overthere

Back to topic: what a great ending to the season in both conferences. Ottawa has done some amazing stuff but they need some help to make it- Pittsburgh Detroit or Boston has to choke a bit while the Sens keep winning. Calgary and Winnipeg both looking to be in control of their own destinies. The Flames have a showdown with LA for all the marbles, the Jets just have to win one of their last two...... And who was saying the Oilers were tanking? They put some serious sand in the Kings Vaseline last night.

More numbers that damage your argument: in 1993 the average player salary was $463 k. Today it is $2.58 million. In 1993 there were 552 players on NHL rosters. Today there are 690, 138 more guys who would not be making NHL bucks pre-Bettman. The players are complaining? I don't think so.

Every hockey forum but this one, where you're the lone voice diminishing the very real accomplishments of Bettman? The fans: he saved several teams from extinction, brought hockey to marets that were not served and relocated teams back into former failures like Winnipeg. The players: he made most of them very wealthy and ncreased the available jobs dramatically. He had to drag them kicking and screaming into personal wealth, but oh well.

I expect Prentice to do some pruning of the civil service after the election, which was announced today for May 5. The civil service has grown willy-nilly for over a decade and is easily the best paid in Canada, in a province which is not an expensive place to live relative to some others. Maybe it will prompt a strike, which would fit right into his cost reduction plans.

As advertised?. They are advertised as babies with no pro experience. Mind ypou, the Jays have had so very many overhyped, underdelivering prospects that the law of averages would mean that eventually they have to get lucky with one or two. McGowan, Morrow, Drabek, Morrow etc. The apparent weaknesses for the Jays are: Starting pitching that is either very old or very new. The bullpen has to be a major surprise to be average. Their babies- up the middle on the mound, at second base and center field- are in high profile and important positions. And they have little depth on the bench or in the minors- all their good stuff is here right now. They need some good fortune and few injuries. But their offence should be entertaining most nights.

The tradesmen earning six figures+ do the following(and there are loads of them in my life): -often work in camps -spend at least 7 months a year away from their families, away for long stretches without a break - often work outside in all seasons and/or in dangerous places where a few get killed and more get injured every year -served four year apprenticeships during which their earning power and job mobility is severely reduced - have work expectations based on maintenance shutdowns and capital work that is far from certain - basically have a single employer in the industry, their own union hall dispatcher. If they can find a job locally in their trade in their home city or town, which is not likely, they will earn less than 50% of what they get in camp work because there is no overtime and their living expenses are not subsidized. A years wages owed on student loans? So what? Isn't your lifetime earning power greatly enhanced by that degree? If not, why bother going at all? is nothing comapred

Oh, and she could make her own warm camembert by putting a few slices of Cracker Barrel cheddar in her sock for a couple of hours on a warm day.

Actually these situations would come up on per diems too. One of the many challenges that Nancy Ruth, Wallin, Duffy and many other Senators have had from auditors is defining 'Senate business'. Presumably you get the travel costs or per diems anytime you're on Senate business. Who defines 'Senate business'? One Senator claimed that the business of the Senate is being a Senator. Anytime he goes anywhere, he ends up doing Senate business, according to him. I'm not saying this is correct, but there is kind of an official acknowledgement of this in the way that Senators get free airline passes for domestic travel.

umm, could be 1 and 161 actually.

Huh? Again, all baloney and no facts. Bettman and the American teams in the NHL propped up Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa and Vancouver financially for many years in the precap era, when the Canadian dollar was running at $.65 and all those teams were borderline or worse. Without the lockouts and the enforced salary cap, it is very likely all four of those teams would be long gone, certainly the three small market teams would never have survived without- wait for it- Bettmans insistence on propping them up. Winnipeg was such a pathetic basket case they were gone by then. Even the NHLPA can grudgingly acknowledge reality while they cash some very fat paycheques, what is your excuse for the ongoing fantasies? The league is in far, far better shape now than then, when only about ten teams total were doing better than breaking even.

The local Target is closing this week and they are selling these helmets for only $200K. Only one colour though.

Canada needs to develop a huge fleet of giant bombers, and then bomb the entire middle East relentlessly with nice warm blankets. OK, that wasn't all my own idea.

We may be witnessing -in this very thread-the unveiling of the brand new Wildrose platform: raise royalties and give the money to Jesus. OK, maybe it's not all new.

the creator and producer Matt Weiner is notoriously close-mouthed about releasing any advance info on Mad Men and other series he has worked on.

I admit I watched the whole game. The Yankees look shockingly thin on offence. Maybe the AL East will be a place the Jays can make some noise, for once. The first five in their starting lineup is pretty awesome. Reyes, Martin ,Bautista Encarnacion Donaldson ... all threats. One weakness there is that 2 thru 5 are all right handed hitters. It would be useful to have a lefty or switch hitter in there, but I don't see any way to make that work. I like Navarro at DH though he is not a big power hitter- but he got many timely hits last year for the Jays and he is an OK catcher. Their biggest off season challenge was to replace the hitting of Cabrera. It would be a lot to ask of Martin, but he is a pretty good hitter for average and an big upgrade at catching. What was encouraging for the Jays today was their 7 to 9 hitters, who all contributed. The Jays will be put to the test most with their bullpen. Can they keep us in games?

Teachers caused me stress and anxiety in school, particualrly later when what my personal development demanded was non stop partying and chasing girls. The obvious solution is to keep the schools, but get rid of the tests and the teachers.

You're delusional . Winnipeg lost their team because the owners simply could not afford to continue to lose their shirts in the pre-cap era. You're the one who claimed the NHL was making an example of him with a heavy suspension when he in fact deserved much more than he got. So, you are doubly wrong. Maybe the NHL is favoring Canadian teams. Bingo. Pro hockey is a business and by every measure Bettman has been a resounding success. Except for those who think he is picking on their team.

You don't see reports of disciplinary action on US media because they don't give a s*** about hockey, not because anybody is picking on Winnipeg or Canadian teams. On the other hand, the Winnipeg/Toronto media has nothing at all else to talk about. If you want to compare Bufygliens actions, they are most closely compared to Bertuzzi/Moore or McSorley/Brashear. It was an ugly attempt to maim another player. The only difference was that Miller was not seriously hurt, which was only good fortune. You can hate Bettman if you like, but Winnpeg would not have a team at all without his stamp of approval and the league has prospered mightily in the last decade.

I had a smoking teacher in high school. Miss Klimchuk, the subject of many dreams by many teens. Whew.

If homosexuality is genetic, then the gene must be recessive. If it was not, then the species would not be reproducing at a rate sufficient to sustain humanity. And that has never been a problem so far in our relatively brief history on the planet.

their respective records from the last 20+ years supports one approach over the other... It's no different this year tan other years really. Every year the Jays promote their stable of exciting young prospects, particularly pitching prospects. They've had a long run of unrealized expectations, often to a startling degree. They need to underpromise and overachieve for a change. Their results the last few years have not matched their payroll. I think I'm going to just record the 'Jays in 30' program this year until they prove they are worth watching. And for the record, I am a fan and I love baseball.

Some religions do. The Mormons, for example, have made several large changes to their public posture due to current events. Not scientific events, but pressure to change made it happen. 1. Officially giving up polygamy, on threat of having every Mormon elder imprisoned and every church burned down by the US govt. 2. Allowing black people to join the Church, again on threats from the US govt during the Civil Rights movements. It was all white all the time until then. You cannot talk about evidence or probable cause when speaking of religion, it all starts with an act of faith and from there anything is logically possible. " God created the heavens and the Earth". Accept that, and it all works quite neatly.

blah blah blah somebody else didn't get blah blah blah. Relativity is not a defence. He got what he deserved for what he did, but only barely since many commentators said he should be gone for the season including playoffs.. It was not an accident but a deliberate intent to injure Since you agree that 4 games was light, you'll have to open another thread on what others should have gotten for their misdeeds. He was picked on so much, he did not even get a penalty for what he did. And the NHL is so out to get him they told him in advance that he'd get <5 games.

Ah, like warrior ants. That might work.

It's all just idle talk. Quebec and/or the Maritime provinces will never, ever surrender the provincial over representation they enjoy now, with both the Constitution and subsequent legislation ensuring that the West and Ontario can never be fairly represented in the Senate by population. It would not matter if Senators are elected or appointed, Quebec in particular will never give up that advantage.