Hmmm...Strangely enough, I'm not exactly sure how I feel about the Leafs' acquisition of Jeff O'Neill. I mean, I've liked him as a player since the 2002 Toronto-Carolina Stanley Cup Eastern Conference final, but...
Sure, 29 isn't exactly geriatric (in hockey years), but it's not exactly young, either. I think I read/heard somewhere that players start hitting their prime around 24, and I'm not sure if that means that they start to hit their stride starting from that age, or if that's supposed to be when they peak.
Ah well! I *do* like O'Neill, so I might as well be happy about it for now and hope for the best! =P
In other news, it appears that MLSEL listened to me (and thousands of other fans) and actually *gasp* reduced their ticket prices!! Yes, it's a paltry 5% compared to other teams of similar reputation and revenues (the Avs lowered prices by at least 10%, and in some cases, 20%, remember?) but at least it's something. And that's really all that I asked for. ^_^
The Avalanche just announced that they're reducing ticket prices for the 2005-06 season--20% for season ticket holders that maintained their deposit, 10% for those that took a refund on the deposit, and 10% for single games--so I hope that the Maple Leafs organization is taking note!!
Considering that the Avs have had an average 97% renewal rate for their season tickets over the past few years, and had been consistently selling out games (as far as I know) before the lockout, I think it's safe to say that Kroenke Sports Enterprises didn't do this because they were desparate to lure fans back. Maybe I'm being naive, but I'm taking it as a gesture of goodwill to the fans.
MLSEL, you'd better be paying attention to this! Fans are going to be expecting a price cut! It doesn't have to be a major one, but simply maintaining 2003-04 ticket prices isn't going to cut it.
(Of course the fact that I'm probably going to be buying tickets to games, regardless of the price takes a lot of bit out of my "warning", but oh well, you get the point anyway.)
This is one of the few suggestions about which I immediately thought "this is idiotic" when I first read it.
To be optimistic, however, I do admit that there's still a chance that the new league emphasis on divisional play in the scheduling will not turn out to be an entirely crappy thing for the Leafs, Avs, Canucks, Sabres, and every other team in the Northwest and Northeast divisions.
I don't feel like getting into it here, though, so if you'd like to read an explanation of why I think the new scheduling is a bad thing, and how I think it might possibly end up okay afterall, please read my post on the subject on my MVN blog: http://avalanche.mostvaluablenetwork.com Yes, this is shameless self-promotion, and I fully admit it! =P
Looks like the Penguins are going to be one amazing young team to watch! Hopefully with Fleury and now Crosby they'll be able to keep up interest in the team. And then maybe Mario will get the reward he deserves for his loyalty and support of the team. ^_^
My beloved Avs, unfortunately, not only lost out on the #1 pick (can you imagine a team with Sakic, Forsberg and Crosby? man oh man!), but they also were unlucky in scoring the 27th pick. Ah well, the team usually drafts well, regardless of their pick position, so I'm not worried about them.
The Leafs were also unfortunate enough to end up in the bottom third, but the way I see it, they generally draft poorly anyway, so it doesn't really make a difference. =P Okay, so some of their more recent picks like Colaiacovo and Stajan have done quite well, but before that there was only really Kaberle, and he was a very late pick
Speaking of Kaberle, remember the story from Phil that I posted a while ago? Well, the HHOF finally got Kaberle's helmet today! What a guy, huh?
Oh, and Phil gave me another great story today! Apparently when Kaberle was drafted and came over at age 18, his parents were a bit worried about some of the crazy things a young guy alone in North America could get into, so they sent his girlfriend along with him, and either his parents or her parents came over every three weeks to visit just to make sure he didn't get into any trouble! Isn't that great? I'm sure it helped a lot to ease the homesickness during the transition period. (Thanks Phil, for sharing that anecdote!)
And Kevin was on the phone with Bobby Orr yesterday (yes, Bobby Orr) and during the call, Orr asked him to hang on while he took another call. Well, the call was from Kaberle (Frantisek Sr. works for Orr, and Frantisek Jr. and Kaberle are clients of his) so when Orr got back on the phone, he told Kevin "Every kid should be like him. Respectful, polite and a pleasure to be around. Great wives, too." Also, apparently Tomas' mother was a volleyball player or something, and Orr said, "Wish they got their Mom's size. Oh well."
Man, I really wish the Leafs would keep Kaberle! I mean, it's not he asked for an exorbitant amount when his contract was renegotiated two years ago, and he's the only regular on the team that was actually drafted by them! Oh well, if his contract is bought out and he ends up going somewhere else, that just means I'll have one more game to buy tickets for, and I'll have to get another jersey as well! =P
I await Saturday, July 29th, 5pm with baited breath!
Well, I've made my very first post to my new Most Valuable Network (MVN) blog! Feel free to check it out at http://avalanche.mostvaluablenetwork.com! For now, due to my stunning lack of creativity, it's called "Avalanche!", so if you have any suggestions for a better name (it won't take much!) please do share!!
Oh, and I've been encouraged to do link exchanges (for the MVN blog) so if anyone's interested, please email me!
I also know that they're still looking for writers for some teams (like the Penguins and Canucks), so if you're interested, email dan_benton@mostvaluablenetwork.com. All that they ask is that you try to update 2-3 times a week--no requirements for specific subjects, as far as I've been told.
I feel obliged to mention here (although I'm sure anyone who would bother reading this already knows anyway) there will be a 2005-2006 NHL season!
The Good:
1)Hockey Blogging Chicks, re-unite!! ^_^ 2)HNIC at my place! I expect to be seeing a lot more of Alex and Keith starting October! 3)Something to look forward to most nights! 4)A second chance at (hopefully still) cheap Buffalo tickets! 5)An excuse to go back to Colorado! 6)Fodder for my new (coming soon!) MVN Colorado Avalanche blog!
The Possibly Not-So Good:
1)Bettman will probably remain Commissioner, if this deal is as skewed in favour of the owners as the press has made it out to be; I was hoping that the NHL would be rid of him and find a new commissioner who's actually a hockey person. 2)Stupid rule/structure changes like 20 teams making the playoffs, or even more divisonal play (Detroit wins easy playoff berth, Northeast and Northwest division teams--generally the most exciting, competitive ones--get rocked). 3)Players get bad reputation and bad deal, and teams still lose money because owners are still idiots. (To paraphrase a quote I once read: the NHL is trying to make an idiot-proof CBA when they should just get be getting rid of the idiots.) 4)Less attention paid to non-professional and international hockey.
So I went to Philadelphia last weekend for a cousin's wedding. We left on Thursday night (June 30th) and left on Monday morning (July 4th). On the way back we stopped at the Waterloo outlet mall between Syracuse and Rochester. There we bought a bunch of polo shirts for my brother, and my mom went crazy at the Dress Barn! Out of the ~3 1/2 hours we spent there, I'd say that 2 1/2 of them were spent in that store! Oh well, I got two white shirts and a snazzy bag from there, so I'm not complaining.
Actually, I really love the bag! It's black and can be customized with 5/x7 photos! So of course yesterday after work (yes, I went to work--and did 2 1/2 hours of OT as well!) I spent my night going through photos and Photoshop-ing them for printing and pick-up today. I love it because, really, how else would I be able to get a hockey bag/purse? Right now I've got an Aebischer picture in it, but I printed out a bunch (special deal! 5x7s for only $0.99 at Futureshop!) so I'll be able to change the picture when the mood strikes me!
