I'm not even to recap last night.

I'm embarrassed. 7-0? But hey - I met some cool Flyers fans (!) who provided awesome in-game commentary with their Thrash fan friends, and who gave me a beer. Thanks, guys!

Over at FanHouse, they post the perfunctory doom and gloom article, but with a different take.

But as bad as things are on the surface, we're beginning to get indications that the situation is worse behind the scenes. Here's Jim Kelley from Sportsnet:

It's a similar situation in Atlanta where, partly because of poor attendance and partly because of a fractured ownership, there are a steady stream of rumours that the franchise may be in danger of not making payroll down the road. Payroll issues are not uncommon for the U.S.-based teams at certain points of the season (football has an impact in terms of gate attendance early in the season and money is often tight late in the year), but it's doubly difficult to arrange for letters of credit during a banking crisis and it's especially difficult in Atlanta where lenders are concerned as to who is responsible (read liable) for paying back any loans that might be granted. There is fractured infighting in the ownership group there and the banks and others have taken note.

That's a question I haven't seen raised yet - what if we can't pay the guys? But... since when is getting along a qualification for a loan? I guess in troubled economic times, anything is.

At least the last paragraph's kinda sorta praise-ish.

It's not like there's not a lot of talent in Atlanta. Ilya Kovalchuk, Kari Lehtonen, Tobias Enstrom and Zach Bogosian -- who was injured on his first shift last night and had to leave the game -- form a solid core to build on. Angelo Esposito -- one of the major pieces in the Hossa trade -- may or may not prove to be a franchise player. And despite their record, there are more than a few indications that the team has improved some over last season. They just need time. But in a league that relies so heavily on the gate, their time -- and credit -- might just be running out.

Congrats, Albert!

Albert Pujols was named the winner of the 2008 Roberto Clemente Humanitarian Award. I can't think of anyone more deserving. His foundation does such wonderful work for children with Down's Syndrome and for the under-privileged youth in his native Dominican Republic.

In giving his acceptance speech, Pujols became very emotional, and at times, he seemed on the verge of joyous tears. To see this reaction after observing such an even-keel, consistent demeanor on a game-to-game basis was quite powerful.

"[This is] a blessing, and I'm really honored," Pujols said. "First of all, I want to thank God to give me the opportunity to be here tonight and receive this award. I want to thank Major League Baseball and Chevy to be a part of this great award of Roberto Clemente. I want to thank my teammates, obviously, for the support that they give me during the year -- every event that we do for Down syndrome or golf tournament -- the fans in St. Louis and all over the United States and the Dominican Republic for the support that they give to the Pujols Family Foundation. I want to thank the Roberto Clemente family. I'm truly honored to receive this award. It's an honor to be here.

"It takes a lot of hard work for the Pujols Family Foundation, but it comes from our heart. I thank God every day for the opportunity he gives me to be in the big leagues and just take advantage of every little opportunity. I remember as a little boy in the Dominican Republic, all I want is to be in the big leagues. All I wanted was just to be a professional baseball player. I never thought this dream was going to come true and so quick in eight years.

"[Clemente] was not only a great baseball player -- everybody on this day remembers Roberto Clemente as a great baseball player, but we today remember him as a great man that loved other people and gave back to the community, whether in Pittsburgh or Nicaragua or Latin America or Puerto Rico. And I feel that's my responsibility, too, not just to be a baseball player, but to give back to others, whether in St. Louis or the United States or back in the Dominican Republic every year with our trip through the Pujols Family Foundation.

"At the end of the day, when all is said and done playing this game ... it doesn't matter what you did in the field, it's what you do off the field and the lives that you touch off the field. And I try to do that through our foundation. I try to do that when I go back to the Dominican Republic. I try to do that when I'm on the field because those kids, they look at us as a role model and we want to be a role model to those kids, because you never know.

"Like I was 15 years ago, a poor little boy in the Dominican Republic, my dream was just to be a professional baseball player. They might be somebody that day that you touch. And that person may become the best baseball player ever in the future. And probably in the future will thank me or any of us that touched their life.

"It's something that comes from my family. They always have that great heart to give back to the community. I remember my dad, [he would] stop eating and just give his food to feed other people. And me as a little boy growing up watching that, obviously, those are the good examples that you want to take with you."

What a wonderful guy. Congrats, Big Al. You deserve it for all of the work that you do for a very grateful St. Louis area.

So much for the Sarah Palin curse.

Yeah, Manny hurt himself and we lost 4-0 to the Kings. But the game after we took advantage of the Panthers' rough travel schedule to defeat them 4-0. Quick curse, huh?

Well, maybe not... Ben Bishop might have recorded his first NHL shutout, but he also recorded his first NHL lower body injury, leaving the game with 15:27 left to play. Boyes had 2, Kariya had one, and Walt had one again, making Tkachuk tied for the league lead with 8, and Boyes tied for 2nd place with 7.




The Thrash lost 5-4 in a hard fought game in Boston. It would have been more effective if Toby wouldn't've sat on Moose's stick so he couldn't move to block the GWG.

Kozzy, Kovy, Williams(!), and Schnider were our goal scorers. I'm not disappointed with the loss, or really any of the losses so far this year. Yeah, they're losses, but we're playing like a team this year - we don't give up and quit halfway through anymore. Once we learn the system, we'll be solid. Most teams didn't have this much turnover in the off season.

The Sarah Palin Curse Strikes Again

Anyone else find it odd that Philly won tonight while we got stomped? Anyone?

The 'Cuda Curse strikes again... she needs to drop the puck at a Wings game, stat.

Seriously, though, I DO know who to point the heavy finger of blame at... the dipshit who laid the carpet down in front of where the players come onto the ice. Is Manny supposed to have night vision? What the HELL? He stepped RIGHT on it and twisted his knee... both of his goals looked soft because he was scared to move too much lest he blow it out again.

Now we have no starter, no back up, 2 kids, and my fantasy team is screwed. Thanks, Sarah. Hey, though, at least we were polite (and let me say how nice of Walt to shake everyone's hand). I didn't hear nearly as many boos as I did at the Philly drop, so good for her.

At least we don't have Toivonen.

On the bright side, now Palin has a Blues jersey so she can burn this rag:





I love her for this... almost worth forgiving the carpet. Almost.

Just minutes into the game, Blues enforcer Cam Janssen and Kings tough guy Sean O'Donnell dropped the gloves and began to fight near center ice. By then, Palin was in a luxury box with Blues principal owner Dave Checketts.

Palin watched the fight intently, clapping as the fight got more intense. By the time referees separated the combatants, Palin was waving an oversized foam Blues finger.

And if you didn't see the fight, it was hilarious. Janssen had a hold of O'Donnell and shook him like a rag doll until his helmet fell off. He then proceeded to beat the snot out of him. Awesomeness.

Another Palin Puck Dropping

This time she'll be dropping the puck before Friday's Kings/Blues game at Scottrade Center. I'm fairly sure that her welcome will be warmer than the welcome at Philly, because, well... Philly booed Santa. They booed the Easter Bunny. Fans from that city'd boo Jesus because they think that they have to, so... I expect more from the St. Louis fans, especially since the suburbs skew red, while the city skews blue (ha ha).

Tonight's game against Detroit'd be more fun... but she's at a rally in Springfield Friday, so when in Rome. Huh... you know, if Georgia were a swing state, I bet she'd come to a Thrashers game. Since we're predictably red, though, well... I guess we're out of luck.

Hopefully any protest will be passive and not be obnoxious... I'm getting so sick of people being hateful towards candidates in both parties this election - disagree with their policies, but respect them as people, k? Then again... maybe we can get another classic like this:

Positive Press in the AJC.

Of course, it involves our Greek God line.

“None of us are Greek,” Thorburn said. “I might look Greek. I also look Jewish, Italian, Indian. … We just say if you want to play on our line, you’ve got to have a pretty chiseled body. We’ve taken it the full nine miles. We’re just having fun with it.”

So are their teammates.

“The Geek Gods. The Geek Squad,” said Garnet Exelby, who as a defenseman doesn’t get to play on a line, named or not.

Heh. Seriously, marketing needs to pick up on this like Slates said.

Two Great SO Wins

Thank God for small miracles. Despite having 20 (!) SOG after the first period, the Thrashers managed to forget about keeping up the pace and nearly got out-shot by the Buffalo Sabres. Also nearly got out-scored, too, but managed to pull it out in the shootout with goals by Kovy and Kozlov. Great game - hard out of the gate the first period, and really applied pressure to Lalime and the Sabres what with a goal by Kovy about a minute and a half in and then one by Little closer towards the end of the 1st period. Yes, we allowed Buffalo to get a point, but we still managed to break their winning streak with a 3-2 SO win, and that is a good thing. The Silence of the Slugs on the way to Taco Mac for the post-game show was deafening.

Speaking of the post-game, what other hockey club offers the chance for you to say "Hey, Don, how're you doing?" to your GM (or whatever your GM's name is)... and then he just takes that chance to strike up a conversation? Nice. I kinda like the smallness factor here in Atlanta. It almost gives the feeling of being part of a family of hockey goonery.



At the other game I was keeping an eye on (I have to love waiting for every other score in the FREE WORLD to tick by before hockey comes up at a hockey game - thanks, Philips!), the Blues fought off the Blackhawks to win in a SO 4-3. The last I saw the score we were down 3-1, so you can imagine my surprise when I got in the car after the game, flipped on KMOX, and heard the score. We almost didn't make it to the shootout, but Andy MacDonald managed to squeak one by Khabbi with just 13.5 seconds left. TJ Oshie nailed the GWG in the shootout, which was a slick move of beauty.

On the uptick side for the 'Hawks, Kane scored two out of their three goals. Khabbi's proving that signing Huet probably wasn't the best choice of spending some extra dough, and Campbell's finally starting to produce. The downside? We welcomed Coach Q back to St. Louis by snatching victory from the jaws of defeat and still managing to stay on top of the Central Division. Nyah.

Is This The Year? Um...

Every team is supposedly getting 2 "Is This The Year?" ads. I've found one of the two for the Thrash - I don't think the other one's been made yet.

Still have yet to see one for the Blues. If someone can point me in that direction I'd appreciate it.

Here's the game I would have rather have been at.

Not even gonna bother with a recap when the NHL can do it for me.

It looks like it was about a bajillion times more exciting than the Thrash game.

BLUES IN FIRST.

I know it's early to be overly excited, but I'm still happy so far with how the year's began. I hope that our young guys can keep this momentum going (we pounded the Stars 6-1 tonight), and this season won't end like last year's. I'd just like to say to all the people who picked us to be horrible this year: NYAH.

Thrash lost tonight 1-0 in Bobby Holik's return to Atlanta (he was on the Kiss Cam. Aww). REALLY good game by us, and probably the best I've seen Kari play in a long time. We're a completely different team from last season, and I'm glad. I sense good things. Maybe not playoffs, or too far into them, but still - respectability's right around the corner.

More fun screen grabs...

Awesomeness. Check out the representation the Blues have so far on the leaderboard for the league. I'm glad to see that they're carrying over the pre-season scoring power.

Blues beat Leafs 5-4 in SO

Happy Turkey Day, Canada.

3-0 Leafs end of 1. Then, well... meet Boyes. And Berglund. And Walt. And Kariya. And in the SO, well... Boyes' goal was a thing of beauty.







Even cooler... well, I had to take a few photos while this situation exists:





Enjoy it while it lasts.

WhOOT!

I'm not even going to pretend to be able to write a decent game recap. There are other people who are far better than I am at that... but Bryan Little, NHL.com's #1 star of the night for last night, deserved it. Jeebus... 2 goals, one assist, fantastic play on the 2nd line wing... amazing. 7-4. People aren't giving us credit... oh, it was a loss by the Caps, not a win by the Thrashers. Whatev. All I know is that last night was the most fun I've had at a Thrashers game in a LONG time. My hands were numb, my throat hurt, and I couldn't get to sleep. Perfect. Our new guys were great, we maintained poessession of the puck, Kozlov's back (!), Kari denied Ovy on a penalty shot... praise God, hockey's back, and we might just have the stuff this year.

On the other side of the Mississippi, the Blues nailed the Preds 5-2, going 4 for 6 on the PP. The new kids were fast, Nashville showed its holes, and Manny was pretty tight. StL Game Time has a great recap up that probably summarizes what everyone is thinking - "Holy Crap, Could the Blues Be Good?" I said it during the preseason and I'll repeat that now. Hell YES.

I am beyond tired of everyone hating on the Blues and Thrashers before the freaking year even started... I really hope that both teams can keep this up (and considering that next up are the Isles and Panthers, respectively, this shouldn't be a problem) so that the damned naysayers can stop saying nay. I want to see the power rankings in a couple of weeks.

I'll be at Highlands Grill tonight having a beer or 2, ignoring my friends, and multitasking while watching the Blues and Thrasers kick ass. I'm fine with this.


Thrash Game Recap Video:




Blues Game Recap Video:

When I can get it to work, it'll be up.

Also, the Thrashers have a really cool new wiki up that the team's PR org has imagined. I gotta admit, that this is really kinda nice... it solidifies the familial feeling amongst all the Thrashers fans... that, and the fact that there really are so many of us.

Thrashers Name 5 Alternate Captains

One of the five will be named captain by players' choice once the season gets going.

The alternates are:
Kovy
Kozlov
Armstrong
Havelid
Schnider

Thoughts? The last one surprised me... if you need another D man to be an alternate captain, my money would have been on Enstrom. I think someone who hasn't been on ice with the team save for one pre-season game is a bit of a jump.

Thrash release new 3rd jerseys

I was depressed about not being able to make the Face Off tonight because I'm sick.

Then these got released:


They look like an oversized sweatshirt... which'd be cool, if that's what they were. But they're not. Gotta admit, if I have to plunk down $150 on a new jersey this year, I'll be plunking it down on the Blues' third. Thanks, design guys!

Pietrangelo makes the cut.

After a strong performance during the pre-season (possibly coupled with Johnson's knee injury), the Blues' first round draft pick has been selected to start the season with the Blues. He has nine games before he can be sent back down to the juniors in case he doesn't work out, but I have an odd feeling that he will be up with the big boys for a lot longer than that. After netting five assists in five games, he's shown that he's the offensive minded defenseman that the Blues expected, and needed. I'm looking forward to seeing how he does... he impressed me when I got a chance to see him in person Saturday night.

Pavs Refusing to Go Down?

Pavs was sent down to Chicago Saturday AM - we have Moose and Kari - everyone expected this, especially after losing the game Friday night for us by allowing 4 goals in the 3rd period. On the flipside, he's the only goalie who got a win this pre-season (Moose would have gotten one Friday, but...). Pavelec would benefit from another year in the minors, but according to Craig Custance over at The Hockey News, he's not seeing it the same way:

Allan Walsh, Pavelec's agent, said the Thrashers organization didn't keep promises given to the young goalie when he signed with the team, so he wants out.

"When Ondrej signed two years ago, [Thrashers GM Don Waddell] gave Ondrej his word. He sat there at the table and gave Ondrej his personal word that Ondrej would never be held back," Walsh told SN. "Last year he led Chicago to an American League championship. This year he played in the first exhibition game and then the third period on October 3 -- they threw him into the game cold in the third period. That is criminal mismanagement of a young goalie."

Yeesh.

Blues win; Thrash - not so much.

At least one of my teams won last night. The Blues opened a can of whoop-you-know-what on Curtis Joseph (welcome back, CuJo!) and pounded the Leafs 7-3 as retribution for the shootout loss Monday night in Toronto. Unfortunately, I can't offer much more analysis than that seeing as how I wasn't exactly there...

I was here, watching the Thrashers first home game of the pre-season against the Red Wings. Ohh noes - no Hossa. Oh well. I, unlike some, don't harbor some bitter, weird resentment against the man. He wanted to win, and he went where he feels like he best can. Good for him. He's always had nice things to say about the fans in Atlanta, and his opinions on last season's team were shared by probably 99% of those who complain about his "lack of loyalty" or whatever.

The Wings left out some big parts of their Cup-Winning Machine: Cleary, Datsyuk, Maltby, Hossa, Rafalski, Draper, Kronwall, Kopecky and Holmstrom. We dressed almost every starter but White, Kozzy, and Perrin. The last two's absence was felt. White? I didn't notice until probably halfway through the game that he wasn't out there.

Slater had some surprising moments, such as the fight during 1st period (that he won) that kind of came out of left field - EC's goal on Osgood in the 1st was fantastic. The rest of the team? Williams really worked hard on Kovy's line, but Hainsey and Reasoner? Not really a lot of noticeable plays. Stuart looked lost on a few shifts (Stevenson was good, though).

Kulda and Bogosian, for a game against a team like the Wings, showed a lot of focus and confidence - aside from a sloppy turn-over, Bogosian was good out there. The D, as a whole, seemed really improved, including X. He seems to be motivated more working under Anderson, and that's good. He really wasn't out of position last night and had a bit more oomph.

Our SOG were fairly equitable: 32-26 in favor of the Wings, and we had a lot of good scoring chances that didn't pan out. One of the Wings 4 goals was an empty netter. One was one that Kari didn't see - the first goal, though, was an easy slap shot about a minute and a half into the game that apparently scrambled Kari's concentration, since toward the end of the period he left the crease (!) to clear a puck and instead of passing it back along the boards actually passed the puck across center ice to Zetterberg (!) who easily put it in the net.

Overall, I was fairly impressed with the team - more shooting chances, more puck possession... if we were playing a lesser team, we could have won. Oh... look. Nashville's up Friday. Right on cue.

So far in pre-season, the Thrashers are 1-3-0, and the Blues are 3-2-1.