From the Horse's Mouth.

Free agent talk from Knobler at the AJC:

Any free agent signees will be forwards who could play on one of the top two lines or defensemen who would rank among the team's top four, he said.

"The players that we sign have to be difference-makers," he said.

His first priority? A veteran defenseman. The Thrashers ranked worst in the league last season in shots allowed and tied for worst in goals allowed. But the team won't necessarily go after a stay-at-home defenseman.

"You can argue both sides of that," Waddell said, adding that an offensive defenseman can help prevent shots by helping keep the puck in the other team's zone.

The Ottawa Sun reported the Thrashers want former San Jose Sharks player Brian Campbell and could offer the 29-year-old offensive defenseman more than $7 million.

Waddell laughed when asked about that, saying he couldn't discuss individual players and "I haven't told anybody what we're going to spend."

That last part was Waddell being coy, like when he said that Zhit was a large part of the Thrashers' future.

Q&A With John Anderson...

From the Blueland Blog.

I like the honesty from him, and his attitude... I really, really feel confident in our direction.

Hense the purchase (FINALLY) of season tickets.


And, another reason I feel confident... we are REALLY pushing for Campbell. According to the Ottawa Sun, we're willing to pay up to $8.4 million for Campbell. That's possibly more than Kovy. Do we need to? Well, we certainly do need to send the message that we're serious about winning, and we need to send that message to the team, the league, and to the fans. I was at the Select-a-Seat early yesterday, around 3:15, and there were quite a few season tickets and half season package seats that were VERY available.

I love Moose.

And this is why.

Every save, every rebound, every touch mattered. If he didn't excel -- immediately -- his chances at an NHL career would have fizzled just as quickly.

His pivotal game came March 17 at Tampa, the night after his successful debut. He had stopped only 15 of 20 shots in a 5-1 loss to the Lightning and was devastated afterward, sitting at his locker, staring straight ahead.

But as microphones and cameras surrounded him, he stood and answered every reporter's question by blaming himself. Even though his teammates had played abysmally in front of him. Even though by acknowledging that he didn't play his best game, he was risking never seeing another one in the NHL.

His final comment: "I'm very sad."

That, as much as any game Hedberg has won, carried plenty of weight in the Penguins' locker room.

"He's the kind of guy you try to help," defenseman Darius Kasparaitis said. "You see his effort. In every game, every practice, he works hard. You see a guy doing that, you want to help him succeed."

"That game meant a lot," Johnston said. "The kid showed he doesn't get rattled."

Hedberg hasn't lost since then.

Zhitty Zhitty Bye Bye.

We finally decided to place Alexei Zhitnik on waivers. He spent the last month or so of last season watching from the owner's box because of his awful under-production all year. After being an integral part of the Thrashers' playoff push in 2007, making the trade of Coburn to Philly look like a good thing, he showed up horribly out of shape to camp this year and made no viable attempts (except for one OT game winning goal) to really do much of anything besides glide around and contribute to our horrible defense.

With Zhitty gone, we'll have room for Ilya Nikulin coming in from Russia. For those of you who are wondering who he is, he was our 2nd round pick from the 2000 draft. He was D on this years' championship team and has played with Kovy before. Here are his stats:





Also happening in the SE, Tampa has acquired the exclusive signing rights to Gary Roberts and Ryan Malone from Pittsburgh. Malone isn't going to the CBJ after all, so one of my two favorite teams doesn't have to deal with him. I guess it's odd for TB to do this 2 days beforethe FA period begins, but hey, if they sign it's worth the 4th round pick they gave.

I guess we all know the answer to the immortal question of What Would Gary Roberts Do?

Go to the beach.

Blues development camp is over...

... Thrashers camp has yet to begin.

Of course, I will be going to the Thrashers Camp. I will just have to read the website for the Blues Camp. The guys at the Blues camp seem very enthusiastic. I don't think that Perron has to prove himself too hard, and McRae... wow... how glad am I for him? You dad gets to play for the Blues... you played for the Junior Blues, and here you are. I have a lot of hope for him, if not just because he's home grown.

BTW, how is lower bowl $28 a game? I'm getting nosebleed behind the goal Sunday at the Pick-a-Seat, and that's $22. And the Blues STH perks are better... Come on, Thrashers. We get a discount card for the shop and a STH entrance. And the other perks are...?

BTW, do NOT miss the Q&A for Alex Pietrangelo. Where's the Q&A for Bogy? I have scads of questions for him.

Interview with JA...

... over at PuckDaddy... read it just for the mental image of the BB/JA throwdown that apparently will be the pre-game entertainment before our first home game.

I like the direction our team should be taking this year...

Free Agent Watch 2008

Apparently, since the salary cap has been raised to $56.7 million dollars, the Thrashers are just that much more viable on the free agent market. A lot of teams are trying to go after big players but are still coming up short on funds to pay them. With teams like Boston and Ottawa only having a few million for free agents, and are focusing on one player in particular (Boston's really focusing on Hossa), we can come in and take the leftovers. Do we want to? A lot of these guys have been placed on waivers for a reason, and some of the FAs are over the hill. Other than Campbell, who we could very well grab because we can afford to give him the $7.5 million that he seems to want, we can make a play for McCabe or Oprik, who has recently broken off talks with the Pens. Sean Avery's out there too... because what we need is someone with the maturity level of a gnat annoying the opposition's goalies. YES!

ESPN has a great run-down of the top FAs on the market. It's a shame that we're going towards a "youth movement" here... Federov would be a nice acquisition. Let's get 2 out of the Russian 5 here... toss in Kovy... yeah. It could work... Recchi showed there was some gas left in his engine - Federov probably has more.

In their natural environment...

... Russian TV awards shows! It's Ovy, Kovy, and Alexei Morozov presenting an achievement award to Robin Gibb. I love how Ovechkin takes the chance to show off his new clothing line and various bling while Kovy and Morozov are dressed in suits.



A translation from the WaPo comments section reads thusly:

[Ovechkin is joined by Ilya Kovalchuk of the Thrashers and Alexei Morozov, formerly a Penguin, now playing in Russia]

Ovechkin: Hi! Thanks to my fan group. I don't know what to say, actually, but I liked Zhanna's haircut. Thanks!

[Kovalchuk makes people shout "We're the champions"]

Kovalchuk: I wanna say a couple of words, you know, May turned out to be great for Russia. Russia is a great country, in which we, the sportsmen, come from schools. I wanna congratulate Dima Bilan, the hockey team and everybody else who has won so far.

Ovechkin: Look! There's Vladislav Alexandrovich (Tretyak).

Kovalchuk: Vladislav Alexandrovich, we love you. It's great when to FHR the right man came. We feel the big hope.

Ovechkin: Big thanks.

Kovalchuk: When people believe in us, we want to play for those who believe in us. So, Russia -- HUGE THANKS!

Morozov: Hello to all, we won't take your time any more. We made you wait for 15 years for our victories. Thanks for your love!

Blues News

The RFAs for the St. Louis Blues are David Backes, Chris Beckford-Tseu, Francois-Pierre Guenette, Martin Kariya, Jay McClement, Hannu Toivonen, and Jeff Woywitka. When I hear who has been given QOs, I'll let you know. I am fairly sure that Ears won't be on that list.

Also, we've announced the preseason schedule... of course, there's the traditional pre-season matchup with the Thrashers, which is usually the only time of the year I can see my original Boys in Blue take on my second favorite team. Let's see if I get booed for wearing opposing team gear this year... good times. Home games are in bold.

Preseason Schedule:

Monday Sept. 22 Los Angeles (Kansas City) 7:05 PM

Tuesday Sept. 23 Dallas 7:30 PM

Friday Sept. 26 Atlanta 7:30 PM

Saturday Sept. 27 at Dallas 7:00 PM

Monday Sept. 29 at Toronto TBA

Wednesday Oct. 1 Toronto 7:30 PM

Saturday Oct. 4 at Atlanta 6:00 PM

Comparing Numbers Three and Four

My top two teams picked back to back in this year's draft. Here's what NHL.com and the numbers say about Bogosian and Pietrangelo. Actual analysis by me (because you are really REALLY waiting for it!) will be forthcoming.

On Bogy:

With 11 goals and 61 points, Bogosian was the only OHL defenseman to lead his team in scoring. Yet, the player takes pains to stress his defensive ability.

Bogosian hails from a Massena, N.Y., family that has produced notable athletes. He's been given incredible opportunities and has taken advantage of them.

He's big, tough, talented and skilled. Bogosian believes his family's background in athletics has given him a head start on rivals. His father, Ike, was co-captain of the 1981 Syracuse University football team along with former New York Giants running back Joe Morris, and his uncle was an All-American football captain at West Point.

The Thrashers won the Southeast Division two years ago but slumped last season and missed the postseason. Bogosian said he hopes he can play an important role in Atlanta's march back to
the top of the division.

"Obviously, Atlanta didn't have the season they wanted last year," Bogosian said. "Hopefully, we can get better. We'll be making strides under the new coach. Hopefully, I can just go down there and do my thing and help the team."

Stats (from Hockey's Future):

SEASON	TEAM	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
2006-07	Peterborough Petes (OHL)	67	7	26	33	63
2007-08	Peterborough Petes (OHL)	60	11	50	61	72
2008	Peterborough Petes (OHL)	5	0	3	3	8

On Petro:
With the fourth pick, the St. Louis Blues selected Pietrangelo and he seemed very happy with his new address.

"I'm getting to be part of a great organization," he said. "This is kind of where I wanted to go. The Blues have a lot of young guys who are making an impact in the NHL, guys like Brad Boyes and Erik Johnson."

Pietrangelo noted that the Blues traded Thursday to acquire goalie Chris Mason from the Nashville Predators. Mason will likely split duties with Manny Legace.

"They want to start at the back end with a goalie and a defenseman and move forward. They wanted a defenseman and they picked me," Pietrangelo said. "They have some good defensemen already. We have some work to do. I think I can make an impact as soon as possible."

Pietrangelo is renowned for his on-ice vision, passing skills and ability to control the pace of games. He had 53 points in 60 games this past season, placing him seventh among Ontario Hockey League defensemen. Plus, his junior coach says the bigger the game, the bigger he plays.

Pietrangelo led Niagara into the OHL playoffs this season, where they defeated Mississauga. He wasn't feeling well, but played two more games against the Oshawa Generals before learning that he had mononucleosis, which enlarged his spleen and caused internal bleeding.

He said he will be fully healed and well conditioned by the time training camp starts in September.

Stats (From Hockey's Future):

SEASON	TEAM	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
2006-07	Mississauga IceDogs (OHL)	5	7	45	52	45
2007	Mississauga IceDogs (OHL)	4	0	0	0	8
2007-08	Niagara IceDogs (OHL)	60	14	40	53	94
2007-08	Eastern Conference All Stars	1	0	0	0	0
2008	Niagara IceDogs (OHL)	6	5	4	9	4

I think that the 45 assists and 52 points in 5 GP is a typo. Or, well, St. Louis drafted Superman if he were a totally selfless playmaker.

Kari nuts can breathe easy...

... the Thrashers have made an offer to our starting goaltender, per Blueland Blog. No news yet on the terms or if he has signed yet, but at least we know the intentions of the management here. Honestly, losing Kari would negate the depth that we've built at goal with Moose and Pavs. Pavs isn't ready for prime time quite yet. Goal is our only constant position as of right now, and this is one more thing to make us breathe easier.

The Thrashers had five players who entered the week as restricted free agents. Four of the five were given QO's. The other will become unrestricted, although that doesn't mean the Thrashers have no interest in him staying in the system.

Qualifying offers went to Kari Lehtonen, Brett Sterling, Nathan Oystrick and Joey Crabb. Guillaume Desbiens is the odd man out.

New movements in RFA signings...

... make some teams drop out of the Campbell race. BC has expressed interest in staying in San Jose, but the Sharks resigned Joe Pavelski and Jeremy Roenick and backup goaltender Brian Boucher before the beginning of the season of "I just want to test the waters." I'm not sure how much of a salary cap hit the Sharks are taking, but it will probably take them out of the running for BC, since teams will probably offer him between $7-8 million to sign.

That takes the Bruins out of the running as well - they don't have the cap space to sign both Campbell and Hossa (who it is rumored that they are looking at), and they might not even have enough to sign Hossa.

It could very well come down between the Thrashers and the Rangers. We might very well have an advantage here, seeing as we will probably have more money to work with, and the quiet desperation of a no-trade clause to snooker him in.

There are so many people on waivers out there that it's getting distracting. Do we really want someone that another team set on waivers when we could focus on getting solid players? Why not fill our holes before laying on the putty.

No no no, I like Brendan Ryan!

Sez TLR. I love the way that the Post Dispatch is trying to psych everyone into believing that our resident Crochity Old Fart (not to be confused with Bobby Cox, because LaRussa can win baseball games and isn't older than the dirt at Fenway Park) really DOES like our new young players! And he'll play them!

Apparently he'll play them when the old ones are on the 15 day DL. Really, a majority of our team is under the age of 30. We're young, rebuilding, and very successful. Let's see what Ryan does at SS. I think he's a serviceable replacement for Izturis, and considering he's only on a 1 year contract we need some depth in that position.

He's not the next Ozzie or Eckstein, but if he's good enough to be the next Izturis, well... that's good enough for me.

Pujols is within reach...

... of starting in the ASG even though he's on the DL, and ditto with Yadi. Go vote - there are too many Cubs in starting position - take care of 'em. Heck, vote for Izturis if you have to. Let's see if we can give our team credit for the amazing job that they're doing this year exceeding expectations. We'll be in the playoffs yet again... heck, maybe even playing the Cubbies... so we can beat 'em. Give the Cards a cookie!

Evaluation of our drafts between '97-2003.

Yes, we are average!

However, we are not as bad off as Phoenix. St. Louis, however, is. The Blues rank at #27... 9 for 65! Way to go.

Time to go shopping...

From Do the Thrashers Have Large Talons... a breakdown of cap space.

Geeze.

What really shocks me is that the Blues rank at #6. All that money going out... when are the playoff ticket sales going to start coming in?

Who do the Thrashers go after? The UFA that we know isn't coming back and doesn't care that he isn't is Holik, Mr. Personality. Recchi is a possibility (though his agent is implying he wants to test the waters... honestly, we're the reason he's still playing - he'll be back). Brian Campbell is being shopped to us, Boston, NYR, Montreal, and Ottawa. After July 1st he'll be free to talk to anyone he wants to, and Chicago might be interested. We have the money to throw at him, but so does Boston... and he can play with Savard and Chara. Here, well, he'd be the other big star and not get lost in the shuffle. But being the other big name in Atlanta means 10 people a year might figure out who you are at the local Publix.

In hopes of continuing our reputation as Pittsburgh South (but without the success), Gary Roberts, Brooks Oprik, Pascal Dupuis, and Marian Hossa are being tossed around for consideration. I can see Dupuis coming home... he lives here, his buddy Perrin's been bending his ear...

The others? We're overstocked at RW if we re-sign Recchi, and I think we're full at defense too if we nail Campbell.

About the only position that needs filling is LW. That leaves Dupuis and Roberts. I choose Dupuis.

ANOTHER World Series rematch?

Considering that we took 2 of 3 from the Red Sox... and darn near swept them, I think we should be good to go tomorrow night against the Tigers. We're 44-33 (one of the best records in baseball... if it weren't for the Cubs at 48-28 we'd be in first... why won't they just LOSE?), and the Tigers are 36-39. The Tigers have really recovered from their horrible start and are only 5 games back from the White Sox. Honestly, though, I hate making assumptions about how we'll do after the horrible series against the Royals last week. THAT was embarassing.

And I wandered across this nice article earlier today about TLR and how he felt after the loss yesterday. Says LaRussa:

"All of us that complement this team -- the trainers, equipment guys, the coaches, myself, traveling secretary -- we tipped our caps and clapped for these guys," La Russa said. "You can't watch that kind of effort for three days and have that kind of game at the end without giving them some kind of special recognition.

"We made a point to say what a privilege it was to be in the same uniform and watch that competition, and we gave them a round of applause and tipped our caps. That was really a great effort."

We are very lucky to have a manager and a team that is as pure class as this. No one expected us to get very far out of the basement this year, and honestly if we keep going like this we'll be in the playoffs yet again. We've only missed them what, twice this decade? I am very proud of the Redbirds regardless of how they do, but this makes me extremely happy. We might be the best fans in baseball, but that's just because we have the best team.

Oh, and here: go and bask in the glory of 2006. This is the best article I've read about the win, and it was written by someone from the Washington Post.

Tampa Bay is going to be a pain.

Our saving grace next year is going to be that we only have to play TB and Washington 7 times instead of 8. Last year was the Caps' year to rebuild and come out like hell on wheels, and I respect them for it - they're a great team, and Boudreau deserved the Coach of the Year award more than anyone else. Backstrom and Ovie are amazing. I love going to watch them play the Thrash just so I can see the two of them... it makes the times we lose to them palatable, if just barely.

But Tampa? They disintergrated after winning the Cup. Total implosion - their ownership lost interest, the team lost the ability to stomach Torts' constant yelling and cussing, and this past year was just futility in motion. The Bolts served the sole purpose to make Thrashers' fans feel better about our team.

What do they do this year? Get Vinnie Prospal back from Philly since he was just biding time up there until Torts left, and then sign Barry Melrose to a coaching job. And, oh yeah, get owners who are enthuastic about their product and snag some Stamkos guy.

Melrose will be one of two things: mildly successful or a total bomb. He hasn't coached in over a decade, and a lot of new rules, love them or hate them, have gone into effect. I realize he's covered hoceky on ESPN forever, but talking about the new regs and coaching a team through them are two different things.

I do hope that they get some top quality mullet wigs for opening night.

Getting through the offseason...

... is as easy as playing NHL '98 and creating a Blues SUPERTEAM!!!!

CuJo and Legace.

Hull and Karyia.

Or, well... this pic says it all:



BTW, I am 18-4 so far. Stanley Cup, here we COME!

If we can't do it in the real world, I can do it on my Mac.

While we were stuck in Philips...

... the Blues' fans at the draft party in Scottrade got to watch Alan Thicke do this:



He shoots, he scores... himself!


We need to have a bigger blowout next year... or else TURN THE AC ON! Please?

The Thrashers are Prepared to Offer $7 Million...

... for Brian Campbell? Really? Seriously?

And he would come here?

While I am going to reserve optimism here, because we're the Thrashers and intelligent trades and deals are not DW's M.O.... this would probably turn the entire team around from a defensive standpoint.

Havelid-Enstrom
Bogosian-Campbell
X-Klee
Zhit-Valibik

There - let that marinade. Downside is, we can only have 6 d-men and a back-up. We can probably try REALLY hard to waive Zhit (or pawn him off) and make X the scratch until he starts getting in position and stops making random and inappropriate hits on people.





And he could make a difference in the Atlanta area - like Jimmy Slater and his recycling PSAs before every game, Soupy has his own pet causes:





And, as an added perk, he's a ginger that dares venture outdoors.

One win away...

... from revenge for the 2004 World Series.

Ok, no, not really, because sweeping an interleague play series isn't the same as winning the World Series... but if we win tonight we sweep the Red Sox. Yesterday afternoon's televised (!) smashing of the Sox (9-3) was enjoyable to watch, especially the first 2 innings. About the only thing we were missing was a Prince Albert homer. We'll be missing those until after the ASG, I think. Hopefully we're on our way to fixing the 5-6 record we have without him... that sweep by the Royals was not pleasant.

But Glaus' grand slam was pretty sweet:





And Izzy not blowing a save was nice, too. I suppose that TLR figured it was safe, considering how we had a 6 run lead when he came in. Of course, Izzy is the reason we're not in 1st place of the WORLD with a 54-22 record, but maybe I'm placing unfair blame on him. Or something.

In other news, Izturis is joining Pujols and Yadi on the DL, but the Todd That I Like (Wellemeyer, not White... different sports, same first name - I know) might be back up Thursday.

Hossa? What is going on?

Yes, we know... Hossa likes the free agent market.

We also know he likes playing for the Pens.

What we don't know is if he'll be playing for them next year.


What is up with this? He said it's not about the money - actually, he said something like if he just wanted more money he'd come back to the Thrashers. He really wants to play on a contender with direction, which is where he is now.

His agent is a known jerk... maybe the Pens don't want to deal with him? Or maybe he's just waiting to the first to see what else pops up as far as his future is concerned - maybe he wants to come back here now that we have a coach and had a decent draft?

Riiiiiiiiiiiiight. I wouldn't be surprised if the Pens went on and resigned him. Crosby & Malkin said that they both would take a bit of a cut to keep him there. I would like to see him hang around the Burgh after the great playoff run they had, really thanks a great deal to him.

I'll be keeping an eye on the Pensblog to see how this shakes down.

Atlanta Thrashers Draft-o-rama!

Welcome to Atlanta, Zach Bogosian!

Dare we say it, Bobo and Bogo on the same line? Honestly, I think that both of them will be joining us next year, and we'll be a better team for it.

I'm looking forward to seeing a lot more of this:



We also drafted Daultan Leveille 29th overall. He won't be ready to play center for us for 4 years at least (he's going to Michigan State), so so much for a center for Kovy. Here's to free agency.

BTW, I think that Leveille is 12:

Here're our draft picks...

NHL Draft - 2008 Round - All Team - ATL Position - All

Rnd

Pick

Overall

Team

Player

D.O.B.

Birth Place

Country

Ht

Wt

Amateur League

Amateur Team

Pos

1

3

ATL

ZACH BOGOSIAN

Jul 15, 1990

MASSENA, NY

US

6' 2"

197

OHL

PETERBOROUGH

D

1

29

ATL (from PIT)

DAULTAN LEVEILLE

Aug 10, 1990

ST. CATHARINES, ON

CA

5' 11"

163

GHL

ST. CATHARINES

C

3

64

ATL

DANICK PAQUETTE

Jul 17, 1990

MONTREAL, QC

CA

6' 0"

210

QMJHL

LEWISTON

RW

4

94

ATL

VINNY SAPONARI

Feb 15, 1990

POWDER SPRINGS, GA

US

6' 0"

179

USDP

USA U-18

RW

5

124

ATL

NICKLAS LASU

Sep 16, 1989

MOLNDAL

SE

5' 11"

176

SWE-JR.

FROLUNDA JR.

LW

6

154

ATL

CHRISTOPHER CARROZZI

Mar 2, 1990

OTTAWA, ON

CA

6' 3"

185

OHL

MISSISSAUGA ST. MICHAEL'S

G

7

184

ATL

ZACH REDMOND

Jul 26, 1988

HOUSTON, TX

US

6' 2"

197

CCHA

FERRIS STATE

D

Welcome to Atlanta, Mr. Anderson.

The Thrashers hired a head coach! One freaking DAY before the draft... and it was who we pretty much expected: John Anderson, head coach of our AHL affiliate Chicago Wolves. The Wolves just won the AHL championship Calder Cup, are talented, and happen to house our best prospects like Little, Valibik, Pavlec, Sterling, and a bunch of others. Also, he's developed some of our current players, so his style shouldn't be new to them.

It might be new to us, because maybe... just maaaaaaaaaabye, it'll involve winning. No more dump and chase... actual offense and puck poessession... if we can just snag a D man or 2 tomorrow we might be tolerably ok next year.

Heck, maybe even Zhitty'll turn it around.

More Moose Love.

Gah, buddy is 35 with 3 kids. But check out this pic (more to be found here - he was the Hump Day Hottie over at Ladies...)

I love the story that goes with...

Hedberg Continues To Net Fans December 11, 2007


By Craig Custance
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

ATLANTA, Ga. - She was just hoping for a picture. Buford resident Holly Basteyns asked Thrashers goalie Johan Hedberg, who began his professional career in the ECHL, if he had a moment to take a photo with her daughter, Mackenna, at a Thrashers practice.

Mackenna could recite the entire Thrashers roster by name and number, and Hedberg was her favorite. And really, what 3-year-old wouldn't be attracted to a player nicknamed Moose?

Basteyns got more than a picture.

"He picked her up and talked to her and snuggled her," said Basteyns, sporting a No. 1 Hedberg Thrashers jersey before a recent Thrashers home game. "That's a big deal for a mom."

That picture now has a permanent home on Basteyns purse and Hedberg cemented another lifelong supporter in a fan club that grows with each person he meets.

And it's not just season-ticket holders, it's current and former teammates, coaches, equipment managers — everyone.

Almost like 15 years ago...

From the National Weather Service, St. Louis, MO:

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO

428 PM CDT FRI JUN 13 2008

…FLOOD CREST FORECAST SUMMARY…

THE FLOOD CREST FORECAST TAKES INTO ACCOUNT OBSERVED RAINFALL

AND RAINFALL FORECAST TO OCCUR DURING THE NEXT 12 TO 24 HOURS.

ADDITIONAL RAINFALL BEYOND 24 HOURS…LEVEE BREAKS AND THE

LENGTH OF THE CREST FORECAST MAY CAUSE SIGNIFICANT

FLUCTUATIONS TO THE CREST FORECAST.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ST. LOUIS WILL CONTINUE TO

ISSUE AND UPDATE THIS PRODUCT UNTIL MAJOR FLOODING ENDS.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER    FLOOD     FORECAST   DATE

                     STAGE      CREST

CANTON L&D 20        14 FT     27.4 FT   JUNE 19

QUINCY               17 FT     32.0 FT   JUNE 19

QUINCY L&D 21        17 FT     31.2 FT   JUNE 19

HANNIBAL             16 FT     31.7 FT   JUNE 20

SAVERTON L&D 22      16 FT     30.2 FT   JUNE 20

LOUISIANA L&D 23     15 FT     28.2 FT   JUNE 20

CLARKSVILLE L&D 24   25 FT     37.2 FT   JUNE 21

WINFIELD L&D 25      26 FT     39.0 FT   JUNE 23

GRAFTON              18 FT     31.0 FT   JUNE 22

ALTON L&D 26         21 FT     32.6 FT   JUNE 20

ST LOUIS             30 FT     39.6 FT   JUNE 20

CHESTER              27 FT     41.4 FT   JUNE 22

Water is covering parts of Lenora K. Sullivan Blvd. by the Arch grounds Thursday afternoon. (From the Belleville News Democrat)

Moose FTW!

My man, Johan Hedberg, has been resigned to a 2 year contract - so we actually get to keep stability in goal and have the added perk of having killer talent working it on the Wolves.

Moose, dapper in a tux, tests his luck - blackjack is WAY safer than 52 shots a night.


Hedberg, in one of the last wins of the season from February 16th, showing Mr. Veznia Marty Brodeur how it be DONE.

Unfortunately, D-Wad has said that we're not buying out this guy's contract and he will be with us next year as a "big part of our future. We expect him to come back and be part of our team."

..
Jeebus.