph because GOOD is DUMB.

(Note: I wrote this as Game 5 was winding down. I present it now, with minor changes.)

And the Malik Effect claims another victim. Congratulations, Red Wings.

As much as I hate that team, as much as I think that their fans are (with a few exceptions–three of whom are bloggers) a bunch of drooling moronic n00blets with no class who know exactly dick-all about hockey, as much as I was hoping for them to get pwned a la 1995, I must speak truth here:

They–the Red Wings–are consummate professionals, and in these Finals they gave a clinic in how to completely and totally dismantle a team that had become–and let us be honest here–a disorganized gang that at times in this series could barely find their own nutsacks with a flashlight and a sat-nav unit. I must applaud that.

Anyone who is a fan of the sport must, in my opinion, rise above their hatred and applaud the skill and professionalism shown by the Red Wings. Valour of course doesn’t enter into this equation, not this time–they didn’t have a captain who willed himself to play on one functional leg. They didn’t have to overcome any great adversity or even have to battle back from being on the ropes. They were simply given a task, and like the band of trained assassins that they are the Red Wings terminated their target with extreme prejudice.

I must raise a glass to that. As a fan of hockey, as an admirer of individual skill, I must salute that. I must admire that.

I never said I had to like it, of course. But I must–and I do–respect it.

I must also raise a glass to the Pittsburgh Penguins, who could have rolled over and died. No lie kids, they really looked like they were going to shrivel on the vine much as the Senators did last season. But they didn’t. And do not let my satirical e-mail to NHL Live earlier today fool you–I was cheering for the Pens, and foolishly thought that I’d be able to make a “prediction” and have it fall flat to force a seventh game. I was hoping that that triple-overtime deflation would take the wind out of the Red Wings’ sails and propel the Penguins on to an eventual win.

Sadly, I was the one disappointed. Congratulations, Red Wings.

Thank you, and good night.

04
Jun

Srs Bzns

It’s been reported in LSB (by way of the National Post) that Canadian gazillionaire Jim Balsillie was (according to his people) approached by eight US-based NHL teams about a possible sale. The writer of the article, one Theresa Tedesco, made a point of mentioning that four of those teams were based in the southern US (and three of those markets–Carolina, Atlanta, and Tampa–happen to be in the SE Division), in conjunction with the words “weak hockey markets”.

Atlanta, eh. That town has ALWAYS been a slack sports town. Even when the Braves were the NL West/East/Whatever Champs for like 12839071298312476 seasons in a row, they never filled Fulton County Stadium (or its successor, Turner Field). Even when the Falcons were good (for all of like five minutes), the GeorgiaDome never got full. That said: Hockey has always been a draw in Atlanta–the Flames, had their original owner not been forced to sell them by the collapse of the real-estate market (and had the only buyer not been from Calgary), would likely still be in Atlanta and they would still be drawing modestly. That said, playing like ass does tend to keep fans away.

Tampa, though…Not really thrilled, here. Tampa’s had terrific attendance figures since the season they won the Cup, and they are a strong sports market and have been for years–hells, look at the Bucs. They were pathetic for years, and people still went to games. The market is not weak here, kids.

Which brings us to the Hurricanes. We’re not Detroit, but our economy here in the sports-crazy Triangle sucks ass and is preventing people like me from buying tickets too–of course, since we’re not Detroit we’re not allowed to use that excuse and we just have to take sidelong jabs from fans (and the occasional mediot) about us not being a hockey market. Even so, I don’t think that the Hurricanes present a very tempting target for Balsillie because really, they’re not struggling that much. The guy is going to want a team that’s seriously on the rocks because he feels that he can move it with impunity and little backlash.

Whatever happens, fans of whichever team this man latches his claws onto should prepare for that team’s imminent departure.

Hockey: It’s teh srs bzns.

04
Jun

Wednesday Woo

My current gaming obsession is EVE Online, so here is another EVE video–because I’d rather not think about a certain cerebrally-challenged band of idiots getting any kind of satisfaction tonight.

 

This bad boy is a trailer for the game. It really is a stunning, beautiful game.

Here’s a combat video set to “Furious Angels” by Rob Dougan:

And finally, a link to my corp’s website, with a recruitment vid on the frontpage.

Man this is a beautiful game.




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