The driver checks the mirror seven minutes late
The crowded riders’ restlessness enunciates
The Guess Who suck, the Jets were lousy anyway
The same mood every day
And in the turning lane
Someone’s stalled again
He’s talking to himself
And hears the price of gas repeat his phrase
“I hate Winnipeg…”
-The Weakerthans
Hope the morning is going well. Win tonight.
Oh, man, the FED EX GUY just came in to talk to me about that horrid game…I guess it’s nice to be thought of?
Did you Fed Ex a package to yourself?
(And didn’t mean to bag skate your comment.)
No he was bringing in a computer for someone else. Thankfully he wasn’t “Oh, hey I was nowhere near the area but I wanted to rub in the bad loss” to me.
Ugh.
Yeah, I suppose! haha
I’ve had to discuss it with a lot of people. Of course, for you, it’s different, being in enemy territory and all.
So I know you’ve been anxiously awaiting updates on when I’m getting my hoodie. Earlier this a.m. it checked into what has to be the most boring sounding town ever: Jones, OK.
@What an exciting post office.@
https://www.google.com/maps/place/US+Post+Office/@35.5656931,-97.2854685,3a,75y,182.37h,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sM-j4JVePkZylQw5ttGywPA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x9c2d678da18007bf!6m1!1e1
It’s next to a livestock punching range, though.
There’s a lot happening in Jones!
I am not interested in visiting the Casualty Corporation of America, which is right down the street from the post office.
Also, When I read “Jones, OK” in Kate’s post, I though it was “the most boring town ever: Jones. Okay.”
I love the strip-mall like “Town of Jones City Hall.” Not Town of Jones(‘) City Hall, but like it can’t make up its mind as to what it is, a town, or a city…
That’s what made me laugh about it. The most average sounding town in a state that is just…OK.
Their postcards should say, “Jones is OK. We guess.”
I’m heading to Schuff’s Main Street Grill after work for drinks.
Thinking of visiting the River of Life church this weekend. Yes, this is really it. The sign is a winner.
And muse thinks Jones, OK is boring.
That was before I saw the downtown area.
FTFY
You realise that this is the most anyone has ever spoken of Jones, OK.
I never thought of that. This must be some kind of world record, no?
Yes. Guinness needs to verify it, but I believe so.
Tune in tomorrow where we get to discuss the next town where my hoodie makes its stop! I’m guessing somewhere in Arizona?
Or maybe New Mexico. I hope it doesn’t take a wrong turn at Albuquerque.
Oh my god, that would be tragic!
I can’t see this gif without hearing the music that goes along with it.
“DANCE!”
They should hire us to be on their tourism board.
OMG the interview with Matt Bartkowski’s mom is absolutely precious. Be sure to listen to the radio interview:
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/mart-bartkowski-s-mom-talks-representing-sedins–canadians-eating-geese-in-hilarious-interview-214329168.html
I STILL have to listen to this cause I heard it was the cutest thing ever, and he’s actually now got 3 goals on the year, two when his mom’s been in attendance.
Definitely listen to the whole thing! It’s a riot!
Oh my god, I love Mrs. Bartkowski so much now!
Yay! I just realized I have Monday off!
(Also I love this \”Hop over the boards\” comment prompt.)
Haha, same here! Almost, just have to do a couple of hours in the morning but then have the rest of the day off. Which means I can be lazy on Sunday and then do productive stuff on Monday.
Or be productive on Sunday and lazy on Monday.
Or be lazy both days. So many choices.
Oh I’m sure there’s gonna be a nap in there for me at some point.
So I planned to get to bed around 10:30. Ran a little late.
Walked into the parlor and was going to briefly tell my cousin about my current dental woes (had a gigantic molar pulled yesterday). There was an infomercial on about Time/Life’s DVD collection of the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame’s 25th Anniversary. They even offered a money back guarantee if it wasn’t the best DVD collection you ever bought.
We sang several duets from great hits, such as:
* You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling
* I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
* Born To Run
* Turn! Turn! Turn!
* Sunshine of Your Love
* Piano Man
Anyway, I got to bed at 1:00. Oops.
This gift is perfect.
Really looking forward to a weekend of hockey.
Friday: Pick up game, then Age of Empires 2
Saturday: Bruins game and then Age of Empires 2
Sunday: Bruins game and then pick up hockey
What BoT doesn’t fit into your hockey weekend?
That’s a given!
Ah, just checking.
Hey Everyone,
Good thing I took the words of NDT to heart last night and embraced failure as an opportunity to discover new things!
Anyway, I am going through the DRAFTS in the editorial calendar and assigning the authors properly, so you have the option to just pluck that post, make it yours, and publish from there.
I bought a bunch of strange beers last night. The next few weeks should be interesting with regard to that.
I picked up a couple of stouts the other day but I’m kind of wanting Good wine so I’ll probably pick up a bottle. I like to have options.
I get it. Why have a beer that’s just O.K. when you can have good wine.
Also, I did find two Polish beers last night, neither of them being just O.K.
I really love this.
I can\’t wait to hear about your Adventures in Hops and Barley™.
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Oh BoT, you are such an inspiration form making me drunk!
Remember, I do it for you.*points at everyone*
We thank you for your sacrifice.
It is noble, well, sometimes it is when the correct hops are around.
Morning people. off to work I go in a few. I literally could not be less excited, but hey I get my own parking spot for a month so there is that.
Fancy Pants Tim!
No, no, no. NO pants fancy Tim.
Yes, this hahaha
Sweet.
Congrats on the new spot!
Thanks!
Morning, people! The weekend’s almost here. Almost.
A couple of hockey thoughts
A co-worker & I were talking earlier and he proposed an interesting question. Is Claude Julien the right coach for this team? With the roster decisions to keep Kevan Miller in the line up / playing 4th liners late in games needing a goal / sitting Pastrnak for longish stretches. Is he really getting everything out of his team? Obviously I’m not in TEAM FIRE CLAUDE, and I’m all for keeping him, but it’s a unique thought.
Also, what is it with this team’s fan base that after every loss we need to “trade Chara, trade Rask, blow up the defense, fire Claude?” Do people honestly forget that we’re tied for 3rd place in the Atlantic?
I truly believe they do, which I can’t understand, because I think we’ve surpassed expectations so far, even if their play is often underwhelming.
I think it’s easy to think that Claude is so stuck in his ways that he can’t change the way that he coaches this team. He has made some changes; it would be silly to think that he would just abandon everything that works.
Whatever it is, the coaching staff see something in Kevan Miller that we don’t see and that isn’t translating to game situations. Remember, for as much as people love Chiller and Morrow, they have had their moments where they look like shit on the ice. Since they’re young, they choose to have them sit out “to correct” the issue, which frustrates fans and doesn’t really work.
I think it’s like just about any team: there are pieces that we haven’t quite figured out how they work yet. Unfortunately with the defense, we have too many duplicate pieces. I admit now that the D needs to be blown up instead of just slotting in Player X.
I think it works sometimes. Sometimes these kids need to step back and watch their team play in a game situation from the 9th floor. Mind you, I’m not advocating that we bench the kids left and right.
Otherwise, I totally agree with you.
I also think there’s a lot of overanalyzing of Julien’s decisions on D. It’s not like putting Chiller or Trotman or Morrow in the lineup instead of K Miller would magically make our defense good. Our defense would still be mediocre and the only real way to fix that is to acquire better defensemen.
Sure, there’s something to be said for always putting your best possible roster on the ice, but I think the options are neither clear nor even good.
And yes, they’re a LOT of overanalysis.
Also! I LOVE “hop over the boards!” in the comment box. Great touch, peeps.
Ooo! I missed that! “Hop over the boards” is great!
For sure… and the younger ones will develop much better with better role models.
I think defense is hard to get right. Development is time-consuming and difficult in most cases. It’s not just a bunch of slow guys with bad hands, like it used to be in gym class. At this point, I’m not knowledgeable enough to tell you exactly why, but, I hope to be; I really need to study this. My gut feeling is that some D take bad angles, overwork situations so they get beat. or in some cases, they really are too slow. Oh, and placement in front of the net drives me nuts sometimes. Hate seeing guys looking one way, leaving a wide swath of the net open for a guy to just score.
For sure.
I also think, especially for defensemen, there’s a lot to their game that can’t be measured, so it can be tough for fans to gauge a player’s development before he’s where he needs to be.
Here’s an example, even though he’s washed up and not good anymore:
In his heyday, one of Seids’ best talents, IMO was his ability to run opposing forwards off the road. They’d be rushing toward the net and he’d kind of drive into their lane, and they’d end up on the perimeter because they ran out of space. Maybe sometimes they’d be able to make the pass to get themselves out of it, but not often.
Controlling space and time. Yes, I love it when defenseman do that.
OK, great, let’s put Krejci on defense then.
Something I have fun watching for during games is gap control. Watch a player attempt to carry a puck into the offensive zone and see how much space there is between that player and the defenseman in front of him. The less space, the better, and it’s something coaches have prospects work on a lot.
Something I’ve heard repeatedly over the years from young players who’ve been healthy-scratched for a couple games are comments about how they noticed how much time they really have to make a decision with the puck. It all happens so quickly down at ice level, but they sometimes realize after watching from the 9th floor that they have a little bit more time than they thought they did and it helps them take a little pressure off themselves.
Sometimes benching is an accountability thing, too. You have to earn your minutes and there are a lot of ways to earn them. If you don’t practice hard enough and well enough, your minutes can get cut. If you aren’t working out hard enough and well enough, your minutes can get cut. There’s a lot that goes on outside of games that we don’t get to see.
I agree. Lots of people view benching as “shaming” (I hate that term) or a punishment of sorts. It’s often to watch and learn. Sometimes guys really need that.
It’s like any job training. You do on the job training as well as observing.
Those are some good points. What does blowing up the defense look like though?
For me it means acquiring two second-pair defensemen we don\’t currently have and replacing two defensemen we currently have who are not named Chara or Krug.
I think at a minimum you get the two second pair guys and deal with the rest, but yeah, this is pretty much what I hope the plan is.
Sweeney isn’t a dumb guy and has been around the rink a few times, I’m sure he’s aware, but it can’t be easy to just make a move when everyone knows what your weakness is.
…and when most other teams are looking to acquire the same thing. And it has to fit within our cap space, too. Easy peasy.
Scary. I have no idea exactly what to keep. Good thing it’s not my job or we’d be even more screwed!
it’s already scary
Ah, see, I think it’s just incompetent.
I think incompetent defense is scary.
I certainly get scared watching this defense.
Ah, I see. I think it’s frustrating.
Our thresholds on scary are different.
Going into this season, prevailing thoughts out there included:
“The Bruins will not be a playoff team.”
“Julien is a dump-and-chase, defense-first coach who can’t transition to a carried-entry scheme.”
Wrong and wrong.
I think Donny was right to keep Claude and I think he’s the right coach for the Bruins.
I agree. Also, who’s out there that’s better?
that was my counter point too
I mean, his point is not a terrible one
In terms of who’s available, maybe Guy Boucher? That’s about it.
I’d take him in a heartbeat, but I don’t know that he’s better than Claude.
He’s one of the few coaches that can make the trap interesting.