Gameday Panthers & Miscellany

Yea, I'm back. Jury duty is worse than I ever could've expected. Disrupts your life in every possible way. I'd rather not talk about it. Still slowly reintroducing myself into the world.

Thrash tonight. We got the Panthers. Their entire season evidently hangs on this one game. The Thrashers (through years of practice) have developed a keen knack for dashing playoff hopes - we got this one in the bag.

All trendy detached irony aside, I'm extremely excited for next season. The Toby-Bogo pairing is probably the best young D pair in the league. The emergence of the Chicago Pipeline, the miracle that is Rich Peverley, and the wonder that is Ilya Kovalchuk all point toward (at the very least) better things next year. Add some potential FA signings, and we may just have a playoff contender.

Some points to consider:
- The best UFA option not named Hossa (to my eyes) would be Mike Cammalleri. Bruce Boudreau once said that Cammalleri is "the smartest player I’ve had the good fortune to coach. He sees the ice well. He can take a one-timer better than any player I’ve seen. He reads plays like Gretzky and Lemieux.” If Cams looks for the upper-range of his assumed asking price the Flames may have to watch him walk - a situation now somewhat eased by the aquisition of Ollie Jokinen. C'mon, tell me a power play unit that could include both Kovy (shoots right) and Cammalleri (shoots left) doesn't make you salivate. Kovy's more than willing to pass, as we've seen all year, so this duo would be pretty exciting to watch. Some concerns: Chemistry, for one. How would he fit in this dressing room, and more importantly, on the ice with Kovy. Then there's salary. Word on the street is a range of $5-8 mil for Cams, and we'd likely be paying the upper end of such a range. Would the ASG assent to something like that? What do you think?

- As a side note, imagine this headline: Maxim Afinogenov Reinvigorates Career in Atlanta. I could see that happening.

Recipe of the Week. Next time you're out at Cracker Barrel (Craker Barrel? You brought her! Ba dum bum. Thanks, Derek.), ask the waitress for an extra plate of biscuits and a little bottle of that blueberry syrup. Drop those in a to-go container, and that's half a meal right there, brother.

Betty Crocker I ain't.

A Display of Manliness That Just May End Your Will To Live. Please pay a visit to the brethren over at the Chronicle. It seems these mythological Kovy commercials do exist. And they are cooler than anything you'll ever do. That's why he is the Ruler of These Parts.

Colby Armstrong is My Second Favorite Player. I thought that deserved a bullet point.

Jeremy Heilpern is smarter than everyone. If the Thrashers don't hire this guy, I'll be... fricken... suprised. (We'll have to put in the liner notes, "during this joke, he points to the back"...)

Boston Gets the Classic. On Frozen Blog with the big-time artists' conception. I'm still holding out for Pens/Flyers in Happy Valley. I can combine a trip home with some hockey madness. But at this point, I'm not so sure I'd have a team to root for.

What's This? Yup, call me Roger Swain, cause I got me a Victory Garden.

Tomatoes, green beans, basil, chives, and sundry other green leafys. Just doin my part to support the cause.

A year-end retrospective may be in the works. Let's see how I feel about that idea tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow, anyone else going to the practice?

Peath out.

Go Thrashers.