viphockey4

Watching the Wings/Penguins game and cant help but think maybe 5 to 15 game suspensions aren't enough for some. The Pens should know this as well as anybody given recent events yet Daryl Engelland gets a 5 minute major and a match penalty for a pretty blatant headshot. Worse is the Pens are already down 4 of their top 5 defensemen and he still targets a head causing them to be yet another defender. Clearly he is facing a suspension now further hurting a team already in some issue with defensemen.

The question is how long do the suspensions have to be before guys start to understand this cant keep happening?

So cap circumvention takes its first shape with Jacobs dumping salary and getting the Islanders to the cap floor ahead of fridays deadline to reach the cap floor without penalty. And the reward for Jacobs....a 2nd round pick to escape a deal and help a supporter avoid the scrutiny of the NHLPA. Thoughts? Is it right for a team to reach the floor with contracts they dont have to pay? And is it a surprise Jacobs benefits from being the first to violate the spirit of the cap?

Shanahan just announced a 25 game suspension for the Torres hit on Hossa. Too much, not enough or is this the start of a different more aggresive approach to hits to the head (most likely because mainstream media and sponsors are calling out the NHL a lot of late)?

The Rangers just dealt away Wolski for a prospect and a pick to the Panthers....is this a precursor to a bigger move by the Rangers to add a scorer? Looks like a salary dump setting up something bigger.

So the question is who are they after (Nash, Brown, Parise or someone else)? With only 4 guys in double digits scoring goals they will be semi easy to shut down in the playoffs so adding a winger seems like a no brainer....thoughts? And if they do deal what do they give up?

Everybody knows by now about Mario ranting about the Islanders earlier and recently he offered up a system for fining the team for suspended and repeat offenders. Of course he is rightly called a hypocrite given he employs Matt Cooke who today only furthered his reputation as a dirty player by taking a flying elbow run at another head.

So the question is will Mario put his money where his mouth is? Before todays incredibly cheap headshot his Pens would have cost him $600,000 (tops in the NHL by the way) and surely after he called out Bettman for not "protecting the integrity of the game" by not being serious about the dirty headshots Cooke will finally get a real suspension. Since he would be a repeat offender according to Mario's fine system the fine would be double and Cooke should get a minimum of 5 games (if the league is serious based on his history he should get at least 10 games). That means an additional $500,000 in team fines....does Mario continue to lose respect given he employs such a dirty player himself? What are everyones feeling on his credibility after this latest ugly incident on national tv?

I have tremendous respect for Mario the player but I have continually lost respect for him as an owner given his out front attitude about other teams playing dirty while he does nothing about one of the dirtiest teams (based on suspensions....and ones they got away with) and basically defends the biggest cheap shot artist in the game. Thoughts?

Tonight the Minnesota Wild players were forced to play with begged, borrowed and scratched together equipment after a van fire destroyed most of their gear. Not surprisingly they lost....both goalies lost all their gear so they were in big trouble from the start. Question is for those of us who play the game....what one peice of equipment do you find the hardest to get used to when you replace it with new?

A few things come to mind but for me it was the transition from the old style shoulder pads to the new hard armor shoulder pads. In my beginnings there were no hard shell shoulder pads and the movement is remarkably different (Shanahan never went away from the old gear because of this) and the hard shell elbow pads werent much better. Cant imagine what the Wild must have had to deal with having to adjust to all new stuff in less than a day (but I hear some skaters got lucky and didnt lose their gear...but goalies with new masks, new blockers and glove, new everything....that had to suck).

Colleen Howe the wife of Mr. Hockey Gordie Howe passed today from Picks which is form of dementia. She was a powerful force herself, most noted for her charitable work and of course being the matriarch of the Howe clan. Many also may not be aware that Colleen along with Peter Karmanos (Hartford Whalers, Carolina Hurricane) were the driving force behind the Jr. Red WIngs franchise. So I guess I am obligated to ask a question....Will the game of hockey miss what was essentially the first ladfy of hockey?

Furthermore and likely not known to many fans (except probably Lity and other of us older fans) she was also "blamed" by Bruce Norris for forcing Mr. Norris to pay Howe $100,000.00 after discovering that he was only the 3rd highest paid Red Wing.

Okay here is the offer:

Player #1 ships David Price and Camerin Maybin to #2

Player #2 sends Adam Wainwright and Torii Hunter to #1

Obviously player one has the guys with potential and player 2 has guys who have produced although not at an elite level. At this point we know Price is a lock to get a spot in the Rays rotation and Maybin will be given every chance to be the leadoff hitter for the Marlins.

Wainwright was basically the ace for the Cards, won 11 games with solid ERA & Whip but did see time on the DL. Hunter has been slotted as the #4 hitter for the Angels behind Vlad. So as a fantasy player which player would you think gets the better of the deal and please explain why you feel that way. I will award 10 points for the best good answer (the trade doesnt affect me and I have no bias one way or the other). Deal is a freinds and I have thoughts (not strong ones though either way) but want him to see what others might think.

Raiola flipped fans the bird after the Lions game saying he was sick of the heckling and will not apolgize for doing it. He said he wished he could give his address, I guess he thinks he is tougher in his driveway than he is on the field.

I am okay with him flipping the bird and not apologizing....the question is shouldnt he apologize to Lions fans for being part of the worst offensive lines in the NFL? After all only him and Backus have stunk the line up for 8 years. Time to put up, he has cashed checks apparently forgetting that us fans pay big money and Lions fans are sick and tired of guys like him failing and then hating on us.

Should he apologize for the bird or for the really bad blocking?

After last nights dirty hits (plural...there were more than Kotsopuolus' hit, his was just the worst) one has to wonder if it will take someone getting maimed or killed before Bettman eliminates the instigator rule. Clearly the lack of respect for each other on the ice is all but gone and the obvious culprit is the lack of self policing, if there were real repercussions this wouldnt happen so often. And before anyone comments about it not being Bettmans rule...I realize that but he (and the rules committee) are the first to enforce it and only to cater to the non hockey fan. Elbows to heads, hits from behind, all the dirty stuff seems to be at an all time high. Suspensions dont seem to be a deterrent, look at the list of multiple time offenders (and the incredibly weak suspensions handed to the likes of Pronger and a few other many time offenders).

That is crazy, the first pitcher to hit a HR in the World Series since 1974. With the DH issues they had the 1st two games maybe Blanton could be the DH.

Is this finally rock bottom. They have been destroyed by an average at best Falcons team, a good Packer team and here we go again....another average at best team. A rookie QB, a guy under immense pressure (Rodgers) and now a career older backup shredding the so called improved Lions defense. And how about that offensive line? But they play to a full stadium so there is no motivation to get better. The Fords just dont care and Millen still has no clue. Opinions?

The Lions (I mean Bucs) just signed Nece who is yet another castoff from the Bucs roster. Are they ever going to "get it", they now have at least 4 former Bucs that will likely be starters and every one of them was shipped out of TB because they werent good enough to remain there. We all know Millen and Ford are pathetic excuses for team executives but I at least held out hope that Marinelli could somehow convert their ineptness but obviously he just wants to reincarnate the TB defense (I hear Sapp will be available after Dancing with the Stars). What are your opinions and will we ever see a winner in Detroit (I'm not getting any younger and would like to think at some point they could actually put a contender on the field).

Fantasy trade, who would you rather have this year Manning/Cotchery or Bulger/White and give reasons (besides so and so sucks, this is fantasy for scoring purposes not who hates who).

Yes it is that time again. John (yes I am an idiot who has taken way too many hits to the head) Kitna has once again predicted the Lions will win 10 games. Apparently he isnt aware of who the QB on that team is, the guy inst very good and is 36 years old with nothing good to show for it. Maybe Bill Ford can replace Millen with this idiot. 10 points to the person who makes me laugh harder than Kitna....it wont be easy to outdo him. As a Lions fan (oh the shame but no I dont attend games anymore, I refuse to buy a ticket to watch that garbage until Ford sells) I need something to smile about, I get the feeling unless I root for the other team there will be no happy moments for me.

Fact...Bonds is a drug using cheater and deserves all the negativity surrounding him but in wake of the Gary Matthews Jr. scandal are people finally getting the idea that drug use is incredibly rampant and still going on today. Think about it...Matthews apparently was using last year (no wonder the sudden career year) but he had the balls to do it with baseball being scrutinized by everyone. This isnt a Bonds issue and it wont go away when he does, guys arent afraid to attempt to cheat even knowing how badly everyone is trying to catch them. And can we blame them, matthews got a 5 yr, $55 million deal exclusively from cheating. Baseball needs to either agree to intensive testing and lifetime suspensions for cheaters or drop the whole drug debate completely.

So the question really is ...Do you want to see serious testing and lifetime bans or should the whole drug controversy be dropped, if they dont mind wrecking their bodies should us fans care?