BagBoy

Remember during the Dem debates when Obama said he'd be willing to run some covert operation into Pakistani territory without Pakistan's consent in order to kill Bin Laden? Hillary and the rest went nuts in that debate.

Captain Obvious here... thicker skin > thinner skin

I thought Obama beat Hillary simply because he ran a better campaign. His campaign was straightforward and coherent and way better organized than Hillary's. She was constantly flopping around on issues just to try to make up ground at any cost, and I think everyone in her campaign thought she was a shoo-in, so they got lazy (or were just plain shortsighted).

I just sent this email to a fellow NC resident, and thought I'd share it here. _______________________________________________________________________________ Have you done your taxes yet? Compared to last year, The State of North Carolina slashed my with-holding taxes so much I figured it was a mistake, and that I’d have to pay big-time on the back end. I usually have to pay them every year anyway, but this year, in spite of the cuts, I’m getting a refund. I don’t want a refund. I’m sure that when the collective NC legislature hears that, they think I’m either crazy or Communist (or both). Education in this state has been under assault since the GOP dipshits took a super-majority, and it can’t do anything but get exponentially worse with this kind of tax “policy”. Welcome to North Carolina! We’re the new Mississippi!

I must say I’m very disappointed. Who cares if Mike Weber is a chess player? Some people make that sound like a bad thing. Chess is a wonderful game that helps people think through problems and be more objective. It also helps relieve stress and can help you to meet new and interesting people. I really don’t understand all this anti-chess bias around here, and… <<shoulder tapped by Cheddar Chase>> Not now Cheddar, I’m trying to make a point! <<Cheddar Chase taps shoulder again and whispers into ear>> Cheap?.......... Oh…….Never mind!

Wow, I don't remember ever seeing an intentional header by a skater before. Nice one Deslauriers!

Looks like Ottawa is taking analytics with a grain of salt. http://www.tsn.ca/patrick-wiercioch-analytics-vs-eyeball-test-1.223118

Well said, my man, and so very true. As for Nascar, it's huge here in Greensboro, but Charlotte is the true center of the universe for Nascar.

75 right now. All my windows are open. It will be 21 on Friday morning.

<<facepalms>> If the TV news in general is too conservative for you, stop watching FOX. If you think the TV news is too liberal, stop watching MSNBC. It's just that simple. All the other networks are in the middle, and anyone trying to vilify any of them for their alleged political stance is only exposing his or her own bias, not that of those networks. As a conservative, do you really think MSNBC is polluting the minds of otherwise potentially good conservatives by leaning left? As a non-conservative, I certainly don't believe that FOX is influencing anyone who wasn't already destined to lean to the right. It's just media, man. It's not a conspiracy.

No - monkeys are a dime a dozen. My avatar is a Border Collie that just happens to be giving Whiplash a ride. Border Collies rule! (I gotta admit, Whiplash is a snappy dresser though)

He should wear 85!

Fair enough. But Neuvirth was gonna be gone no matter what (which is good for the tank considering how well he's played). Therefore ANYTHING we get for him is good, and we got a cheap goalie who can battle for a spot next year plus a 3rd rounder. Neuvirth could lead NYI to the Cup and we still have all the upside potential in this deal (limited though it may be).

Like I said, this is not a blockbuster trade, but I do believe there is value here. Johnson is locked up for a year (very cheaply) and might be developing into a legit starter (or solid back-up). Neuvirth is a UFA, and we get a 3rd rounder. Frankly I don't see any downside in this deal for us, unless Neuvirth backstops the Isles to the Cup Finals vs. the Blues and our remaining low 1st rounder is only #29. I'll take this deal all day long and twice on Sundays.

Of course this isn't really a blockbuster trade, but I don't really get WHY NYI made this deal, and it made me suspicious that they know something we don't about Johnson. Then I remembered that their GM is Garth Snow.

Johnson's first real season in the NHL was last year with BOS and he went 17-4, .925, 2.10. Granted this year's numbers aren't nearly as good, but he's been hot in Feb as pointed out by Gorby. He's locked up next year contract wise at a $1.3M cap hit, plus we get a 3rd rounder. I think GMTM may have won this one.

That's what I see, too.

Lindros is one of the biggest d1ckheads to ever play the game, and this stupid lawsuit is just reminding everyone about this all over again, and reinforcing his unpopularity. I hope Stewart sues Lindros for saying Stewart lied. That would be awesome.

Here's a little PR film for Eichel for Hobey Baker - not too shabby. http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/eye-on-hockey/25079461/watch-bus-clever-jack-eichel-for-hobey-baker-campaign-video EDIT - wasn't sure where to put this comment, but heaven help some new poor schmuck who wanders into this forum over the last week or two. It's like some kinda Brighton Beach social club in here! (which is loads of fun!)

I think the way we approach power play (PP) stats is overly simplistic. Instead of goals per PP attempt, why not goals per PP time? Better yet, why not goal differential per PP time (to penalize teams for allowing shorties)? Anyone seen or done any analysis on the merits of that metric vs. the traditional goals per attempt metric?

I have a very basic question on this subject. Has anyone done any analysis to show that the Corsi stat is statistically superior to plain old shots on goal (SOG) in terms of correlating to success? I don’t think proponents of the Corsi have a leg to stand on without that evidence, and I’ve never seen any. And here’s another question. If the premise is to use stats to somehow back into time of possession, then why in the heck are faceoffs not factored into that equation?

Apologies if this has already been discussed, but let's say the Sabres finish last and lose the lottery for the top pick. Does anyone think there are any teams in the lottery who would choose Eichel and leave us McDavid? McDavid and Eichel are often labeled co-number one's, but it seems unlikely to me anyone would pass on McDavid.

I never heard of Tony McKegney having any issues in Buffalo either.

You are not alone, my friend. I thought we traded to get that #35 pick just to take Fucale, and I was very unhappy when we didn't take him. Hopefully the Habs are open to trading him, considering how well Price has been playing. I would LOVE to get Fucale.

Let’s talk “analytics”, shall we? As will become obvious to proponents of it, I’m with those who think it’s complete horseshlt. I am biased against it, but I’m not inflexible. After all I was initially shocked in a bad way about this Kane trade today. But now, after reading all of the opinions here today, and reflecting objectively, I feel great about it! So for all you proponents of analytics, convince us doubters! First of all, this analytics business in hockey sure seemed to spring up suspiciously right after the Moneyball movie. I thought it was a good movie (and factual), and I think analytics from a baseball perspective makes perfect sense, and I believe the data supports that. I’m an Orioles fan, and I think Earl Weaver was a genius. He was the first guy to track specific pitcher vs. hitter stats back in the early 70’s (on hand-written index cards, not computers btw) and he used them brilliantly. But here’s the thing…hockey isn’t baseball. My understanding of the Corsi is that at its core, it is simply trying to quantify puck possession, since there is nobody out there tabulating the actual time of possession, like they do in soccer. Maybe it’s time to start tabulating time of possession. I think that would be a very informative stat. Anyway the Corsi is obviously a flawed way of quantifying possession. For example, those Soviet teams of the 70’s and 80’s virtually always had an obvious advantage in time of possession over Team Canada. They did this by doing precisely the opposite of what the Corsi rewards, namely being very selective with their shots, and passing the puck back and forth until they got a good shot opportunity. So, if we’re trying to quantify puck possession, don’t you think counting passes would be a much more valid piece of the puzzle than how many times you got your shot blocked? I sure do. Basically all it is is the SOG plus missed shots and blocked shots, so this means the more times you get your shots blocked or you miss the net, the “better” you are. So therefore, if a player comes down the wing and shoots wide causing the puck to go all the way back to his own zone, he still gets a “plus”. Or how about when a D-man gets the puck at the point, has time to wrist it toward the net, but chooses instead to crank a full wind up, and then the opposing winger blocks the shot and creates a breakaway for himself? The D-man gets a Corsi “plus” for this. I don’t doubt for a second that higher Corsi numbers have and always will correlate positively with better teams. I’m not saying the stat is “wrong” per se. It’s just a stupid stat. Teams with the highest ‘goals for’ vs. ‘goals against’ ratios also tend to be the best teams, but nobody gets excited about that stat. Plain old-fashioned shots on goal (SOG) is a far superior stat to the Corsi, and the only reason the Corsi appears to have any relevance is because SOG’s are the vast majority of its data points. Every SOG “could” be a goal. Zero missed nets and almost zero blocked shots can be goals. Missing the net is very frequently a bad play for the offense, and blocked shots are almost never good for an offense. These are not stats that should be rewarded. No coach of mine ever gave me a pat on the back for missing the net or getting a shot blocked. I realize I haven’t addressed the iCorsi stuff or the Fenwick stuff, or any of the rest of it, because admittedly I have dismissed them all as more of the same. If any of that is actually worthwhile, I need to be illuminated. Please discuss.