rician blast

Patrice Bergeron concerns me. At times he looks a shell of his former self...I do see him make some nice plays and, more importantly, smart plays which help the team win...but he's not the same player. When he came up he was very physical, strong on the puck, willing to take a hit, and I don't see many signs of that now. I think the injury is still an issue for him, either physically or mentally.

Bite your tongue...ya can't trade Youk...the real 2008 MVP.

CC Sabathia = Kevin Brown Go ahead...sign him....make my day

s***, I knew Manny Fernandez was in he net today but i never got home in time to update my roster...and he wins 7-2. That's not good.

Boyes -Wideman I think it is very difficult to measure who got the better of the deal when the two players play different positions, in different systems, in different conferences. Boyes in St. Louis does not = Boyes in Boston. Same goes for Wideman. The Bruins needed a solid D-man, and they gave up a forward with potential and talent but one who was NOT, apparently, giving 100% all the time. He wasn't working in Boston. Good deal for both teams....and the B's have no reason to look back.

When he gets going, man, he's a pesky physical presence, creates some havoc out there.

You can spend what you don't have if you borrow...but I get your point. However, I'd argue that net worth is not necesarily a measure of "what you have" to spend. I think one needs to know a lot more about what that net worth value represents, how it's being measured, the organization's capital structure, their ownership structure and commitments to those owners in terms of ROI and especially the annual revenue and expense data before one can blindly say that "Team A is worth more so they have more to spend."

After the Dallas-Bruins game, Modano said if that is the type of hockey we're going to play, get me a job elsewhere, off the ice, because he was embarrassed. Apparently a number of Rangers players had no respect for Avery either. A lot of Rangers fans loved him, however. Not sure how old you all are, but if anyone can remember Ken Linseman for the Bruins, he was a Class A pest and I couldn't stand the crap he pulled, even though I'm a B's fan. All sorts of cheap, after the whistle stuff, then skate away. I have no respect for that. One guy on the Habs I think I like, but haven't focused enough on, is Steve Begin...he seems to skate hard and when on the ice, he will occasionally throw a heavy check. BoSox, what's the story with him...what do fans feel about him, what does he bring to the table...am I over-valuing him?

I agree 100%...that's the crap that pisses me off. Avery will do that too. In a game earlier this year he and Ott were running around cheapshotting the Bruins better players and when asked to go by Thornton or Hnidy, they ran, but Avery was willing to fight Andrew Ference. Now that's a punk.

So was I. As a B's fan it was absolutely priceless. Back to Lucic/Larocque, a lot of Habs fans are saying Lucic didn't man up and drop 'em against Larocque, one fan in the HB forums saying he hasn't "paid for what he did." Here's the thing...he's not out running Koivu, or players of that ilk...he's banging in the corners, clean hits, usually against D-men the way that power forwards have hit D-man forever...think of the beating Ray Bourque used to take. When Cam Neely played, they'd stick a Claude Lemieux on him and Claude would taunt, poke, slash, hold, high-stick, trip, face wash, etc. all game long, shift for shift. Then when Cam dropped the gloves, Claude would turtle...so did Samuelsson. That is the definition of not manning up. The idea of putting a goon on to (1) challenge a key offensive player and (2) take him off his game is a bit of a different story. Effective? I think so, Lucic looked out of sorts for a while. But in no way do I think Habs fans are accurate in their assessment of Lucic for not fighting Larocque...he's got no running beef with the man, he isn't out head hunting and he isn't hitting the Canadiens top players for the most part. I have no problem with the tactic as an effort to win, and I think Larocque's restraint showed class...he did his job without being a total goon. I do take issue with the idea that Lucic has done anything to warrant him taking on Larocque. If Lucic were to drop Koivu or Tanguay with a devestating hit, all bets are off...but that's not what has bene happening. Side note: Lucic leads the league in hits, Komisarek is 6th despite being out, Aaron Ward is 9th, Chara 10th. Ovechkin is 12th! Better put Thornton on him next time they play.

He's a pathetic defensive player...quit on several plays in the 6-1 B's win. One year in the playoffs he feigned injury on a "slash", giving up the puck in the neutral zone, and allowing the B's to score a huge goal. As for Larocque, you're right, his job was to get in Lucic's head. If that continues, look for Lucic to ultimately become more comfortable with the situation and start to take advantage of it...he's a much better skater than big George.

Lucic actually expressed some sympathy for Komisarek's injury, classy move.

Until Lucic dropped Komisarek it was Chara that got booed every thime he touched the puck. How quickly they move on to a new enemy. This actually all started last year in the playoffs when, because he played a physical series, the Canadiens said Lucic was "running around out there," a players term for someone who's running at players...so they felt they needed to do somethign about it. Komisarek challenged Lucic over and over and when the time was right, Lucic engaged him. As for Larocque, that's fkn ridiculous and a bit embarrassing, IMO, that Carbonneau would put him, a goon, a fighter, out against Lucic, an offensive force, expecting Lucic to fight him. That would be like putting Thornton on Iginla. We saw this sort of thing when Neely was playing...a team would send their goon out to try and coax Neely into a fight, and the goon would cross check, high stick, face wash Neely all night long.

Big game tonight up in Montreal. Anyone hear who's starting in goal for the B's? There was no morning skate, so no way to tell at this time. Lemme know if you hear.

If I'm an owner and one of my players wants to pitch in the WBC (Worthless Baseball Circus)? Yeah, f*** the homeland works for me.

It wouldn't, for the reason you mentioned, but not because it wouldn't be a good idea. Despite the absence of a team's ability to contract against participation, it's still potentially damaging to a player, catastrophic to an organization and something we may see become an issue in contracts in the future. Let's say DiceK blows out his arm in this competition and never pitches again. I'd expect repercussions via teams pushing to include language strictly against it in contracts or citing that injuries stemming from participation allow a team to void the contract, etc. Too much at risk for teams to just say "oh well".

Stupid/acary move, from a fan's point of view. I wonder to what extent he's a product of the culture of his nation...as you may recall, he's from the same country as a certain Yankee who once apologized to the fans for breaking his wrist while making an unbelievable effort to catch a line drive. Too bad his contract, apparently, doesn't preclude him for playing.

What "people"? A writer expressed an idea that possibly, in the interest of making the Red Sox a stronger team in both the short and long-term, the FO might consider moving Ortiz. How does this translate into people forgetting what he has done? This is the typical response to an article that really frustrates some of us...that a writer expresses an opinion or makes a supposition and that some readers apply that idea to all fans. Didn't the writer even imply that no one would forget what he has meant to the team? That'd be more accurate than claiming Sox fans are ready to forget what he's done. At the same time, if it helps the team, many will be on board.

Youk has put together three solid campaign in a row, it's not like he's only had one good year. That said, comparing the two over the last three years, Tex leads in each of the following categories overall AND in most categories (except BA I thin in 2008) each individual year: Average, HRs, RBIs, OBP, OPS. However the gap between the two has closed quite a bit. The how long has the guy been doing it argument? I think of Wade Boggs and how long it took him to become the Red Sox starting 3B...Youk has finally arrived in a similar fashion, wheras Tex made a splash at a younger age...that simply illustrates that some guys develop at different rates. Personally I don't think the difference between them is all that great, certainly not justified by the salary differences we're about to see. That said, it concerns me that potentially the Sox would pay Tex those $$ and what that means for Youk in terms of an extension some time soon.

Well, if it WERE possible to put them together, what would ya get? Let's see how this flies: (a) One fat-assed asian ( a sudden decline in the feral cat population in the Bronx © a world champion sumo wrestler (d) the proprietor of a new chain of fast food restaurants...Kentucky Fried Dog (e) none of the above Yes, you may think I am going to hell for this, I know it. Actually, I really value diversity...I just have trouble passing on openings for a joke, so sorry if I offended anyone.

Waay to go, CC Fatassia...make 'em pay.

You're correct there, sir...and I'm one of them. I'm in finance.

To help GOM, let me repost a couple of things here (from my earlier reply to Jacks): - the Sox were 4th in team payroll in 2008 - there were 10 teams that started 2008 with payroll over $100m and after the Yankees, the next 8 highest payrolls were within $20m of each other (includes Mets, Tigers, Angels, White Sox, Dodgers, Cubs, Mariners, Red Sox). As I post from time to time, no one claims the Sox don't have significant resources which enable the organization to compete. However, the disparity between the Sox and the other teams with 7 teams within a $20m range is dwarfed by the disparity between the Yankees and everyone else.