DCfW Post of the Day

Compliments of the Ozone...

Halftime Show: Meyer says Leak is just as good as Troy when Leak is on his game..........Agree? * - UW AREA FAN

Oh, I'm buying a load of that. I bet I can bottle it and sell it to crazy people. - Swinginforthefences

I dont really want to talk about it - Coney Island 7 - City BBQ 4

A glimmer of hope...dashed....

Turning point of the game(from my totally homer-tastic viewpoint) was non-call against Draper when he rode Duvie into the boards face first. I am not sure why it wasnt called, but it was a penalty. Was it intentional? Nope, but it was still a penalty. A penalty which would have given the CBJ a two-man advantage for over a minute. It was a disappointing non-call compared to the penalty that gave the Red Wings it's PP goal to take the lead. I am not saying it wasnt a penalty, but...let's just leave it at that...

The rest of the goals that the Red Wings scored were gravy. Once the Lang goal was scored, it was pretty much over.

Congrats the Wings and the Subway Fans that, for some gawd awful reason, still exist in the '614'...but like I said...I dont really want to talk about it.

Peace

Herringbone

PS. I havent had a City BBQ Brisket sandwich in almost 5 months...send to Seattle...stat.

PSS. Rivalry? Not enough hate...maybe if Draper smashed Duvie's face into the boards...something is going to happen in a game between these two in the near future. That will be awesome when the CBJ moves over to the Eastern Conference (I am looking at you Gary...jerk)

Cheesy DCfW New Year’s Big11 Fan Expectations for 2007

It's that time of year when you make those hollow resolutions that you wont eat like you have a feedbag strapped to your face...or your visits with Vietnamese prostitutes will lessen in frequency below your visits to Airport Spas.

At the DCfW, instead of resolutions...we like to set some expecations for the 2007 season (Yeah, I know...2006 season isnt really over yet, but bear with me here.)

So let us run through 2007 Football Festivus Expectations for the BigTeleven...


Not to fall into the trap of believing that Zook’s recruiting prowess will equate to wins (Ask these guys any queries you may have….EDSBS)

Not to allow visiting fans to take over stadium, since schools like OSU and UM seem to treat this as a pseudo home game every other year. Enjoy Lewis, Fisher, and Hardy. They will be will be a fantastic combo next season.

Prepare for letdown of losing coach to the Steelers…and get ready for a return to the days of pre-Banks/Tate Iowa. Well, it seems like you guys had some practice this year.

Not to get to overzealous about Ron English, as he will actually have to “coach up” his players in 2007. However, the offense should be “fant-abulous.”

Prepare to have a team that doesn’t implode at game six (or sooner) on the schedule each year. A pre-emptive welcome back to consistent Big10 competitiveness from the rest of us.

New Quarterback…Running game in shambles…There is always hockey..and when is that stadium construction starting?

Bacher and Sutton will be efficient next year…and the defense will most likely be efficiently bad.

Welcome to the world of platooning QBs…crap….

Welcome to the world of platooning QBs….yay….

QB will throw for 50,000 yards…defense will give up 50,001 yards

Hello 3 yards and a Cloud of Dust…and House of Pain…

DCfW - Post(s) of the Day

Compliments of the Ozone

Florida defense eager to line up against Heisman-winner Smith - KG [13:00:39 12/27/06] (4)

Yep-I'm eager for a night with Brittany Spears. In both cases, the excitement will last two minutes. - Buckcyrus [13:17:29 12/27/06] (0)

DCfW - Song of the Week - #1

A new feature on the DCfW....going back into the music vault at the DCfW Headquarters...

I will try and feature at least one song a week from "way back when" or may be a newer band

You never can tell...

So I want to start this party with a great song that you may have never heard of...

Artist: DJ Shadow
Title: The Number Song
Album: Endtroducing (Buy the Album here) ...more history on this great album here (Wiki-Style)



Let me know what you think and any suggestions that you may have.

Herringbone

**Dont be a dick..dont download..this is for evaluation purposes only!

Columbus 5 - Chowda 4 OT

Talk about a night and day scenario with this team....

Play hard on Friday night....get killed on Saturday night...play "so-so" for two periods and absolutely dominate play in the 3rd period last night against the Bruins.

I dont know what Hitchcock said to the team in the 2nd intermission, but that was one of the best periods of hockey that I have seen the CBJ play in a long time. While some of this may have been Boston going into a defensive shell, the CBJ definitely carried the play and the late 3rd period make-up calls for the two-man advantage given to Boston in the 2nd period were due to a lot of hard work and players crashing the net. Still, my only complaint is the lack of physical play near the net and in the corners...with the exception of Klesla, who is turning into a wrecking ball on the blueline. Nobody gets a free pass in the corners when they are going in there with Rusty, which is nice.

Slapshots...

• Rick Nash probably played one of his best games this season and he didnt even score a goal. He made the biggest play of the night on the penalty kill in the 1st leading to a shorty by Fedorov, which was the first of his two goals. He was a monster in front of the net and almost won the game himself in the OT period with a fantastic individual effort driving hard towards the net. Hitch putting him on the penalty kill is just a great...fan-nificent coaching move. Teams have to worry about him and Fedorov going the other way if they get careless with puck.


• Fedorov....skating like he is 27 years old. He is slowly but surely building up his campaign for a Selke-ish year. Man-crush status is being approached, as Sergei is starting to look more and more like the Fedorov that was dominating play in the Winged Wheel a few years back.


• Modin = Stud. This guy was a machine in the corners...even against Chara. I dont recall seeing Freddy lose a battle down low the entire night.


• Chimera. I am not sure if he has been reading the blog (Cant say that I would blame him), but he sure has shaked off any remnants of that whole "not going strong to the net anymore" problem. Sweet backhand on the first CBJ goal which came from...


• Dan Fritsche. Is there a player that has benefitted more since Hithcock has taken over this team? Dan skates hard all of the time and gets rewarded with ice time. Now, he is starting to show off some of his offensive abilities in the corners and utilizing his speed to beat people to pucks all over the ice.


• Hainsey..."uber-suxor" is granted a reprieve for tonight's performance. His offensive game is never an issue for the DCfW...it is his deadful defensive posture that makes me want to "stab stab stab stab myself in the stabby places."


• Vyborny. Player of the Game. Two sweet vintage Vyborny goals. Showing off all of the patience that the CBJ fans have been accustomed to over the last 6 years. Man, I hope this team makes the playoffs soon, because this guy deserves it.


• Norrena. Was barely noticed tonight, which is a good thing. Really only had to make one big save in the 3rd period, which stemmed from an odd-man rush...due to the defense pinching in hopes to tying the game.


• Brule...glad he is getting ice time...but he needs to create some more offense...he is not a mucker or a grinder like his linemate...


• Shelley. It has been stated over and over again. His time in C-bus is numbered. I love the guy, but we need more speed on that line to keep up with Brule (ie Picard). With that being said, Shelley actually had a decent game tonight with some strong shifts and prolonged cycling down in the Bruin end.

Blogosphere...

• A2Y made a nice post with the potential rivalry that is just waiting to happen between the CBJ and Detroit. By the way my comment holds true in tonight's game as well...Patrice Bergeron has the same approach in his game as Datsyuk Zetterberg...take the damn roughing penalty and watch him keep his head up the next time he is coming into the zone. Pussy...


• Love this quote from the IwoCPO when describing the potential of the rivalry and the CBJ fans..."one with fans and bloggers who glory in your sorrow"...This is so true I can feel the maltby-esque hatred running through my veins. Hey IWO...Let us know when you might need to buy another defenseman before the trade deadline. We just got Derrick Walser back from the Hurricanes for a bag of pucks and a few rolls of tape. Maybe he can be the Jamie Macoun (OSU Alum) for this year's Red Wing team. By the way, when is the Jamie Macoun Career Retrospect coming up on A2Y?


• Oh yeah...I updated the Blogroll to A2Y's somewhat recent move to Kukla's...apologies, mate.

Death Cab Updates

• BCS Championship Updates coming soon. SEC fans are so fast that they may have my posts read before I have finished them, but only if they are reading them below the Mason-Dixon Line. I am not sure that they know where this is located, but someday one of the teams in this conference will travel up north to play a game where there is actual football being played...not southern weekend "combines" with a couple of extra footballs being thrown around.


• New DCfW Feature - Song of the Week. I am still working on this one, but I am trying to get some of these streams to work correctly. I dont feel like dealing with the legal mumbo jumbo, but would like to pass along some good music that is not normally on the airwaves....at all....or anymore.


• Also planning on making some aesthetic changes to the blog...but may need some help with some grpahics and HTML on the Blogger...any assistance from the OSU or CBJ brethren would be appreciated.

Peace and Happy Holidays

Herringbone

Team from the Land of the Dying Economy 5 - Columbus 0

I really dont want to write about this game. I am terribly vexed at this point.

All of the CBJ Faithful knew it was coming. A crisp Detroit team ready to offer up some retirbution for its poor showing in Nationwide a few night ago....and the CBJ taking with minimal lubrication....

Check out the write-up from the Truth Serum at the EOB.....

Since I dont feel like doing an entire write-up on the game...here is my comment to Truth Serum's review.....

Hainsey….my arch nemesis…his new name is “uber-suxor.” I have seen C Leaguers in the Chiller league play with more intensity than that guy

The thing with Detroit is that they are all about spacing and puck possession (duh…like you didnt already know that). However, when the playoffs come around the same thing always happens…they suck. Why? Because no one gets a free pass in the playoffs…every time somebody has the puck they are checked (on most occasions with a little more angst). Detroit is always going to get it’s offensive chances with it’s style of play, but more often than not they are not willing to pay the price outside of Holmstrom (Datsyuk is a major “sally” come playoff time..ask A2Y about his past playoff disappearring acts). There were only a few players last night that played with some zest and anger…Fritsche, Chimera, Klesla, Vyborny, Fedorov, and even Zherdev. They took the body or chased with maximum effort every time they had the puck. Notice I only named one d-man in that list…that is the problem.

I keep saying this over and over when I do post on my site. It is worth the penalty to absolutely lay out a Datsyuk or Zetterberg when they come in the zone with their head down or across the middle just to put the thought in their head that they might get killed coming into the zone in that manner. Instead, the CBJ sits back on it’s heels and waits for the red wing players to move the puck around and give them space to pick apart the defense. I know that this ia bit of barbaric behavior being promoted, but (as much as I cant stand the guy) Tie Domi used to do this all of the time for the Leafs (gawd I hate the Leafs) and it would change the flow of the game…sometimes it works…sometimes it doesnt, but the CBJ’s past history against the Wings suggests that it may be time to try something new…IMHO

To sum up this game from last night….Maltby scored…and he couldnt score with $500 in his pocket at an airport message parlor this year.

I know that the CBJ isnt the most physical team in the league, but I am sure that Hitch will probably make some changes in the near future to help that….

Peace Herringbone

Glad I got that out of my system....back to regularly scheduled programming...

***UPDATE***

MotSaG gives us this little postgame ditty from Hasek , which should be on the bulletin board for next week's matchup. It better be...and somebody better read it to Ron Hainsey...

"We know we're a better team,'' he said. "And if you want to be a contender, a top team in the NHL, you can't lose two games in a row to a team like Columbus.''

Stay Classy Dominator...Nice to see that the Red Wing class hasnt escaped you from your last stint in Detroit.

Michigan Marketing Campaign...Renames Stadium...

(HT: kellogg @ Ozone)

5 Out of 6…Not Too Shabby

We are Upright...Bitches!!

After watching most of the last 6 Bluejacket games, I came to the realization on a couple of important factors:

1. The honeymoon period for Hitch and the players is over.
2. The CBJ is still playing great hockey.

These two points mean a great deal to the future of this team. Not only have the players bought into the “swampland” system that Hitchcock is selling, but they are thriving in it. The team had an opportunity for two points last night in Phoenix in a game that they had no business of even coming within 3 goals of the Yotes…let alone a chance to win..

A great NBA ambassador once said that “The Ball Don’t Lie” in reference to a bad foul and the subsequent free throw misses of an opposing player. I think that anyone that watched the CBJ-Phoenix game last night could say that “the puck dont lie” either.” Towards the end of the second period last night, Coyotes defenseman Keith Ballard decided that he wanted to “look for some change” next to the CBJ bench with the puck at this feet. Dan Fritsche put a shoulder into him and the melee ensued. Somehow CBJ defenseman Tollefson takes a bare-knuckle punch right in the mouth during the scrum, but Dan Fritsche is the only person that gets a penalty FOR A CLEAN HIT. For anyone planning on using the “he was in a vulnerable position” card on me, then I want to understand how any of Scott Steven’s hits in the past were not penalized. Regardless, less than a minute into the resulting Phoenix power play, the CBJ score a “shorty” to tie the game at four. Justice is served…anyways…

FU Koharski you ‘effing scrub. You make Kerry Fraser seems like a blessing.

Notes:

Wait for it…Wait for it…Yeah, Koharski just called Vyborny for another ticky-tack hook…

Remember that stuff in my last CBJ post (which would have been around October with my uber-fresh posting frequency) about Sergei Fedorov’s play. It keeps getting better and better. He is really starting to look like the dominant player that he was in the late 90’s, which is magnifi-tastic for us CBJ fans.

Definitely missed Foote last night on the Blueline. With the Phoenix style of play, his toughness and grit in the corners would have been effective against the vertically and physically challenged line headed by Mike Comrie. Comrie is a lot like Daniel Briere, but Comrie has a vagina. Briere is tough as nails. Do you think Phoenix would still like to have him on the roster?

Good news on the injury front. Duvie looks like he will be back in the near future.. According to Arace, he will be skating in a full practice today.

Nash...thank you for finally starting to realize that you can play defense and still dominate in your ricknash-ish way around the net.

Lloyd the BCS Elf

Tis the Season...Dance Mothertrucker Dance!!!

HT: Ozone Forum...If someone knows the person that created this wonderful piece of media, email me...pronto.

Backhanded Compliments...At least we have crayon "Spell Checking" up North

The boys of EDSBS decided to pay homage to the uber greatest (non-suxor) team ever...

Which somehow led to the joke that Ohioans sound like every person that lives in Hillsborough County (Buccaneer fans like their steaks sizzlin' with side dishes of Nitrous and Nickelback)...but I digress...

Blast you Comcast DVR....

I wasnt able to watch the CBJ game last night, but I am just as happy as MT with the victory. I did get to see the 3rd period and the team looks like it is competing and winning physical battles in the corners. Norrena is play stellar in goal ( or godmode-ish), which is nice. I hope Leclaire is watching and learning from him, becuase his team will need him this year.

Looks like the team is ready to buy into Hitch's system, but will Dougy be ready to fall into line? Drew's new contributor, Truth Serum, throws his two cents into the ring

Onward to St. Louis and the fighting Mickelsons (...unabashed A2Y Glossary Reference)

Gary Danielson...oh geesh...

Great Quotes (by "great" I mean crap-tastic)....from Gary Danielson in his interview with Detroit SportsTalk WXYT 1270AM...(HT Brian) defending his comments during the SEC Championship game...

"I figure that I had to catch up with ESPN banging the drum for the Big10 this year, since they had a two month head start."

Yeah...Because CBS is has been playing "yucky cookie" with the PAC-10, Big10, Big12, and ND this year. These conferences are an afterthought on any CBS SEC broadcast.

"I think it is very shortminded to think that the best two teams in the country were from the Big10 this year."

Why? We get to hear about how the SEC is the nest conference every year...even when a supposed powerhouse Auburn team gets it's arse handed to it on NewYear's Day last year to a Big10 third place Wisconsin team.

"I dont think that Big10 minded when ESPN had the countdown clock for the game a month before it occurred."

Hey dickface...guess where the countdown clock started? That's right jerkhead...CBS Sportsline.

"My drum was banging for college football."

Gary, kudos to you. You were a philanthropist for college football fans all over the country. I am not even a UM fan and that was a ridiculous statement.

"Best conference (SEC),according to the polls, doesnt have a chance to be represented in the BCS narional championship game."

Gary. How do you know it is the best conference? I can look at statistics, but considering that the teams in this conference never travel above the Mason-Dixon line to play a game, while other schools are playing decent out of conference schools. How do you know it is the best conference? Gary says that he cant tell us the best two teams, so how can you state that the SEC is the best conference?

This guy has ambitions to be a Jefferson Pilot announcer and is approaching the credibility level of the Iraqi Information Officer.

Jerkhead...Gosh...I dont agree with Brian too often, but Gary's 4th quarter diatribe in the SECCG was an infomercial of Tony Robbins stature, and was awfully pathetic.

"If the uniforms on the OSU Michigan game were WV and Louisville, there would be calls of no defense in the league. "

Gary. Why would you say that? When we can watch about every SEC game this year and ask where the offenses are in the SEC? The "SEC defenses are so magnifi-tastic" argument is getting stale. All of QBs in that league are garbage (Russell has the consistency of freshman QB, Leak looks worse than Henne under pressure, Cox is a slower version of Drew Tate, Ainge is the Big10 equivalent of /*insert name of any Purdue QB here sans Drew Brees*/. I could go on, but there is no need. This conference is all about defense...by default. There isnt a competent offense in the bunch, but we supposed to believe that the best football is being played in this conference. Get real. Auburn and Tennessee are the exceptions to this standard SEC scheduling practice, but the rest of the conference OOC scheduling is a joke. I know that it is being stated that the conference has too much competition internally to schedule tough OOC games, but when you schedule The Citadel and Western Carolina you will need to be prepared to be scrutizined. For my friends down south, small college or mid-major football in the north (ie Cincinnati, MAC schools) is a lot more competitive than small school football in the south (Western/Eastern Carolina,etc). If you dont believe it, tell me a small school in the south is going to beat Rutgers this year. Thanks for playing.

"The SEC coaches are irate, because they have to play in a conference championship game."

You signed up for it...deal with it. Blame Slive...not the other coaches and conferences. When the SWAC dissolved, there was no need to grab teams and make a supposed "super-conference" to stroke the dilusional egos of the people in the south that already believe that northern football players can barely walk let alone play football with any speed whatsoever (Apologies in advance to JL, ST, and TL).

Conclusion...
All in all...Gary Danielson looks like any idiot in most circles around the country right now(obviously)...with the exception of a few states in the SE corner of the country.

Florida's Worst Nightmare..and a heckuva Heisman Campaign Video

HT: HeismanPundit and YouTube(Timbuck2)

Calling a Spade...Well....a Spade...

I tend to read Brian's "Upon Further Reviews" over at MGoBlog. They are normally pretty fair evaluations for UM's team performance on Offense and Defense. However, I see that Brian has been sipping some of the excuse "Kool-Aid", which has made its way around the message boards and the blogs over the last two weeks. Here is Brian referencing the field conditions at Ohio Stadium and it's possible effects on the UM offensive performance against OSU.

This will no doubt lead to an assertion that "both teams played on the same
field," but if Michigan installed a field that randomly shot white-clad
players in the kneecap you would agree that this is not a situation that
impacts both teams equally, yes?

Brian. I just wanted let you know that OSU looked into that a while ago. If OSU would have been able to install it, Desmond Howard would be using a wheelchair ramp to get onto the College Gameday set.

Here are some other gems....

Michigan has guys who rely on sharp cuts more often. Manningham's a double move guy. Breaston's entire football usefulness is built around his ability to
change direction faster than anyone else. Hart is a low-to-the-ground, compact
back in a running game that demands wild changes of direction fairly regularly.
Meanwhile, Pittman and Wells are more north-south guys and Ginn just runs
straight past people.

Overall, far more Michigan players ended up face down on the turf than Ohio State players, and though I gave the turf theory little credence in the immediate aftermath of the game I have to say that on replay there's about 8-10 instances where a Michigan player's inability to plant is relevant and maybe 1-2 similar plays for OSU.

The Aftermath...

• Geesh...I guess the excuse we have been waiting to surface has finally reached its critical mass. For the love of all things holy, quit whining. I am sure that when Ted Ginn gets the ball he just runs in a straight line. Yeah...he nevers jukes or cuts or anything like that...whatev.
• I might be mistaken, but UM had this same problem a few years back. I wonder if all of the teams that they played against would like to use the field as an excuse for their losses.
• I also realize that UM had a few minor slips and one major slip (Manningham on the fly). Now you can blame the field one time, but if he is cuttting so hard...he needs to make an adjustment.
• I dont know let's see. *Mario's Brain Processing after slipping on hard cut* Maybe I should keep cutting this hard, because the OSU DBs apparently have stalactites for feet and they wont slip. WTF. Maybe it had more to do with the fact that he was getting his arse physically handed to him on every play in the second half by Jenkins...not a shoddy field that he could have cut on if adjustments were made.
• Dont ever use the words "Steve Breaston" and "speed" in the same sentence. He may have BEEN able to cut and utilize some speed in the past, but I think he is still finishing up his punt return against Indiana.
• As far as slipping 8-10 versus 1-2...let's just call that a wash with some of the terrible penalties that were called on Jenkins and O'Neal. Alright? Or...maybe we can trade one of the biggest slips (Springs in 1996) in the OSU-UM series history for 10 of them.

In regards to rematches, excuses, theories, and such...

I have heard some good ones over the last few weeks in general...

John Q UM Fan: "Man...we just ran out of time."

Herringbone response: More time? You want more time to have the OSU offense get to 700 yards total offense and maybe 60 points?

John Q UM Fan: "A rematch...on a neutral field, we win...no doubt."

Herringbone response: In 1993, 1995, 1996, & 1997, a rematch..on a neutral field, we win...no doubt. You guys can play this game as well....2002...2004. It's fun to speculate. Feel fortunate that there is even a possibility to play OSU again, because there have been plenty of years in this series where these types of statements could be made with regularity

In Conclusion...

It's official. I am done talking about this game. I am sure there will be much rejoicing. The better team won...no matter how anyone wants to spin it.

Update...

sportsMonkey chimes in from the MotSaG. Sounds like a familiar topic.

CBJ versus Calgary - A story told many times over....

The CBJ lost again....surprising...not really.

I was hoping that I would not have to pull out this pic again...damn you Rick Nash...you are playing like a fat veteran...somewhat 2005 Tkachuk-ish, if you will.

The CBJ looked solid for 2 periods...too bad the games are three periods. Maybe I can utilize a good UM fan excuse, like "they just ran out of time." Nah...that would just be silly.

Observations...

• Fedorov with another great game
• Leclaire with another great game. I cant fault him for that second goal, but it just seems that the CBJ are not going to get one of these reviewed plays in their direction anytime soon. Dont get me wrong. The goal should have counted, but the guy/gal with their finger on the red light trigger should have it broken off.
• Rick Nash is slowly but surely turning into John LeClair. Unfortunately, he looks like the John LeClair that just cleared waivers. Skate Rick...EFFING SKATE!
• Where are you David Vyborny? A healthy scratch? Your team needs you to contribute...in the worst way.
• Brule, Picard, Fritsche, Malhotra, & Tollefson. Keep doing what your doing...Hitch will keep playing you. Hopefully, without...
• Jody Shelley gives all beer leaguers hope. Had a wide open net in the first, which he had enough time to put it in twice. Oh...Jody...

I cant argue that the team played hard, but the beginning of the 3rd period was atrocious. Sad part about it was that they knew it was coming...*tears and anger*

Edmonton tomorrow night.

• Cant wait to see another Leclaire performance wasted
• Cant wait to see another goal by Ryan Smythe that will make me want to jab an unsharpened pencil into my temple
• Cant wait to see another set of ridiculously "not even close" set of missed checks by Hainsey
• Cant wait to see Jody Shelley lumber up and down the ice, while the rest of his line is 40-50ft in front of him...waiting to get into the offensive zone.

Blast you CBJ....