Search

I did a thing this weekend.

https://mtc.cdn.vine.co/r/videos/DEDF7F9AF01158252275064811520_33593ae119c.1.4.13760824767502895192.mp4?versionId=zEIzgtslq1Q.YSUCBHNuee5B_YCTsdda

Suspendable? it should be.. but doesn't look like anything will come of it.

Oh yeah.. Fleury with 6 Shutouts on the season.. Career high..
He's playing some of the best hockey in his career right now.. I'm just hoping to god he carries it over into the Playoffs..

Noticeable differences in his game
- He's not scrambling around in the net, flopping in desperation
- He's cool calm and collective
- Controlling his rebounds, and when he does give a bad rebound the defense in front of him box out the opponents
- Mike Johnston's system finally coming into full swing and it's a breath of fresh air.. It doesn't leave Fleury hanging out to dry multiple times a game like Bylsma's

The true test though will come in April.

I designed this e-card to send to friends and family..

On a scale of 1-10 how cute is this!

holy dive batman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lctRlYjnQck

I like the snow. I have a car, though I rarely use it.. I live biking distance from where I work now.
I used to live in Charleston, SC.. for 6 months.. I hated it.. the winter was nice, but Summer came and It.Was.Brutal.. I can't stand that type of humidity.. which is why I really don't want to go south.

My stipulations for destinations is:
Good job market for my field (which is Graphic Design)
Bike Polo (I know this is a pretty silly one, but it's a big part of my life and I really don't want to sacrifice it.)

Destinations my girlfriend (Carley) and I talked about previously were

If we were to move to the south:
Tampa (Carley's parents live under an hour away)
Gainesville
Richmond VA (this considered south? I dont know..)

Staying in the North East:
DC (this is her first choice, since part of her childhood was in Alexandria)
Pittsburgh (I really want to move to Pittsburgh, her.. not so much)

Some midwest options we considered:
Minneapolis
Denver
Chicago (I dont really want to move here, but I'm open to it)

Places we DO NOT want to move
NYC
Anything north of NYC
Anywhere in the Carolinas
Georgia

Places I think might be fun places to live but are unlikely:
Lexington
Seattle
Austin (though I hate the thought of living in Texas)

I Included the midwest options because we talked about it, but Carley really doesn't want to move away from the east coast because all of her family is on the east coast.

I am currently job searching and my girlfriend and I have discussed possibly leaving Philadelphia and moving to a new city..
I would like some suggestions.

Ideally we would like to stay on the East coast, but open to other locations. Make a case for it ;-)

NYC is out of the question and so is most southern states (I tried my hand at living in the south.. dont want to do that again.)

Im actually looking to get some new pedals!
I also need help determine the order of my pedals to get the best performance and sound from all of them.

I play 90's style post hardcore/screamo, as well as some post rocky parts (Think City of Caterpillar and Pg. 99)

What pedals would you suggest for this style? And what effect do they make?

Right now I have (and in this patch order):
Guitar > Boss Tuner > Iron Horse Distortion > Boss Distortion DS-1 > Boss Delay DD-3 > Boss Loop RC-2 > Volume Pedal >Amp

[blatant]

Fair enough, I still don't believe it's a blatant headshot.
Im not denying it's a dirty hit and that he shouldn't have done it. But I just don't see it as a blatant headshot.

The principle point of contact is to the chest and follow through to the chin, this view shows it slightly better. Bortz clearly targeted the chest not the head.

Here is another angle of the hit.
https://zippy.gfycat.com/CourteousEnragedBactrian.webm

All this said, I hope Jagr doesn't miss any time, regardless of my feelings towards him he's a great player and you never want to see someone go down like that.

Im not saying it wasn't a nasty hit.. it was.. a semi-late (By ruling it was late, but you see hits this 'late' all the time with no call or suspension).
It's suspendable because there was an injury if no injury.. I don't see a suspension here.. They even say in the video the suspension was for interference and the predatory nature of the hit. They make it a point to say he glided into the hit, did not jump, and kept his elbow tucked.

My argument is that it's not "blatantly high", it wasn't targeted to the head, though there was contact to the head because of Jagr leaning and Bortz being tall.

It was dirty and deserving of the suspension, perhaps deserved more games (who really knows, they;re not consistent with this), but based on the explanation to me the only thing wrong with the hit was that it was a little late.

But I am a Pens fan and I probably do have some homer goggles on. However, I am ecstatic to see this team start playing on the edge, it's something we needed for a long time, especially with how Dubinsky and Marc Staal treated Crosby in the playoffs last year with no retaliation. My favorite signings of the offseason so far have been Downie and Comeau.. both play on the edge and stick up for their teammates and contribute to the scoresheet..
I can't believe we had to deal with Tanner Glass for the past few years.. Now if we could only get rid of Adams and Scuderi... oh and get some top 6 wingers.

[Hit was pretty blatantly high]

Brody is a Blue. Oh well, so what! I hope he gets lots of playing time and even out-performs their current goalie and everyone's expectations. Go Marty!

The Devils can't catch a break. Or, for that matter, score more goals. Drop a shoot out loss the Redwings after leading 3-1. Drop a shootout loss to the Flames after leading 4-1. (I might have those scores switched up). They played well against the Islanders, lost 3-1 including an open netter at the end. They played well against the Pens, and lost 1-0 after a 3rd period Malkin goal. This is a frustrating season.

How about that Bortuzzo hit on Jagr?! I didn't even know this guy's name until now. I dislike the Penguins, but really screw this guy. Hit was pretty blatantly high and late, if you find a good video shot of it. But out of anyone on the Devils, you hit Jagr like that? A legendary ex-penguin? Only thing I would have liked to see is more retaliation from the Devils, or at least a Win.

It was not blatantly high. Jagr was leaning over and Bortz is over 6'.. His elbow was tucked and he did not jump into the hit or leave his feet. It was a nano second too late. If there was no injury on the play this wouldn't have been a suspension. You see hits that are much later than this one every game. It sounds like Jagr isn't going to miss any games and Bortz got a fair 2 game suspension for it.



Just because he's Jagr means he is untouchable for hits? Bortz and Jagr have been josseling all night.. Jagr gave him a slew that was uncalled earlier in the game.. Which if Bortz didn't catch his balance could've resulted in an injury... and immediately after attempted to spear him
Also why wouldn't you want a player like Bortz to be up in the face of the other teams star players? (who cares if he's an ex Penguin, he's not a Penguin now)



Here is the ruling. Suspended for interference.
http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/?id=689462

Fleury with 5 shutouts on the season.. tying his career high.. interesting fact..

Since Bales (Pens goalie coach) was hired, Fleury has 10 shutouts in 83 games. From 2008-2013, Fleury had 12 shutouts in 294 games. Fleury has 5 shutouts in 19 games so far this year. His highest amount of shutouts in a season was 5 in 64 last year and 5 in 67 in 06-07.

Maybe he's turned a page? I can only hope.. the real test for him will be the post season.

Brodeur is a Blue  :(

I've been trying to buy a guitar for two years, but I am having difficulty deciding/pulling the trigger, but I check daily for "deals." Are you trading for the guitar or are you trying to get rid of the guitar?

These tribute ones were roughly $900-1000ish new (they were basically a stripped-down offshoot of the Studio). For a point of reference, they did the same thing for the 2013 line (50s, 60s, 70s tribute). Used, like you've said, I've seen them all over the place, mostly between $650-750.

I don't know how this will change now that the 2015s have been released and are SUBSTANTIALLY more expensive (for example, the $2500 Standard is now $3800, the really cheap $600 "Junior" is now $1100, etc.)- some people have speculated it will drive up the demand on the older "budget" models. I would like one of the 50s models with the P90s in them. I actually enjoy the feel of the unfinished neck.

I don't know about the headstock damage and its effect on price. That's no small ding. If it's something you/other people can live with and is purely aesthetic, it's all well and good. But if I'm buying, I'd probably expect some sort of discount, if only for the hit you would take if you hypothetically try to re-sell it.

Sorry, this probably wasn't helpful.

It was helpful thank you. I was thinking of trading one of my guitars for this guitar + cash..

I was going to trade my Rickenbacker 650A Atlantis for this guitar + cash (because I needed the cash) but I actually decided against it, because I LOVE my guitar and I just can't do it.

So basically I was trying to find the value of this guitar to figure out the difference of the cost of my guitar.

ha well wont be anywhere near there!

rabble, january 2nd buffalo v florida, you in?

Tickets to that are what $2? Ha
I'll actually be in Florida on the 2nd, but near Tampa

Bordeur practicing with the blues.. Just retire with dignity Marty!

I am working on a trade with someone, and I want to make sure I am getting fair value.

How much do you think this guitar is worth, I've tried to do research, but it seems all over the place.

Guitar in question is a 2011 Gibson Les Paul 70s Tribute with Minibuckers, there is a chip in the headstock.





Thanks in advance!

I wish we would've traded Fleury in the offseason to a team like Winnipeg, who desperately needs help in that category.. (however it looks like Pavelec is playing pretty well this season.) and signed Hiller.

I think all that Pittsburgh needs in a netminder is a calming presence, when their netminder scrambles, so does the team defense, but when you put a calming goalie there like Vokoun or Griess, they are a much better team in front of them.

One of the biggest factors in contract negotiations these days is contracts of comparable players.  You look at recent goalie signings; , Varlamov: 5 years, 5.9 per, Bishop: 2 years at 5.95 per, Lehtonen: 5 years at 5.9 per, Crawford: 6 years at 6 per.  He's had similar statistical numbers to them with, give or take, plus averages more games per season than any of them.  Then on top of that you factor in that Pittsburgh doesn't have any other solid options.  Nobody's really looking to trade a goalie, there aren't any solid free agents now or coming up in the offseason.  Then you factor in that in his previous ten seasons in the NHL, one shortened due to the lockout, one due to injury, he's had at least 30 wins four times, 40 wins two times, and has a Stanley Cup ring, and excluding the lockout shortened season and 2002-2008, hes played in at least 60 games since 2006.  If you've got a logical reason why that's a bad contract, have at it.

replied to this discussion in the hockey thread. you're welcome.

Bringing this over from the introduction thread

One of the biggest factors in contract negotiations these days is contracts of comparable players.  You look at recent goalie signings; , Varlamov: 5 years, 5.9 per, Bishop: 2 years at 5.95 per, Lehtonen: 5 years at 5.9 per, Crawford: 6 years at 6 per.  He's had similar statistical numbers to them with, give or take, plus averages more games per season than any of them.  Then on top of that you factor in that Pittsburgh doesn't have any other solid options.  Nobody's really looking to trade a goalie, there aren't any solid free agents now or coming up in the offseason.  Then you factor in that in his previous ten seasons in the NHL, one shortened due to the lockout, one due to injury, he's had at least 30 wins four times, 40 wins two times, and has a Stanley Cup ring, and excluding the lockout shortened season and 2002-2008, hes played in at least 60 games since 2006.  If you've got a logical reason why that's a bad contract, have at it.

Out of that list goalies and where Fleury ranks among them.. IMO

Better than Fleury:
Lehtonen
Varlomov

Slightly better or equal to:
Bishop
Crawford

Fleury will always be a decent regular season netminder, but come playoff time he's a headcase. (see series: Flyers, Islanders)

Even in the regular season this year he's seemed a little shaky, he does stupid things.. he tries to play the puck too much.. this drives me insane..
He doesn't just go out to stop the puck and leave it for his defender, like 90% of the goalies in the league, he tries to make a play with it.. and ends up handcuffing his defensemen by giving them a god awful pass.
OR he'll stand behind the net with the puck and getting in the way of his own defensemen to play the puck..

I honestly feel better watching the games with Griess in net than I do Fleury, he doesn't try to be something he's not and he makes the smart plays.

I have a very hard time making friends.
I'm very much an introvert and I am not very social.

When I lived in a house with 7 other people, I met more people just because they would bring people over and I would become friends with them. Also we had a bunch of house shows, so that helped. Now I live with just my girlfriend and two dogs, we both hate parties and we don't go out much.

I also don't have a lot in common with a lot of the people I work with, so for some reason in my mind I don't like to waste my time trying to get to know these people because I don't have anything in common with them.. and I know thats a shitty way to think, but it's hard to change the mentality. They sometimes invite me to happy hour, but I always decline because I don't drink and I do not like bars.

I wish that I was more social, but I'm not.. and I hate small talk so much, mostly because I am so bad at it.

No hockey discussion since the season started? man..

Fuck Shero for not drafting forwards.

I love Maatta.

That is all.

He may be a better goalie under the new coaching staffs system.. and I have faith that he might be, but based on his playoff performances he did not deserve a raise, and I would've liked them to at least see how he performed this season in the playoffs before committing to him for 4 more years..

he already this season tied his career best of 4 shutouts.. so.. there is some improvements under Johnston's system.

Shero/Bylsma really did a number on this team.

This is Teddy
He's a Schnusky ... Husky/Schnauzer Mix
#teddytheschnusky

Got him February of this year, he's about 1.5 years old.





This is Portobella (Bella)
She is a Rottie/Beagle
#portobellababy

I got her just over 3 years ago, she's now about 4 years old





Here they are together