1) We completed week 8 of our weekly picks of each Saturday game. We had another very solid night, going 9-4 on the day/eve. that brings our season long total to 66-39 for a .629 winning %. We additionally got our Lock of The Week correct for a season record of 6-2 in that stat. Look for week 9 next Saturday when yet another 13 games will be on the schedule.
2) A short work week upcoming for the folks, but not for us at Fauxrumors. FR2 says they have a post about Sidney Crosby. We're promised it should be out by Tuesday. As always, keep it here for all the latest!
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Week 8 Predictions!
1) Yes on to week 8. before we do we wanted to mention again that yesterday's post was NOT a prediction of the final standings folks. We received about 50 or so e-mails complaining/excoriating us that our predictions were 'full of shit' as one person told us. LOL Sorry we didn't mean to stir things up with that. Its a blog guys! We do this every season folks! Anyway on to today's games. 13 in all up for grabs, We go into today with a 7 week total of 57-35, or a .612 winning %.
Friday, November 20, 2009
At The Quarter Poll......
1) With nearly all teams having now played 20% of their schedules we decided to project the finals standings. Obviously there is plenty of time for teams outside of the playoffs to get back in, but some trends are clearly becoming evident. This is NOT a Prediction!! We merely are projecting an 82 game season point total based upon each teams current point total/games played.
2) First in the East:
- New Jersey- 119
- Washington- 117
- Buffalo- 114
- Philadelphia- 114
- Pittsburgh- 104
- Atlanta- 100
- Ottawa- 99
- Tampa Bay-99
_______________________________________________________________
- NY Rangers- 90
- NY Islanders-90
- Boston- 86
- Montreal- 78
- Florida- 78
- Carolina- 51
- Toronto- 49
3) Next the West:
- Chicago- 115
- San Jose- 114
- Colorado- 108
- Calgary- 107
- Columbus- 107
- Los Angeles- 100
- Detroit- 99
- Dallas- 94
_______________________________________________________
- Nashville- 94
- Phoenix- 93
- Vancouver- 86
- Edmonton- 78
- St. Louis- 78
- Anaheim- 70
- Minnesota- 62
4) To reiterate, these are PROJECTIONS NOT PREDICTIONS! With a relatively small sample size a few (more or less) games played can alter the point totals significantly. That said there are a few interesting developments thus far. Who expected teams like Colorado, NY Islanders, LA, Phoenix, Ottawa, or Tampa to be in the playoff race this season? Who could have seen Carolina, Boston and Anaheim be so low in the standings? Yes, plenty of time for 'water to find its level' but sometimes these trends do continue throughout the season.
5) Finally our (admittedly silly to mention) quarter pole Trophy winners.
- Hart/Pearson: Anze Kopitar
- Vezina: Ryan Miller
- Norris: Chris Pronger
- Adams: Joe Sacco
- Calder: John Tavares
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Gretzky Paid Off?
1) Seems we have a Gretzky related post about every other week. We would NOT be making this post if we didn't have news to share. We do not like to 'pile on'. Yes, we freely have admitted that we're not Gretzky fans, but we do acknowledge his significant contributions as a player, etc. However when we see hypocrisy, etc we will call it when we see it. In the case of The Great One (TGO) we have been one of the few bloggers/writers who have been up front in calling him out. At first concerning his abandoning his team. First with our gretzky-holds-out post, and then after he resigned with our best-news-in-phoenix-so-far-this-year post.
2) Following that episode TGO's greed was clearly on display when he threatened to be a no show at the annual Hall Of Fame Awards Ceremony. This despite having several former team mates and assumed friends being enshrined. As it seems is the case, its all about him and his ego/wallet being massaged. tgo=greedy-one. Apparently, as described in that post, Wayne was furious over the NHL's handling of his portion of Coyotes after the NHL purchase of the Coyotes was made official. TGO did finally show up to the awards ceremony in Toronto last Monday. We were initially happy to read that apparently Wayne was willing to put his self interests behind the importance of his friends big days. However over the weekend we were given some amazing information that dashed this.
3) Our source didn't even want their gender revealed, let alone where they are from/what their position within the league, etc is. Suffice to say they are with in the circle of folks who would know. By the way we were the one's approached/called. We didn't initiate the contact. Yes, we have talked with/received information from this source before, but to be clear we didn't initiate the call. Anyway enough of the cloak and dagger. The source tells us that Wayne didn't show up last week out of the goodness of his heart or because he was willing to put aside his differences with the league. The source tells Fauxrumors that TGO was bought off! Yes, you read that right. The NHL paid off Gretzky for his continued 'good will' as the source put it. They didn't want the black eye of the games greatest player being estranged, etc.
4) Now the NHL didn't give Gretzky a big cheque, etc but instead chose a more surreptitious route. Apparently the NHL gave Wayne and his agent a huge bone when they agreed that the NHL Network will begin to simulcast a late-afternoon show out of Wayne Gretzky's Restaurant in Toronto. Not only will that generate a huge, free exposure(free advertisement) for his restaurant, but more importantly the league will pay for the privilege via rent in excess of $8 million!! Yes, they are going to pay through the nose to do a show they could have done for pennies in their own studio! As with the abandoning the Coyotes story, it seems no bloggers/reporters are willing to state the obvious. Most are probably either not comfortable attacking TGO, or are worried their access might be restricted by a league all too happy to be petty with regard to folks who write negative stories about them. As a blogger who receive NOTHING in ad revenue (nor will we!), nor has any official ties to the NHL or its member teams we are free to write the facts, and not worry about any consequences.
2) Following that episode TGO's greed was clearly on display when he threatened to be a no show at the annual Hall Of Fame Awards Ceremony. This despite having several former team mates and assumed friends being enshrined. As it seems is the case, its all about him and his ego/wallet being massaged. tgo=greedy-one. Apparently, as described in that post, Wayne was furious over the NHL's handling of his portion of Coyotes after the NHL purchase of the Coyotes was made official. TGO did finally show up to the awards ceremony in Toronto last Monday. We were initially happy to read that apparently Wayne was willing to put his self interests behind the importance of his friends big days. However over the weekend we were given some amazing information that dashed this.
3) Our source didn't even want their gender revealed, let alone where they are from/what their position within the league, etc is. Suffice to say they are with in the circle of folks who would know. By the way we were the one's approached/called. We didn't initiate the contact. Yes, we have talked with/received information from this source before, but to be clear we didn't initiate the call. Anyway enough of the cloak and dagger. The source tells us that Wayne didn't show up last week out of the goodness of his heart or because he was willing to put aside his differences with the league. The source tells Fauxrumors that TGO was bought off! Yes, you read that right. The NHL paid off Gretzky for his continued 'good will' as the source put it. They didn't want the black eye of the games greatest player being estranged, etc.
4) Now the NHL didn't give Gretzky a big cheque, etc but instead chose a more surreptitious route. Apparently the NHL gave Wayne and his agent a huge bone when they agreed that the NHL Network will begin to simulcast a late-afternoon show out of Wayne Gretzky's Restaurant in Toronto. Not only will that generate a huge, free exposure(free advertisement) for his restaurant, but more importantly the league will pay for the privilege via rent in excess of $8 million!! Yes, they are going to pay through the nose to do a show they could have done for pennies in their own studio! As with the abandoning the Coyotes story, it seems no bloggers/reporters are willing to state the obvious. Most are probably either not comfortable attacking TGO, or are worried their access might be restricted by a league all too happy to be petty with regard to folks who write negative stories about them. As a blogger who receive NOTHING in ad revenue (nor will we!), nor has any official ties to the NHL or its member teams we are free to write the facts, and not worry about any consequences.
As always, keep it here for all the latest. Accurate and Unafraid!
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Week 7: Results
1) Lucky week 7 is completed. It certainly was a nice rebound weekend for our picks. Or perhaps the luck was with us? In either case we went a very nice 9-3 on the night to bring our season total to 57-35, or a .612 winning %. We also got our 'Lock' last night to make that figure 5-2 on the season.
2) We of course will be back at this next Saturday the 21st when 13 games are on the NHL docket. Later this week look for our 'Quarter Pole' post where we project the final standing based upon the first 25% of the season(yes its already almost 25% over!) Also we have some new/interesting info on the Gretzky-NHL situation you won't want to miss. As always, keep it here for all the latest!
2) We of course will be back at this next Saturday the 21st when 13 games are on the NHL docket. Later this week look for our 'Quarter Pole' post where we project the final standing based upon the first 25% of the season(yes its already almost 25% over!) Also we have some new/interesting info on the Gretzky-NHL situation you won't want to miss. As always, keep it here for all the latest!
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Weekly Picks-Lucky 7 Edition
1) Its week 7 of the NHL season and time for our weekly Saturday picks. We take our respectable record of 48-32, or a .600 winning % into today's dozen contests.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Return To Quebec?
1) Many may have read recently that apparently there is an interest in bringing back hockey to Quebec City. As most of you know Quebec had an NHL franchise from 1979, when it was part of the WHA absorption/merger (along with Edmonton, Hartford, now-Carolina and Winnipeg), to 1995 when the team was sold/moved to Colorado. During their 16 or so seasons in La Belle Province the Nords had excellent fan support even through some lean years. The franchise did win a Cup, unfortunately for the faithful there not until the team left Quebec. Fan support wasn't the real reason for the NHL allowing the team to leave, but the aging arena La Colisée. At the time the local government refused to either refurbish or consider buildng a replacement for the out of date fascility. In recent years corporate sponsor and luxury boxes is as important for financial stability as a solid season ticket base. Thus the need for a modern arena. Back in the early-mid 90's the Quebec owner Marcel Aubut pushed the City to build one but was rejected, forcing his hand and eventual exodus to Denver.
2) Since then there have been many Faux-stories of an impending return of NHL hockey to Quebec (and to Winnipeg for that matter) There are several factors though involved in this story that lead us to believe that there is in fact a possibility that this story 'has legs'/isn't faux. The most important is the fact that Quebec City has announced plans for a new arena in order to "facilitate an NHL return to the city and one day hosting a Winter Olympics." Mayor Regis Labeaume said recently. That he's hired engineering firm SNC Lavalin to conduct a feasibility study. He hopes to see the arena built from 2010 to 2012. Labeaume expects the arena to cost $400 million, with the city contributing $50 million to the project. He wants the federal and provincial governments to each pony up $175 million under infrastructure programs. The mayor said Quebec City is at a "crossroads" and a new, multi-purpose 18,000 facility is a must. "We can't be an Olympic candidate city without it; we can't hope to realize a dream of the NHL returning without it."Labeaume, along with former Nordiques owner Marcel Aubut, met in New York with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly last month
3) When one puts those two facts together (a new arena being planned AND a meeting with the Commish we have to believe that there is some validity to this. Now we should caution that this is FAR from a done deal. Until a shovel is actually in the ground we would caution folks up north from too much optimism, yet. There are valid reasons why many are saying that a team just can't make it there. The one most reason is the size of the market. Right now the smallest NHL market is in Edmonton, where the metro area possess just over a million folks. While Quebec has a mere 800K folks i its metro vicinity. Many state that a team needs to have a minimum of a million folks to be viable in Canada and probably 2 million in the states. However we believe with the inevitable (in our opinion) expansion into Las Vegas in the next 3-5 years, the NHL will have to throw Canada a bone and the NHL/Bettman like a known quantity. With his past NHL ownership Marcel Aubut is liked and respected among the board of governors and unlike an outsider would be much more acceptable as a new member. Therefore we are convinced that Quebec City has the biggest chance of any other Canadian city to get a new NHL franchise.
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