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| 2008 Around The Interruption Week 23; Passed Antitrust Act | |
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| Topic Started: Sunday Nov 16 2008, 07:35 PM (249 Views) | |
| WeatherManNX01 | Sunday Nov 16 2008, 07:35 PM Post #1 |
The Emperor
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Several of the world's most snowy sports fans! This week on the penultimate regular-season edition of ATI:
All that and more, this week on ATI! There are eight topics, but only the last one counts. Erm...I mean... Participants may now introduce themselves. |
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| Cougar | Sunday Nov 16 2008, 08:03 PM Post #2 |
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Hola. |
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| PSUSyr5 | Sunday Nov 16 2008, 09:23 PM Post #3 |
The Board Idiot
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It's almost Thanksgiving in the US, and you know what that means...the start of lake effect snow season in Upstate New York! |
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| WeatherManNX01 | Sunday Nov 16 2008, 10:34 PM Post #4 |
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The Emperor
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Hey, Cougar. +1 Woohoo for Lake Effect Snow Season!  +3]Hey Buster, nice facetime. -2 |
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| WeatherManNX01 | Sunday Nov 16 2008, 10:59 PM Post #5 |
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The Emperor
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Kickoff We start this week with Cougar's favorite: hockey! In what was probably the biggest coaching move of the offseason, the Tampa Bay Lightning lured Melrose and whatever mullet he might have to Florida to coach the team in what would hopefully be a better season than those in recent memory. Sixteen games into the season, and they didn't like where things were going. And with that, Melrose was fired. The Lightning had won only five games out of the sixteen despite the myriad of roster improvements that had been made in the offseason (Lecavalier with an 11-year extension, Stamkos in the draft). Melrose had been out of coaching for 13 years and spent much of that time as an analyst for ESPN. The team general manager indicated that things were going downhill before the season even started. Let's get things going with some questions to answer and discuss! Do you agree with the firing of Melrose? Was it too soon, not soon enough, or at the right time? Should he have even been hired in the first place? Compare this situation to Lane Kiffin's with the Raiders - which job would you have rather had and lost? Also, since we haven't done much hockey lately, I'll give some bonus pointage to whoever would like to briefly tell me about what they're seeing in the NHL this year (strong teams, weak teams, surprises both ways, etc.). Due time: 8:00 PM EST on Monday, November 17 Next week: ATI is off for the American Thanksgiving holiday Weel 24: Topic suggestions, join the group Also: Leave ATI feedback |
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| PSUSyr5 | Monday Nov 17 2008, 03:13 PM Post #6 |
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The Board Idiot
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It's one thing to fire a guy at the beginning of a season when he's been there in previous years. It's quite another to fire a guy at the beginning of a season in his first year. So, I believe it was way too early. That been said, if someone is out of coaching for over a decade, it's not a good idea to bring him back and he should not have been hired in the first place. But once you do hire a guy, give him at least a year to show what he can do. The job I'd rather have and lose would be the Oakland job. If you lose your job in Oakland, that's expected. No real shame in having the expected happen. The longer you go the better you must have been doing On the other hand, in Tampa Bay, there's actually a chance you might last some time as a coach. So to lose the job so early would be hard to take. Besides, I know more about football than I do hockey, so I'd rather have a football related job than a hockey related one. The strongest team right now looks to be the San Jose Sharks. They are 15-3-1 overall, going 10-0-1 at home, 8-1-1 in their last ten games. The New York Islanders on the other hand, appear to be the weakest of the bunch at 6-9-2. They are a mere 3-6-1 at home. If you can't win at home, that's not a good sign. My biggest surprising team is the Boston Bruins currently leading the division. I believed they might make it to the playoffs, but as a lower seeded team. So for them to be leading the division right now is a lot better than I expected. My biggest disappointment is the Dallas Stars. A lot of people expected them to be even better than last year. So far, not happening. Their goalies have not been doing well so far this season, with Turco saving 87% of shots faced (4th worst in the NHL), and Stephan saving 85.7% (2nd worst). Having 2 goalies at the bottom of the league in saving shots is a good indication that the team is struggling, and the Stars are doing just that. |
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| Cougar | Monday Nov 17 2008, 04:01 PM Post #7 |
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Yes I agree with the firing of Melrose. This team going in looked to be one of the most offensive teams in the NHL. Yes we knew it'd take time to form chemistry but with the offseason additions that were mostly offense related, you'd think they'd be scoring more goals (instead of being last in the league in goals for). Defense and goaltending were supposed to be the issue, instead, they've gotten good goaltending from Mike Smith. Melrose sure was from the old NHL, back but when he coached, the game was high scoring...so how could he not handle this new NHL? Also, he hasn't played Stamkos enough, this guy is talented and should be at least a 2nd or third line center...instead Melrose plays him on the 4th line. I know being 1st overall doesn't guarantee you as the star of the time but they drafted him for a reason. If he was just going to be a 4th line center, then they would've kept him in junior or in the AHL. This firing was right on time. We saw last year that Washington fired their coach early enough to change things around with Boudreau. If Tocchet can turn things around, Tampa can still get a 7th or 8th seed. I'd probably rather have the Tampa job. Tampa's expectations are higher, however, the ridicule isn't as much as Oakland (from the fans and the owner). Al Davis is crazy, and I'd rather not want to deal with that man. Tampa has good attendance but I think it'd be far fetched to say that they have a bigger fan base than the Raiders. Strongest team in the NHL appears to be the Sharks. They've scored 21 more goals for than goals against. That stat shows me a lot. Plus, they're home record speaks for itself. in 19 games, when you go 15-3-1, you have to be the strongest team. Also, they've beaten Detroit, Pittsburgh and Chicago, 3 strong teams. Weakest team in the NHL appears to be the Islanders. The Stars are just as bad standings wise but they have had a tougher schedule. The Islanders just plain suck. The make up the team is pretty bad too...plus they don't even have DiPietro in net. This team should finish bottom 5 in the NHL. Biggest surprise: Buffalo...Boston isn't that big of a surprise since they were picked to make the playoffs by most pundits and were expected to finish better than 8th (last year's team). Buffalo, however, were considered a bubble team, and they'd started off well. Biggest disappointment: Dallas. This is a Stanley Cup contender, they didn't lose much in the offseason, so they shouldn't be struggling like this...oh wait...so far it's pretty much Turco's fault. |
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| Buster | Monday Nov 17 2008, 07:26 PM Post #8 |
Water Boy
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I do not agree with the firing. It was way too soon to happen. They just hired the guy how many months ago. He just started his job. They just started the season. I know, the picture doesn't look all that great at the moment, but come on, give a guy a chance. Maybe they'd make a run later in the season. Maybe he knew this season wouldn't be the one but groundwork had been laid for next year. You can't expect a guy to get a team going in 16 games (in hockey...NFL is different). And if this is the way you're going to treat the guy, than what was the point in hiring him? You knew that he hadn't coached in 13 years. Were you expecting some instant miracle? It's Barry Melrose, not Jesus Christ. And compared to the Raiders, Lane Kiffin had the most luxurious gig ever. Al Davis at least gave him more than one season, even if he did fire the guy midway through season two. Kiffin had a chance. Melrose did not. NHL this year: GO PENS! |
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| The Dark Knight | Monday Nov 17 2008, 07:40 PM Post #9 |
 
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Well, if there are problems even before the season begins, then why did they wait to fire him until now? No, they should have resolved this before the season started, so it was a bit late. But I do agree with the firing. If he's not doing what you need him to do, you get rid of him. There is no loyalty in pro sports. Give me the Tampa job. It's not the big show in town since the Bucs are there as well. This time of year in Oakland, the Raiders are the talk of the city, so everything I do there would be highly questioned. In Tampa, at least the Bucs would be a distraction to everyone in the area so I could be in a lot less of the spotlight like I would be in Oakland. Strongest team I'll take the Detroit Red Wings. Yes, winning at home is nice, but winning on the road is more impressive, and that's what the Wings do, winning 8 out of 10 so far. They've also completed a third of their power plays successfully, tops in the league. Weakest team is the Florida Panthers. They have only completed 13% of their power plays successfully, and haven't been all that great at home (barely above .500), and even worse on the road. There really aren't any good surprising teams in a big way. When PSUSyr5's and Cougar's big surprises are teams that were in the playoff mix (Boston being in, Buffalo as a bubble) that's a good indication. But there are 2 teams that are negative surprises: Dallas, as both mentioned, and Ottawa. The Senators have the third worst offense in the NHL, averaging under 2.5 goals a game, and that's resulted in them being second to last in the standings for the Eastern Conference. They were a playoff team last year and have fallen mightily so far this year. |
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| WeatherManNX01 | Monday Nov 17 2008, 09:17 PM Post #10 |
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The Emperor
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One hockey topic and Cougar has the lead. How do I do it? Oh, and Buster, usually it helps to answer all of the questions. -1 Scores
Buy/sell On to baseball and free agency. Who is one of the best pitchers in the majors? CC Sabathia. Who would possibly want to offer him a big contract? The New York Yankees of course. Hank Steinbrenner and the New York Yankees have extended a six-year $140 million contract to the ace pitcher to come play in the house that Ruth is going to build again. Brewers general manager Doug Melvin claims that the Yankees are "overbidding" on Sabathia compared to Milwaukee's $110 million offer. Buy/sell Melvin's comments on overbidding, and buy/sell Sabathia as a Yankee in 2009. Due time: 8:00 PM EST on Tuesday, November 18 Next week: ATI is off for the American Thanksgiving holiday Weel 24: Topic suggestions, join the group Also: Leave ATI feedback |
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