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Morning Lineup – April 23

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Tuesday Morning – NHL Photo Finish

The abbreviated season for the National Hockey League comes to a close this weekend and most of the teams have just three games left to play.  As we had predicted a couple of weeks ago, the race to get into the playoffs is coming down to a photo-finish with several slots still remaining to be filled.

There are some real surprises in the Eastern Conference this year.  Within the past couple of days both Philadelphia and New Jersey have been eliminated from post-season play.  When is the last time that ever happened?  And to confirm the topsy-turvy finish, Montreal has been leading their division for most of the season.  Although today they are now tied with Boston and the B's have a game in hand.  But the Habs have clinched a playoff spot along with Toronto who haven't been in the playoffs for umpteen years.

There are four teams competing for the last three playoff slots in the East, so it will be bruising.  Washington has a one-point lead over Winnipeg for their division title and the Caps have a game in hand.  They are playing each other tonight in a definitive matchup.  If the Capitals win, then they clinch the division championship.  This will be a good one and just might be switched onto one of the network telecasts for both U. S. and Canada.  Let's hope so.  NBC Sports is scheduled to show the Boston-Philly game, but with the Flyers now eliminated they would be wise to switch to the Caps-Jets game.

Over in theWestern Conference they have 7 teams still challenging for the last 4 playoff slots.  Talk about a close finish!  One of those teams is Columbus who are real strangers to the playoffs and will be sentimental favorites for that reason.  But they are just one point ahead of the 9th-place team – Detroit! – and it will be a grueling finish for them.  Stay tuned.

Last night the Anaheim Ducks clinched the Pacific Division title by defeating the Edmonton Oilers in Edmonton 3-0.  Here are the highlights from that game:

 

In what could be deemed a mild upset, Vancouver owned the Chicago Blackhawks last night to clinch the Northwest Division title.  Chicago has already clinched their division plus the Western Conference championship.  Here are the highlights from their game:

 

Before we get the office pool organized for the big finish, let's get the equipment check organized.  And we'll need some coffee after this, so I'll get the Bunn-O-Matic back into the Lineup.  See you back in the day room in a few minutes.

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Posted by on April 23, 2013 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: ,

Morning Lineup – February 11

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Monday Morning – Let's Go Exploring

Let's take a look at the National Hockey League standings for a few minutes.  The NHL is 1/4 of the way through their truncated season of 48 games in 99 days and most teams are just now settling down to steady play.  With no real training camp and zero pre-season games to work out line combinations and timing, etc., there have been a lot of lop-sided records as they try to work out the kinks while compiling the championship points.  Teams that are starting the season with new coaches or widely changed rosters are especially vulnerable for early setbacks in the standings.

That partially explains why the Washington Capitals are the league cellar-dwellers at the quarter-pole with only 7 points while the players are adjusting to their new coach's system.  That's not an easy task.  Also of concern is the Stanley Cup defending champions Los Angeles Kings.  They are in a 4-way tie for next-to-worst with just 8 points.  On the other hand, teams that were already good and remained stable over the off-season are handily parked in the top slots of their conferences. 

If there's an eye-opener in the standings, it's the Chicago Blackhawks.  They are in first place in the Western Conference after 12 games, not too surprising because they were already a good team.  But …. of those 12 games only 2 of them have been home games, the other 10 all on the road.  And yet they still have a 5-point lead over 2nd-place Anaheim this early.  It will be interesting to see how that plays out over the next two months when the "season" will suddenly be over.

If you want to grab a look at the conference standings, go to the NHL webpage HERE  for today's rankings and HERE for the divisional standings.  Let's hope they settle down this week and all play more consistently.  The final standings at the end of the season are going to be based on luck as much as anything else, and a 4-game losing streak can knock somebody out of the playoffs in a flash, even this early.

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Bear with me now, please, while I go still farther off-topic.  Did you know that the fictional adventurer "Indiana Jones" is based on a real explorer?  Yep, according to some accounts, a fellow named Hiram Bingham from Connecticut was partially an inspiration for the character.  Wikipedia tells in part:

"Hiram Bingham (1875–1956) was an American academic, explorer and treasure hunter and politician. He obtained a B.A. from Yale University and a PhD from Harvard. Bingham was not a trained archaeologist, yet it was during Bingham’s time as a lecturer – later professor – at Yale that he discovered the largely forgotten Inca city of Machu Picchu.

"His book Lost City of the Incas became a bestseller upon its publication in 1948. Bingham has been cited as one possible basis for the "Indiana Jones" character"

An interesting side note also covered in more detail in the Wikipedia entry is his unusual entry into elected office in 1922.  He had been elected Lt. Governor of Connecticut and not long after, the governor's position opened up following the guv's suicide.  Bingham ran in the special election to fill the unfinished term concurrently with the election for the U.S. Senate seat that was also open.  He won both.  So he served as Governor for one day – the shortest term served by any Connecticut governor – then resigned to take the Senate seat.

He was also a military officer and an aviator among other stuff.  For a good lunchtime read, check out the much more extensive Wikipedia entry for him HERE.  Also, a history-based website called Retronaut has several interesting photos of Bingham taken at different stages of his varied life HERE.

Ok, let's start exploring the apparatus bay and check out the equipment for today.  Monday = long checklist, remember.  I'll see if I can uncover the location of the Bunn-O-Matic and get some coffee going.  See you back in the day room in a little while.

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Posted by on February 11, 2013 • Filed under: history, morning lineup • Tagged: , ,

Morning Lineup – January 13

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Sunday Morning – Game On!

The National Hockey League and the players union signed the elusive Memorandum of  Understanding Saturday night around 10:30 pm and all systems are now "Go" in league operations.  Everybody knew that this was coming, so almost all of the players are already back in their teams' practice facilities where the training camps will begin at 9:30 am today.

Immediately after the MOU was initialed, the league released the schedule for the abbreviated 48-game season.  The first games will be played on Saturday, January 19 with 26 of the  30 teams matching up on the opening day.  Out of necessity, they will be playing an unbalanced schedule with some divisional opponents playing each other four times and others three times.  After a quick look at the schedule, I do not see any interconference play at all, which does not surprise me.  So those East and West twains will not meet this season.

Washington Post / Newton

The NHL released a statement last night that reads in part:

The wide-ranging Agreement includes an economic system under which Hockey Related Revenues (HRR) will be shared 50%-50% between Owners and the Players. The Agreement includes terms that limit the length of individual Player contracts to seven years (eight when a team is re-signing its own Player) and regulates the compensation structure, year-to-year variability and defining minimum value.

The new Agreement, the longest in League history, also features a new defined benefit pension plan for the Players; enhanced revenue sharing among the Clubs; creation of a Revenue Sharing Oversight Committee, on which the Union will participate; creation of an Industry Growth Fund, designed to make long-term improvements in the revenue-generating potential of low-grossing Clubs; the ability of Clubs to retain a certain amount of salary in Player trades; a Player playoff prize pool that doubles in size to $13 million in Year 1, rising to $17 million for 2020/21 and 2021/22, and the creation of an Owner-Player Relations Committee – one of several joint initiatives not present in the previous Agreement. The Owner-Player Relations Committee will meet at least twice a year to discuss matters of mutual interest and to consult regularly on how best to continue to grow the game for the mutual benefit of the parties and the fans.

You can read the full statement HERE.  Two items that were deliberately left out of the negotiations that will be taken up separately this Spring are the divisional realignments and the question of participation in the 2014 Winter Olympics.  So for this short season, at least, the Winnipeg Jets (recently relocated from Atlanta) will continue to rack up frequent flyer miles while they play in the Southeast Division again.

The league (and thus the owners) are very much against having their players participating in the Olympics.  For one thing, a relatively few players actually go to the Games and for that the league has to shut down for a couple of weeks which results in a compressed schedule for the entire season.  And when they come back, to teams' top players have not rested like the rest of the league has and they will be going into the playoffs at an increased level of exhaustion.  To say nothing of the injury potential.  But the players themselves and the fans pretty much demand the Olympics inclusion, so there will be some sort of compromise worked out on that.  Personally, I would prefer to see the Olympics Committee move the hockey program to the Summer Games where there would be a lot less conflict.

You can view the season schedule for your favorite team HERE.

Moving on to other news …….  There is no other news, so let's get the equipment checked out while I fire up the Bunn-O-Matic one more time before the Sunday breakfast hits the table.  See you back in the day room later where we can catch the wrapup of the Consumer Electronics Show that closed yesterday.

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Posted by on January 13, 2013 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: , ,

Morning Lineup – January 11

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Friday Morning – Safe Driving Practices

It's kind of nice to learn that we're not the only ones who do this.  Every now and then we hear about an FD that takes delivery of a new firetruck before they learn that it won't fit through the doorway into the apparatus bay.  I recall posting something like this from Pennsylvania  a couple of years ago, and I'm sure we've all heard similar stories once in a while.  Shucks, it even happened in my own department when a monster of a tower-ladder arrived back in the mid-1980's.  The fire chief himself rode with the mechanic around to almost every station looking for one they could park it in.  It turned out that the only station it would fit in was one where an aerial had been removed about a year before because every one of the company's surrounding stations had a truck already and it was considered redundant.

The firefighters in a volunteer department in Montcuq, France, had a similar gut-grab a few days ago when a the state sent them a new firetruck on Sunday that had apparently been ordered by a pencil pusher up in Paris.  It fits in the firehouse ok, but it is too wide for the unusually narrow streets of the medievel town.

They are currently using three smaller engines that carry more water than the new behemoth and can get around throughout the village, but the people-who-know-better have decided that all three of the older trucks will be taken away and retired.  The regional fire district ordered 15 of these super engines back in 2009 and this new truck is the 5th one to be delivered so far.  Good luck, guys!

The Montcuq FF's pose with their new pumper on Sunday

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We have a brief update on the NHL's gearing up for the shortened season.  They cannot make any official plans until the new CBA is approved and signed off by the league and the players' union.  As we mentioned earlier, the league's owners ratified the new agreement on Wednesday.  It takes a little longer to get the players on board because there are about 700 of them scattered all over and they have to vote on it.  The ballots started returning yesterday (Thursday) and it is expected that all of them will be returned by Saturday (presumably agreeing to the terms).

This will allow the training camps to open Sunday and create logjams at the medical offices while the players get their medical and physical tests and clearances so that hopefully they can get on the ice Monday to get their timing and playmaking skills back on track.  The season will probably kick off on the following Saturday, not much time to get all the necessary coaching and plans worked out.  Making it more difficult is the lack of any pre-season games that would normally allow them to work out the kinks.

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And lastly, have you ever wondered about those highway signs that inform you that the speed limits are being enforced by aircraft?  How do they do that, you might ask?  Well, one curious fellow in Georgia was putting together a home video on just that subject when by coincidence he was able to observe first-hand how that works:

 

We'd better get this equipment checked out now.  I'll run the Bunn-O-Matic one more time and then see you back in the day room.

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Posted by on January 11, 2013 • Filed under: morning lineup, Videos • Tagged: , , ,

Morning Lineup – January 10

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Thursday Morning – Let's Get Packed

Lineup will be update time today, it looks like.  Yesterday we pointed you in the direction HERE of a lady in New Hampshire who will recycle your old turnout gear into a duffle bag, laptop case, backpack, etc.  That led Stephen R. to email us with the information on another home industry that does the same sort of work.  Niki Rasor constructs all sorts of carrying amenities out of old running gear, such as purses, side packs, and larger bags, too.

I have looked over her WEBSITE HERE and her Facebook Page HERE and I'm impressed with her samples,  Check out the testimonials, too.  Stephen purchased an item from her for a Christmas present and was pleased enough with it to pass this along to us.  Thanks, Stephen.

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The National Hockey League announced yesterday that the League's owners have ratified the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, thus officially ending the lockout and beginning the restoration of championship play which can begin after the players ratify the agreement this Saturday.  Quoting in part from their statement:

The National Hockey League's Board of Governors voted unanimously Wednesday to ratify the new 10-year Collective Bargaining Agreement between the League and the National Hockey League Players' Association.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs, who serves as the Chairman of the Board of Governors, confirmed the unanimous ratification vote during a press conference held at the Westin Times Square.

"To the players, who were very clear they wanted to be on the ice and not negotiating labor contracts; to our partners, who support the League financially and personally; and, most importantly, to our fans, who love and have missed NHL hockey, I am sorry," Commissioner Bettman said. "I know that an explanation or an apology will not erase the hard feelings that have built up over the past few months, but I owe you an apology nevertheless.

"The National Hockey League has a responsibility to earn back your trust and support whether you watch one game or every game, and that effort begins today," Commissioner Bettman later added. "The players are ready to play their hearts out for you. The teams are preparing to welcome you back with open arms. The wait is just about over. Like all of you, we can't wait to drop the puck."

The new CBA will not be official until the NHLPA completes its ratification vote, which according to a Union spokesperson is expected to be Saturday. Commissioner Bettman said the 2012-13 regular-season schedule will be released "instantaneously" after the players' ratification vote is complete and the CBA is signed.

Unofficially, they are preparing to open training camps on Sunday and begin the abbreviated regular season play on Saturday, January 19.

Officially we are prepared to begin our morning equipment check now.  While you get started with that, I will head for the you-know-what and get another pot of coffee going for us.  See you back in the day room soon.  We'll be checking out some video updates from the Consumer Electronics Show going on in Las Vegas.

 

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Technology that uses your brain waves to control screen images

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Posted by on January 10, 2013 • Filed under: morning lineup, Videos • Tagged: , , ,

Hockey Deal Reached

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Marthon Negotiating Session Leads to Agreement

THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE AND THE NHLPA (Players' union) have reached a tentative agreement to end the 113-day lockout and begin the process of formally adopting the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.  The deal was informally agreed to just before 5 am this morning (Sunday) and publicly disclosed at 6 am when the NHL  released a statement that says in part:

After a marathon 16-plus hour negotiating session at the Sofitel Hotel that began Saturday afternoon, the sides announced an agreement in principle shortly after 6 a.m. Sunday.

The deal, agreed to at approximately 4:40 a.m., was announced jointly by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA Executive Director Donald Fehr in the same hotel conference room where the negotiations were conducted with the assistance of Scot Beckenbaugh, Deputy Director for Mediation Services for the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

"Don Fehr and I are here to tell you that we have reached an agreement on the framework of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, the details of which need to be put to paper," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. "We have to dot a lot of I's and cross a lot of T's. There is still a lot of work to be done, but the basic framework has been agreed upon. We have to go through a ratification process and the Board of Governors has to approve it from the League side and, obviously, the players have to approve it as well. We are not in a position to give you information right now about schedule, when we are starting. It's early in the morning and we have been at this all day and all night, obviously. But, we will be back to you very shortly, hopefully, later today with more information in that regard."

Fehr, meanwhile expressed an eagerness for his constituency to get back to playing hockey after a negotiation that stretched across 113 days.

"Any process like this in the system we have is difficult; it can be long," Fehr said. "I've said repeatedly throughout this process, somebody would say, 'What do you see ahead?' And, the answer was, 'You get up tomorrow and you try to find a way to do it and you keep doing that until you find a way to succeed.

"As Gary just indicated, we have the framework of a deal. We have to do the legal work and we have to do the constituent-communication work. At least, from my [standpoint], and I'm sure Gary's too, we need to let them know the details before we tell all of you. Having said that, hopefully, we're at a place where all those things will proceed fairly rapidly and with some dispatch and we'll get back to what we used to call business as usual as fast as we can."

This initial statement did not say anything about the startup date or the number of games to be played, but it was widely known that they are planning on opening training camps this Saturday, January 5 and begin playing a 48-game abbreviated season on January 11.

This report was later updated with more information in our Morning Lineup HERE.

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Posted by on January 6, 2013 • Filed under: current events, News • Tagged: ,

Morning Lineup – December 30

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Sunday Morning – No Information Yet

There's added interest to that  Russian airliner crash in Moscow yesterday primarily beccause of the personal video that popped up on the internet last night.  The dashcam video recorded in a private automobile that caught the plane parts raining down on the highway is a fascinating video, no doubt.  If you haven't seen it yet, just scroll down to the posting immediately preceding this one where we have the early report along with videos and photos from the crash scene.  It will take a while to learn what the cause of the crash was, and we may never really learn the truth of the matter thanks to the clownish actions of the Russian public relations representatives.

RT / Reuters

Regular readers are aware that we often chide the "officials" whenever there is a major incident in any of the former Soviet nations.  Practically without exception, whenever there is a major fire ongoing we will quickly hear from the local information kommissar that the fire was "caused by an electrical short circuit," even though there are flames blasting out of every window of the old-age home and no investigation has even been able to get started yet.

Well, the short-circuit guy was pressed into extra duty yesterday and he was admirably on the scene quickly and able to tell the assembled press that this plane crash was caused by "pilot error," regardless of the mechanical condition of the plane or having heard any radio traffic from the tower prior to the incident.  But the local press sheeple dutifully wrote that down (we always refuse to pass along these early pronouncements) and this morning they are busy erasing their notes because a higher-ranking propagandist has informed everybody that the real cause of the crash was "bad brakes."  So you may briefly see that one bandied about for a while until somebody admits that they have retrieved the blackboxes and will start to review the information that is stored on them, such as the speed of the plane when it touched down and the positions of the flaps, etc.  And even then, we don't always get the truth from them.  It's the same old worn routine that they use over and over and over.

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We're keeping an eye on the National Hockey League chit-chat this weekend as they are running out of time to come to an agreement with the players' union and save the season.  We told you in yesterday's Lineup that the owners had presented a serious proposal (300 pages long) Thursday night and the union reps. went through it all day Friday jotting down questions, clarifications, and perhaps some counter-proposals.  Yesterday (Saturday) the two sides conferred via conference calls to haggle over the proposal.  The Associated Press is reporting this morning:

The initial thought was that the sides would get together Sunday in New York to hold official negotiations for the first time in weeks, but those weren't scheduled before discussions ended Saturday.

Staff level calls were expected to resume Sunday, which could include face-to-face talks at some point, but no actual bargaining meetings have been set.

"Some more informational sessions in the morning,'' NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told The Associated Press regarding Sunday. "Nothing planned beyond that.''

Lockout Day #106

The league office did not issue any press statement yesterday at all.  I'm reading that as "ongoing discussions," and some progress being made because they aren't tossing out buzz words and negotiating ploys.  I will be watching the press office up there today so that you don't have to.

But we all have to take our morning look at the equipment and get it checked out now.  I'll see that the Bunn-O-Matic is loaded up for the Sunday breakfast that will be ready soon.  See you back in the day room in a little while.  And thanks for dropping by and visiting with us today.

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Posted by on December 30, 2012 • Filed under: aircraft, morning lineup • Tagged: ,

Morning Lineup – December 29

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Saturday Morning – This and That in the News

One of our readers, Tom L. sent an interesting email last night referring to the weekend of mourning the deaths of the two firefighters who were murdered in Webster, New York, earlier this week.  The visitations/viewings are being held last night (Friday), today and tonight with the funerals performed on Sunday and Monday.  This tragedy and remembrance will be bringing literally thousands of firefighters coming and going over the four days.  Tom tells us:

The community of Webster has really pulled out all the stops. If you hook up on Face Book with "prayers and support for Webster Firefighters" you will see that they have gotten a huge number of hotel rooms donated for incoming first responders, as well as gift cards at local restaurants and food donated for buffets to feed them through the weekend. The local hotels are hosting community receptions. They are working out airfares for those who really need it from around the country. I have never seen such an outpouring. Pretty amazing effort…

Agreed, Tom.  That amount of preparation in just a couple of days is a tremendous achievement and the town's efforts are certainly to be lauded.  Somebody got to working on it early and somehow convinced the citizens that they are really going to be inundated with visitors for this.  Whoever is responsible is doing a great job of coordination and preparation.

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There are some noises coming from the National Hockey League headquarters today.  Not suprising, since we are only two weeks away from having the entire season lost because of the inability of the two sides to find an agreement.  My personal opinion is that the owners are deliberately running it up to the deadline because they have the financial upper hand in the negotiations.  Their pocketbooks can afford the relatively-smaller loss financially, but the players mostly cannot.

The league presented a written proposal, several hundred pages long (an obvious negotiating ploy in itself) to the union on Thursday.  Reporting via the Sporting News, the AP explains:

Deputy commissioner Bill Daly said Friday the league presented its proposal Thursday. The sides haven't met in person since a second round of talks with a federal mediator broke down Dec. 13. The NHL and the players' association are expected to talk via conference call on Saturday, and have tentative plans to meet Sunday in New York.

The league's comprehensive new offer, that is several hundred pages in length, was still being reviewed by the union Friday night. The players' association's executive board and negotiating committee went over the proposal during an internal conference call.

"We delivered to the union a new, comprehensive proposal for a successor CBA," Daly said in a statement Friday. "We are not prepared to discuss the details of our proposal at this time. We are hopeful that once the union's staff and negotiating committee have had an opportunity to thoroughly review and consider our new proposal, they will share it with the players. We want to be back on the ice as soon as possible."

The league would like to have a deal in place by Jan. 11, begin training camps the following day and start the regular season by Jan. 19.

Both sides have to approach this in earnest now, it's probably their last chance.  We'll see what happens this weekend.  This is day #105 of the lockout.

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One last item to cover this morning before we start the equipment check comes from Dorset, Vermont.  Apparently an ambulance wasn't called in this instance, but we can all find some relevancy in the story that was published in the New York Post on Thursday:

Vermont State Police say a man faces a drunken driving charge after driving onto the lawn of a historic home once owned by the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Police say 55-year-old Donald Blood III of Marlborough, Mass., was ordered to appear in court in Bennington on Jan. 14.

Police say Blood thought he was driving into a parking lot, but actually it was the lawn of the Wilson House, built in 1852 in Dorset, the birthplace of AA co-founder Bill Wilson.

The Wilson House's website describes it as a "place of sanctuary where people can come to give thanks to God for their new lives." It still hosts several AA meetings each week.

Ok, we're running a little late this morning, so let's get started.  I'm getting the Bunn-O-Matic going again before we meet back in the digital day room.

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Posted by on December 29, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: , ,

Morning Lineup – November 28

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Wednesday Morning – Looking For Definitions

I know it's early, but you can still put your thinking caps on and get in on a dynamic discussion that has begun over at Backstep Firefighter where Bill Carey is moderating a series focusing on Defining Aggressive as it relates to firefighting.

Part 1 – Tasks and Identity has kicked it off, so find a quiet moment to CLICK HERE and get in on the roundtable.  Always room for one more.

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Speaking of discussions, the owners and players union of the National Hockey League have agreed to having Federal mediators enter the combat discussions about a new labor contract.  Katie Carrera writing in the Washington Post tells us:

With NHL labor negotiations locked in a stalemate, the two sides have agreed to try a new approach and involve the help of federal mediators in reaching a new collective bargaining agreement.

Before going any further, it’s important to note that the mediation is not binding. The mediators bring a neutral third-party perspective to help advance negotiations, but the two sides are not forced to accept the suggestions.

"The NHLPA has agreed to the addition of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to our ongoing negotiations," NHLPA Executive Director Donald Fehr said in a statement. "We look forward to their involvement as we continue working to reach an equitable agreement for both the players and the owners."

According to ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun, the NHL and NHLPA are expected to meet with mediators Wednesday. It will mark the first formal session between the two sides since the league rejected the union’s most recent proposal on Nov. 21. During the 2004-05 labor negotiations, the NHL and NHLPA met with mediators to no avail.

So we will see what happens next.

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This next item would be more properly filed under the "Culture" category, I suppose:

Has Commercialization Gone Too Far?

This is not a Police Line which you cannot cross….

This is not a Fire Line from which you must stay back ….

This is a Garage Floor Line over which you must not step ….

And with that admonition, we will cross the line and get this equipment checked out.  I have permission to enter the coffee zone and get more java cooking up for when we meet back in the day room.   See you there in a few minutes.

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Posted by on November 28, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: , ,

Morning Lineup – November 25

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Sunday Morning – Still No Ice

My prediction of hockey happiness by Thanksgiving sure missed the mark.  That shows that I don't really know what I'm talking about, I guess.  This past Friday the NHL canceled more games, this time through December 14, plus the All-Star Game and weekend that were planned for January 26 &27.  Even with a quick settlement, the All-Star game is gone because the dates would be needed for a compressed schedule.  So far, 34% of the season's games have been canceled and we are now in Day #71 of the shutdown.

On Wednesday the players union presented the requested full proposal and the league took little time to reject it outright.  Stu Hackel writing for Sports Illustrated, reported:

After hearing a new proposal from the players that contained some major concessions, the NHL’s negotiators rejected it — politely this time and following a couple of hours of examination, not dismissively in 10 minutes as they did the last time the union presented some ideas that could have been at least a starting point. Still, the owners did not deem this new offer worthy of further discussion. "So basically," tweeted Luke DeCock of The Raleigh News-Observer, "the NHL doesn’t want to negotiate. It wants to dictate. Full stop."

In their proposal, the players had made some significant movement, saying for the first time in this process that they’d accept a percentage of Hockey Related Revenue, not a guaranteed fixed amount. They went to a 50-50 split of HRR in Year 1 of their proposals instead of a gradual decline to that figure. They lowered the amount they were seeking from the owners on the misleadingly named "Make Whole" provision to honor existing contracts. That full amount of those contracts is about $590 million. The NHL has offered to pay only $211 million. The PA said Wednesday it would settle for $393 million. It moved the gap on how much the players would share of HRR from what had once been about $1 billion to $182 million. If you want to see the entire NHLPA proposal, TSN posted it here.

"We’ve moved far more than halfway," NHLPA leader Donald Fehr told reporters after he presented the proposal to the owners, "and our expectation is the NHL is going to be willing to meet us if they want to reach an agreement."

Hackel has a full, detailed commentary on where things stand, so if you are interested in more details read the full ARTICLE HERE.  Currently there are no meetings scheduled between the two sides.  The owners might be digging in more because we are starting to hear some grumbling coming from individual players who are starting to feel the effects of missing paychecks.  Pressure is building.

We need to get our sides together now and get this equipment checked out while Cook gets the Sunday breakfast ready.  I will make sure the Bunn-O-Matic is filled.

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Posted by on November 25, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: ,

Morning Lineup – November 18

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Sunday Morning – Winter is Close, But the Ice is Melting

This is Day #64 of the National Hockey League lockout and from all outward appearances, talks have stalled again.  We don't really know for sure, because there are usually informal messages and chatter as the two sides seek points of agreement.  But both the players and the owners are pretty well entrenched in their positions.  After four pretty good days of negotiations on Nov. 13 – 16, talks broke down again earlier this week and more chest-thumping ensued.  The other day the league commissioner Gary Bettman floated a proposal that negotiators take a "two-week break" for some unexplained reason and the players union responded that the league has effectively been on a break during the entire negotiating process.  Both sides are claiming that they are ready to meet and negotiate, if only the other side would agree to sit down an talk.

So now we have gone more than a week without any formal meetings and time is running out on any chance of saving the season.  Canada's tv sports network TSN reported on Friday:

The sides have been unable to agree on proposed changes to player contract rights and how to share revenue, and will also need to sort out how they pay for the damage of a lockout that reached 62 days on Friday.

"We are extremely disappointed in where we and the players find ourselves," deputy commissioner Bill Daly said Thursday evening. "And from our perspective, we have made repeated moves in the players' direction with absolutely no reciprocation. Unfortunately, we have determined we are involved with union leadership that has no genuine interest in reaching an agreement. Regardless of what we propose, or how we suggest to compromise the answer is "no." At some point you just have to say "enough is enough."

Pessimism has grown while losses have started to mount.

"I find it incredible that the union is suggesting that we are somehow 'close' to a deal," added Daly. "They have utterly refused to negotiate for months. They have made essentially one proposal – five times. They continue to request a 'guaranteed' players share as part of the next agreement and we repeatedly tell them maybe they should get a reality check. And in the mean time, maybe they can make their position clear to us on 50-50, on the make-whole and on player contracting issues."

Sometime this week the league is expected to announce another block of game cancellations and perhaps the All-Star Game as well.  The main thing to remember is that the teams' owners control the purse.  They provide the arena's, buy the uniforms, sell the tickets and get the spectators and tv audiences to watch the show.  It's entertainement and nothing more.  The players put on the show and that's about it.  They need to keep in mind that what they do is not really important other than to provide a few hours of visual entertainment each week for their fans.  And the longer they go without putting on that show, then the less the public will be missing their performances.

Soon the point will be reached where the owners will lose more money by playing a truncated season than if they cancel it.  And that is the true determining factor of whether the show goes on.  So far, the biggest losers in this standoff are the thousands of part-time workers who show up at the arenas two or three times a week to sell the hot dogs and rip your ticket in half as you walk in.  They're the only ones who really need the paycheck.

We need to get our own show started now and get this equipment checked out.  I'll give the Bunn-O-Matic a test drive before we meet back in the day room.

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Posted by on November 18, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged:

Morning Lineup – October 11

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Thursday Morning – 10 … 11 … 12 …

Somewhere, someone is closely watching their atomic clock to capture the moment when the display flashes 07:08:09, 10/11/12.  If you're successful, be sure and send us a pic!  If you don't have your own atomic clock, you can always go to THIS WEBSITE and grab a screen cap.

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It has been 26 days now since the National Hockey League shut itself down and locked out the players over both sides' inability to agree on how to share the league's revenue.  It was evident from the beginning that both the league owners group and the players union had already planned for a lengthy shutdown by their actions.  The league didn't bother to try and get any meaningful negotiations started and the players obviously had been tipped off to go ahead and make other plans for a few months as they signed temporary contracts with a bunch of European leagues so they can keep in shape and play, too.

If they hadn't done this, the regular season would have started today.  But last Thursday the NHL officially canceled the first two weeks of the regular season and it looks like they will continue to lop off parts of the schedule again because they appear to still be a ways apart unless there are some secret negotiations going on that they haven't let on about.  After a negotiating session last week, they did resume talks yesterday meeting twice on into the evening covering non-revenue items such as health and safety issues and medical care.  There will be another meeting today and they have tomorrow open if they want to continue.

But so far, nothing about that $3 billion pie that has to be cut up.  Now that the National Football League has sent the clown referees back home, I guess the main attraction for a while will be the baseball playoffs.

We have to get our own game going now and get the equipment checked out.  I'll get some more firehouse sportsdrink ready in the Bunn-O-Matic before we have our next team meeting in the day room.

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Posted by on October 11, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged:

Morning Lineup – September 26

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Wednesday Morning – Let's Talk

This is Day 11 of the NHL lockout that began on September 16 after the team owners and the players union failed to agree to a new contract.  The owners had previously said repeatedly that they would not open training camps and start the new season without a new contract in place.  The players claimed that they were willing to open the pre-season with an extension, but we don't really know how serious that was.

To the outsider it is looking like both sides had already decided to shut down the league and have always preferred to see an extended lockout this year.  Scores of players have already relocated to Europe and Russia to play temporarily with some of the elite leagues over there, mainly to keep in condition and to play the game they love.  But most of them had been salting away sizeable portions of their salaries for the past year as a hedge against this shutdown.  And next Monday their final paychecks for the expired season will be distributed.

More telling is the failure of the two sides to even hold any formal discussions since their last meeting on September 12, three days before the contract expired.  Today the word is circulating that they may have their first formal meeting on this Friday, September 28.  But the talks will be limited to non-economic (read: payroll) topics that are more easily resolved.  The league's deputy commissioner, Bill Daly issued a statement:  "We still need to hear from the (Players Association) on economic issues. They have been working off the same basic proposal since Aug. 14. We have made it abundantly clear to them that the proposal is unacceptable to us." 

So it doesn't look like the regular season will get started on time and there's a possibility of a large part of the season being canceled.  Many of the more outspoken players have been saying that they are willing and ready for a lengthy lockout and will even accept a season cancelation if necessary.

For the time being though, the fans can be content watching the circus taking place in the National Football League stadiums with the clown corps that the NFL hired to officiate the games while they try and settle a contract with the real referees' union.

MetsKevin11

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A brief note to pass along is directed to our readers in the central Pennsylvania area where those scum spammers who run the phoney telemarketing solicitations are currently targeting residents.  These are the "we're collecting for the injured firefighters fund to help support their families….etc." fraud.  So you might want to get a counter-message out through your local media to be aware of this scam.

Now we need to get serious and get the real equipment checked out while I give the Bunn-O-Matic another workout.  Our talks will resume in the day room in a little while.

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Posted by on September 26, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged:

Morning Lineup – September 15

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Saturday Morning – No Ice

For National Hockey League fans this is a key date on the hockey calendar because at midnight tonight the contract between the league and the players' association expires.  Several weeks ago the league announced that if there was no contract settlement by the time it expires tonight, the team owners are not interested in operating under an extension or temporary agreement and they will lock out the players.  In other words, the Fall training camps that are scheduled to begin next week will not be held and the regular season may be delayed in starting.

"Anybody home?"

Over the past 3 or 4 weeks there have been some discussions between the two sides, but they appear to remain still far enough apart that a settlement today is unlkely and the lockout will begin.  This will be the fourth time in the past 20 years that contract negotiations have delayed the opening of the regular season.  This contract that is expiring is the deal that was made after the entire 2004 – 05 season was canceled.  The year-long consultations resulting from that stoppage led to several technical changes to the playing rules, but more importantly it instituted a salary-cap on the teams that has brought some much-needed fiscal sanity to the league and created a skill parity that resulted in every team potentially capable of making the playoffs and advancing.  The fans were among the big winners on that deal.

The salary cap included a specified revenue-sharing agreement where 57% of league revenues was allocated to player salaries.  In the six years that this contract has been in effect, overall league revenues have increased by 50% and both sides want a larger piece of the pie.  Both sides are wanting to revise the definition of what "league revenues" is and the owners want to alter the salary allotment down to 46%.  The players have said that they are willing to take a reduction in the percentage (while the overall dollar amount has increased considerably), but not that much.  It is accepted as invevitable that there will be no agreement today.  The players themselves have been setting aside funds to meet living expenses in anticipation of this possibility and the owners will suffer very little financially during the lockout because just about all of their expenses will not be accumulating such as player salaries, arena rental, travel costs, etc.

This has no effect on the minor leagues, though.  They are not part of the NHL labor contracts that they will be carrying on business as usual with the side benefit of some increased attendance as a spillover.  Also, the 30 NHL teams are transferring as many of their players that are under a 2-way contract down to their American Hockey League teams to keep them playing competitively until the situation is settled.  So that's where it stands:  "Game on off!"

Our game is always on, so we need to get the equipment checked out for today.  While coffee is not part of the contract, I'll make sure we have plenty for this morning when we reassemble back in the day room.

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Posted by on September 15, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged:

Morning Lineup – April 24

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Tuesday Morning – What's the Score?

The first round of playoffs in the National Hockey League championships is rapidly finishing up.  Last night lowly Phoenix blanked Chicago 4-0 to wrap up their series 4 games to 2.  Just two years ago the Chicago Blackhawks were the league champions and now they are dispatched by a team that has never won a first-round series.  In fact, Phoenix hardly ever makes the playoffs, but they have been doing a lot better this entire season and their win over the Hawks was no fluke.

Phoenix Coyotes celebrate their series-clinching win
on Chicago's home ice Monday night.  (US Presswire photo)

Each year sees one major upset in the first round and this year's "wow!" series saw the team with the league's best season record and number one seed, the Vancouver Canucks take a mighty tumble as the bottom-seeded Los Angeles Kings knocked them off in just five games, 4-1.  A couple of other 4-1 winners were Nashville over Detroit (Hmmm) and St. Louis over San Jose.  You might recall that prior to the start of the playoffs I picked St. Louis to be the Cinderella team for this year.

The most entertaining series so far was the hard-contested matchup between rivals Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.  The Penguins, coming off a strong finish to the regular season, swaggered into the first round confident that they were destined to go all the way this year.  But they are going all the way to the golf course instead after the Flyers ate their lunch in the series-clinching game, 5-1.  Philly over Pittsburgh, 4 games to 2.

There are still three undecided series ongoing.  The defending champions Boston Bruins have been escorted to a Game 7 by the Washington Capitals and they will settle their contest tomorrow night.  They are playing in Boston, so it looks a little bleak for the Caps, but those games are often settled by a lucky bounce rather than skill.   Both teams are evenly matched in ability and all six games have been one-goal contests.  Ottawa and NY Rangers are also tied at 3 and they will settle their series on Thursday night.  Florida and New Jersey have  only played five games with Florida holding the lead 3-2.  They play tonight and if Jersey wins they will have their final game Thursday.

Our own series is never over, though.  So we need to get this equipment checked out for today's contests.  I'll get more coffee going and then we'll meet back in the day room in a little while.

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From Amazon:

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CLICK HERE to see this month's special offering.

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Posted by on April 24, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged:

Morning Lineup – April 1

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Sunday Morning – Checking the Scores

Since we're heading into the last week of the National Hockey League season, this is a good time to take a look at the standings and see how the competition for the playoff seedings are looking.  Just about all of the teams have either 3 or 4 games left to play (a couple have just 2), but who gets to advance to the playoffs and who will be hitting the golf course instead is far from fixed yet.  This year like every other will see a dramatic scramble right up to the last games of the season before we know who's in and who's out for sure.

The Western Conference has six teams vying for the last 2 of the 8 playoff slots, including the #3 seed that will go to the winner of the Pacific division.  In the Eastern Conference it's not much better with four teams scrambling for the last 2 slots plus Florida's tenuous lead over the Southeastern division which brings an automatic top-3 seeding.  Mathematically Florida which is #3 today could be out of the playoffs completely by the end of the week.  They are being chased down by Washington who are making a desperation bid for the division title as well as barely hanging on to the final seed at #8.  Also it is notable that NOBODY in the East has clinched first-place in their respective divisions yet.

X = clinched playoff spot
Y = clinched division title

Buffalo lost last night to put themselves in a shaky position, but New Jersey's big win over Carolina clinched their entry into the playoffs.  The NY Rangers appear to have a commanding lead for the #1 spot with a 5-point lead over division rival Pittsburgh and just 8 points left in play.  The teams to watch in the East then are Florida, Washington, Ottawa and Buffalo.  The big matchup comes Thursday night when Washington and Florida play each other in Washington.

Over in the West there is even more uncertainty except for the Chicago fans who saw their team clinch a spot last night.  Before last night Dallas was in 8th place and San Jose was #9, but they played each other in a showdown last night with the Sharks shutting out Dallas 3-0.  So we have a new order, but it's far from set.  You can see on the chart that there are five teams within three points of each other for the last two slots – including Los Angeles up in the automatic seed for leading their division.  But they are effectively tied with Phoenix and San Jose for that 3rd seeding.  Calgary still has a numerical opportunity to get in, but they are on a skid having won only 2 of their last 10 games.  That's got to be a crusher for their fans.

The real pressure will be on San Jose and Los Angeles who will be playing each other TWICE more this week, on Thursday and on the final day of the season, Saturday.  That Saturday game is scheduled to be nationally televised in Canada, so stock up on your Molson's and plan on staying up late for the 7:30 pm Pacific game.

Now let's check our own schedule with this morning's equipment check.  I definitely need to get some more coffee started.  See you back in the day room in a little while.

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Posted by on April 1, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged:

Morning Lineup – February 26

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Sunday Morning – Let's Make a Deal

This is a good time to pause and check out the standings and happenings in the National Hockey League.  Tomorrow (Monday) at 3 pm Eastern is this season's trading deadline and between now and then we can expect to see a bit of activity, or maybe a lot of activity.  There are several teams that could benefit from a change here or there.

The headliner in this year's crowd gathered to watch is the Columbus Blue Jackets' team captain Rick Nash, one of the  best scoring play-makers in the league.  He's been with the team since forever and has been the centerpoint that the team has been built around since it came into the league about ten years ago.  Unfortunately for him, the team-building was never enough to get them into the playoffs regularly and they have been perennial losers.  So he has let the GM know that he wants out.  He's past the peak of his playing career and he wants to go to another team that will be in the playoffs this year.  He doesn't have the time left to wait out Columbus' third 5-year rebuilding plan.  But he's a valuable and skilled player, so he won't come cheap.

As you can see, Los Angeles and Colorado are tied with Dallas for the 8th and final playoff spot with 20 games left to play in the regular season.  Los Angeles has been shedding salary cap with some early trades and personnel moves and are in the Nash competition along with Vancouver which has enough cap space to tweak their successful team with a clincher to carry them through the playoffs.  I don't expect Detroit to do anything drastic though.  They have their team chemistry in a perfect zen right now and shouldn't be messing with it.

One of the pleasant surprises of this season has been the St. Louis Blues.  They have gone from the "outside" to one of the top teams in the West this season.  Jusy maybe they will do some firming up through the trade practice to ensure that they hold onto the 4th spot which brings the home-ice advantage in the first round.

In the East, the New York Rangers are sitting well on top, but apparently they are not taking any chances with the final-fourth of the season ahead.  They have been shedding cap space like crazy this week and are expected to be in the Nash competition.  Whether they get him or not, they will probably be aggressive in the trade arena today and tomorrow.

Boston will probably stand pat, but the two Pennsylvania teams are tied and one of them just might take a chance (Philadelphia?) and disrupt their roster to bring in an impact player.  New Jersey is in the same division as Philly and Pittsburgh, and only 1 point behind.  It is expected that they will be making  the most noise of the three this weekend, but they don't have much cap space – if any – to work with.

There will probably be some action among the teams that are competing for the last playoff spots, notably Washington, Ottawa and Florida.  Washington might make the most number of roster changes of all the teams.  I don't expect Winnipeg or Toronto to make any headlnes tomorrow.

But we'll see what happens over the next few hours.  If you want to check in on the trade action periodically today, the NHL's Trade Tracker link for today is HERE.  They keep up-to-the-minute reports after any trade has been officially recognized.

We need to get our equipment-tracker going now and get it checked out for today while I get some more coffee started.  Then we can take a break and watch this highlight-reel goal that Pittsburgh's Evgeny Malkin scored yesterday when they routed Tampa Bay 8-1:

 

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Posted by on February 26, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged:

Morning Lineup – December 7

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Wednesday Morning – Who Plays Who?

The National Hockey League Board of Governors (basically the team owners or their representatives) voted on and approved a major team realignment for next season.  We mentioned back when this season began about the problem created when the Atlanta team relocated to Winnipeg over the summer.  The league had no choice but to continue with the locked-in schedule for this year that has Winnipeg playing in the Southeast division along with the two Florida teams, Carolina and Washington.

The league took this necessary change to take care of another problem that had been around for a long time, and that was the situation where Detroit and Columbus were in the Western Conference which caused them lengthy travel to play teams that are 2 and 3 time zones away.  The entire situation was taken care of by a major change to the groupings of teams into conferences.  The current layout that has been in place since the last league expansion has two conferences, Eastern and Western, that each have three 5-team divisions with most games being played against division rivals, a few games between other conference members and very few games against teams in the other conference.

The new layout  has the league divided into four 7- or 8-team conferences and no divisional subdivisions.  The four as-yet-unnamed conferences are better grouped geographically and restores several traditional rivalries that have existed for a long time and are popular with the fans.

Reuters

The new conference groupings are:

(A) – New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, NY Rangers, NY Islanders, Washington and Carolina.
(B) – Boston, Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Buffalo, Florida and Tampa Bay.
(C) – Detroit, Columbus, Nashville, St. Louis, Minnesota, Chicago, Dallas and Winnipeg.
(D) – Los Angeles, Anaheim, Phoenix, San Jose, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and Colorado.

The only real anamoly is having the two Florida teams spending most of their time along the Canadian border, but overall it is much better than the current divisions.  Now here comes the best part.  The league will be restoring the past practice of every team playing at least two games against every other team in the league, a home and an away game.  That is a big improvement because then all the fans will get to see every current big star and leading team during the season.  The teams will play all their conference rivals six times a year (three at home, three away) and then every other team twice.  You can read the details of the new plan at NHL.com HERE.  There will also be a major change in the seeding and scheduling of the playoff games, but the final decision on that plan will be made at the next Board of Governors meeting.

Ok, we have our own schedule to take care of now, so let's get started with the equipment check.  I will make sure that  the Bunn-O-Matic is ready for the next home stand.  See you back in the day room.

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Posted by on December 7, 2011 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged:

Morning Lineup – November 26

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Saturday Morning – Happy Birthday NHL

Today is the 94th anniversary of the founding of the National Hockey League, so this will be an opportune time to check out their status at the 1/4 mark of this season.  Thanksgiving is the usual milestone where teams start making decisions on what they need to do in order to "make it to the top" by the end of the season.  When they began their 82-game schedule in October they all thought they had a good package of players to work with, but as they began to gel as a team, they always see some discrepancies in their .

The general managers start to think about tinkering with their roster in order to better shore up their defense, or perhaps trade away an under-performing winger.  Usually there are a few teams who were expected to be playing much better than they have been, yet they're not when they have 20 or so games behind them.  So the Thanksgiving weekend is filled with the GM's talking trade here and there.  But this year things are a little more complicated than that.  The teams are so evenly balanced that hardly anybody is out of the race, save a few teams.

Take a look at what I'm talking about.  In the Eastern Conference only 8 points separates the first-place team from #13.

And the Western Conference is even closer with only 5 points between first-place (tie) Minnesota / Chicago and 11th-place Nashville.

So who's going to mess up a roster and take a chance of dropping out of contention with a post-trade losing streak?  And who will you be trading with, anyway?  Most of the other teams don't want to help you out when you are still a threat to their own standings.  And there are only five teams that are considered at the bottom right now and what do they have to offer?  The defending league champions Boston got off to a miserable start with a 3-7-0 record, but they settled down and ran off a 10-game win streak to get healthy quickly.  Will your favorite team show that kind of patience?

Just maybe the GM will think his team will improve with a coaching change.  Nobody's been fired yet, but by the end of next week I wouldn't be surprised to see a move like that.

Ok, let us make a move now to get this equipment checked out.  I'll see that there's plenty of coffee ready when we get back to the day room and consider roster moves.

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Posted by on November 26, 2011 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged:

Morning Lineup – October 23

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Sunday Morning – Health Report

An interesting item came across the News Ticker yesterday with the intriguing headline:  Major ALS Breakthrough – Common Cause of All Forms of ALS Discovered.  ALS is the acronym for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the unpronouncible fatal disease usually referred to as "Lou Gehrigs's disease."  An article published in Neuroscience News begins:

(The) fatal neurodegenerative disease that paralyzes its victims, has long eluded scientists and prevented development of effective therapies. Scientists weren’t even sure all its forms actually converged into a common disease process.

But a new Northwestern Medicine study for the first time has identified a common cause of all forms of ALS.

The basis of the disorder is a broken down protein recycling system in the neurons of the spinal cord and the brain. Optimal functioning of the neurons relies on efficient recycling of the protein building blocks in the cells. In ALS, that recycling system is broken. The cell can’t repair or maintain itself and becomes severely damaged.

They lost me on paragraph #3, but I can tell that this is great news indeed.  The article goes on to tell us that there are three forms of ALS:  hereditary, which is called familial; ALS that is not hereditary, called sporadic; and ALS that targets the brain, ALS/dementia.  Fully 50% of the people who have the disease die within three years after contracting it.  And it's a slow, excruciating death that exhibits a gradual loss of muscle strength that leads to paralysis and the inability to move, speak, swallow and breathe.  The researchers also believe this breakthrough could lead to successful treatments of Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's.  This is truly good news and you can read the entire article HERE.

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On the other end of the healthy-living spectrum we have the National Hockey League.  Last night was an action-packed night with 28 of the league's 32 teams playing.  Going into the evening there were only two undefeated teams in the young season, Detroit Red Wings with a 5-0 record and Washington Capitals carrying a 6-0 streak.  And the scheduling gods happened to have those two playing each other last night.  Both teams are very well balanced and top contenders for this year's championship, but most people had to give Detroit the edge in what was expected to be a very close game.  Well, they had that edge as Washington scored first and then kept on going to a 7-1 victory, a very rare blowout for the Red Wings.  Detroit's lone goal came on a 5-on-3 power play.

The Capitals now sit on top with a 7-0 record.  Don't quote me yet, but I think the league record for season-opening win streaks is 10.  Here are the game highlights:

 

You can view the highlight videos for all of last night's games HERE.  There were some other surprising upsets last night, too.

Now let's get our own winning streak going and get this equipment checked out.  I'm going to see how the Sunday breakfast is coming and get some more coffee going.  See you back in the day room.

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Posted by on October 23, 2011 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: , ,

Morning Lineup – May 28

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Saturday Morning – Pools and Beaches are Open!

Memorial Day weekend and the traditional "opening" of Summer as the sun-worshippers and swimming fans dash out to be first onto the beaches and pool veranda's.  If you're one of those, take a look around and see how many people you spot using e-book readers this year and report back to us here at air-conditioned FG headquarters.  I am curious about how much of an impact the e-readers are having on folks' leisure habits.  That report last month that in February e-book sales were greater than all forms of printed books combined really jolted me (and a lot of other people).

Last night's Game 7 of the NHL Eastern Conference finals was a true classic in playoff hockey.  The game played in Boston remained scoreless through the first two periods as both goaltenders, Tim Thomas for the Bruins and Dwayne Roloson for Tampa Bay Lightning, put on a great show of stopping shots.  It wasn't until there were only seven minutes left in the third period that Boston's Nathan Horton tipped in a shot from the previous game's hero David Krejci to score the game-winner as Thomas held the shutout.  Final:  Boston-1, Tampa-0.

Even more remarkably, there were no – zero – penalties called in the entire game.  The players behaved themselves and the referees wisely let them determine their own outcome.

We are also going to determine our own outcome, too, and get this equipment checked out before the accident rate in the neighborhood starts picking up for the day.  I'm going to get some more coffee started now and then we'll meet back in the day room later.

Last Night's Game Highlights

 

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Stanley Cup Finals game schedule. 

Start times are all 8 pm Eastern, 5 pm Pacific.  U. S. and Canadian tv network coverage is also listed plus all games will be played on Sirius XM satellite radio.

Wednesday, June 1 at Vancouver. NBC, CBC, RDS

Saturday, June 4 at Vancouver. NBC, CBC, RDS

Monday, June 6 at Boston. VERSUS, CBC, RDS

Wednesday, June 8 at Boston. VERSUS, CBC, RDS

Friday, June 10 at Vancouver.  NBC, CBC, RDS

Monday, June 13 at Boston. NBC, CBC, RDS

Wednesday, June 15 at Vancouver. NBC, CBC, RDS

 

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Posted by on May 28, 2011 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: ,

Morning Lineup – May 23

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Monday, Blue Monday….

The news started coming in last evening about the deadly tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri, yesterday.  Located in the southwestern corner of the state (on old Route 66), the city is located in "Tornado Alley" and is stricken occasionally with a twister, but yesterday's was especially devastating touching down right in the city a la Tuscaloosa.  A major hospital took a direct hit that caused significant damage and destroyed their helicopter that was parked there.  That created the need to expend resources to evacuate over 100 patients from the unsafe building while all the other problems were going on around the city.

AP

Two good early reports for you to check out this morning are Firefighter Nation HERE and STATter911 HERE. (scroll down for several postings including some scary audios.)  Currently the death toll in Joplin is officially 89, but it is climbing steadily as search continues.

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I want to remind you that the Firehouse Expo 2011 is just two months away.  Held in the Baltimore, Maryland, Convention Center, the week-long training, seminar and lecture program also has a great exhibit hall that is open on the final three days, Thursday July 21 through Saturday July 23.  And we will once again have our booth on the exhibit floor where we hope you will make a point of dropping by for a chat and to meet us.  As we did last year, we will be sharing space with Dave Statter of STATter911 and the Firefighter Netcast team of Rhett Fleitz and John Mitchell.  We have a lot of fun there, and we all hope you will join us.  And bring us some Dollar Store Updates and Moose Reports, will you?  Thanks.

We'd better get with the equipment check-sheet reports now, though.  So let's get started with that and I'll make sure there's plenty of coffee ready when we get back to the day room.

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National Hockey League Conference Finals
Standings as of Monday Morning

Following a scoreless first period in yesterday's matinee game, San Jose lost its composure and handed the game to Vancouver while they sat in the penalty box.  The parade started at the 8:15 mark with a high-stick penalty followed 50 seconds later with a hooking call.  Within a few seconds, Vancouver scored on the 5-on-3 and the first player came out of the box.  Just over a minute later the Sharks took a stupid line change and got called for too many men on the ice putting them back to 5-on 3 again.  And another score.

Not finished yet, while the too-many-men penalty was being killed, one of the Sharks' defenders cleared the puck out of the zone and over the glass for a delay of game call…..and putting them down 5-on-3 again.  With all the practice they've been getting, the Canucks had no problem scoring again.  A very rare three successive 5-on-3 goals scored in a span of 1:55.  Ya' think the Green Men were dancing with the crowd after that?

 

Western Conference Finals

San Jose Sharks vs. Vancouver Canucks. Canucks – 4, Sharks – 2. Vancouver leads series 3-1. Next game Tuesday night.

Eastern Conference Finals

Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Boston Bruins. Lightning – 5, Bruins – 3. Series tied 2-2. Next game Monday night.

 

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Posted by on May 23, 2011 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: , ,

Morning Lineup – May 4

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Wednesday Morning – Don't Touch the Armadillo

I haven't driven across Texas very many times, less than a dozen I'd say.  But every time that I have, there is always a little event taking place on the shoulder of the highway somewhere along the way.  Without fail I will witness a family having a Kodak moment with their car pulled over and everyone outside standing in a circle around a road-kill armadillo, with one of them taking a photograph of it.

Obviously they are folks from "back East" who are making their first trip into the Southwest and are understandably awed by the armor-clad possum.  The prehistoric-looking rodent isn't native to the U. S., but migrated up from Central America and first encroached into our country around 1850 when the first critters crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico into Texas.  Their range has been slowly expanding since then and goes as far north as the lower half of Missouri and eastward through the entire state of Florida and up into the southern half of Georgia.  They are pretty much limited to the southern states though, because they cannot tolerate temperatures that drop very far below 70º for extended time.

The reason we're talking about them today is because of a recent announcement from Louisiana State University.  New Scientist reported yesterday:

Leprosy still affects a quarter of a million people worldwide. But the origin of the 150 or so new cases that occur each year in the US has proved a mystery.

Previous case studies revealed a possible link with handling nine-banded armadillos, which have spread through several southern states including Louisiana, Alabama and Texas. As far back as the 1970s, researchers demonstrated that the animals carry leprosy-causing bacteria, with as many as a fifth infected in some areas. But proof that the animals spread leprosy in the US has always proved elusive.

Now, researchers have strengthened the link by showing that wild armadillos and leprosy patients share the same, uniquely American strain of bacteria.
 
While there is a high ratio of critters that carry the bacteria, the researchers say that there is only a very slight chance of catching the disease from them.  But a chance is a chance and some people do come down with the Biblical plague.  So they're advising people to not touch them and if you do hunt them, make sure that they are thoroughly  cooked before you eat them.  That last part will not be a problem with me.
 
Now that tonight's dinner choices have been narrowed down a bit, let's get this equipment checked out.   Ah'm a gonna' fix us some more coffee now before we meet back in the day room.
 
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NHL Conference Semi-Finals
Standings as of Wednesday Morning

Western Conference

Vancouver Canucks vs. Nashville Predators — Canucks – 3, Preds – 2 OT. Vancouver leads series 2-1. Next game Thursday night.

San Jose Sharks vs. Detroit Red Wings — Sharks – 2, Red Wings – 1. San Jose leads series 2-0. Next game Wednesday night.

Eastern Conference

Washington Capitals vs.Tampa Bay Lightning — Lightning – 4, Caps -3. Tampa leads series 3-0. Next game Wednesday night.

Philadelphia Flyers vs. Boston Bruins — Bruins – 3, Flyers – 2. Boston leads series 2-0. Next game Wednesday night.

 
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Posted by on May 4, 2011 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: , ,

Morning Lineup – April 16

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Saturday morning and going for all the bacon.

It's a shame we didn't learn about this in time to pre-alert our Midwest readers, but our friend Mark Donovan just now heard about it and told us.  I'm referring to that great festival known as Baconfest Chicago.

This event is so popular that the tickets to it are routinely sold out within hours of opening up the internet box office.  According to their website:

Baconfest is Chicago’s annual celebration of America’s favorite cured meat. Over 50 of Chicago’s best chefs concocted amazing bacon recipes and served them up to 1500 of our closest friends on April 9, 2011. We also featured 7 liquor sponsors serving bacon cocktails or other refreshing beverages that pair beautifully with bacon. To celebrate special achievement, we give out Golden Rasher awards to chefs that prepare especially delicious dishes.

Twenty one vendors (bacontrepreneurs) sampled and sold their wares, including craft bacon, bacon tchotchkes, bacon crafts, and bacon chocolates.

One of their features was the Bacon Poetry Contest.  This year's winner was "Johnny Baconseed:  A Poem For the Hopeless Romantics" by Joel Chmara.  It's no surprise that Joel's entry was the winner.  How could you not enjoy a bit of literary jewelry that includes thoughts like,

Garments perfumed with slight bacon splatter is no call for stain-lifter.
Nay, it simply ensures that one will carry the greatest foodstuff essence
for the rest of the day.

You can read and enjoy the entire poem HERE.

This year's baconevent was held on April 9th, but if you wish to get ready for next year's  fry-up, click on over to their WEBSITE and get on the mailing list.

Now we had better get on the equipment-check list and get ready for the Saturday homeowner mishaps that are sure to be coming our way.  I'll make sure we have more coffee ready when we get back to the bacon day room.

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NHL Playoffs – Quarterfinal Round Results

Friday Scores

Western Conference

(1) Vancouver Canucks vs. (8) Chicago Black Hawks — Canucks – 4, Hawks – 3.  Vancouver leads series 2-0.  Next game Sunday night.

(2) San Jose Sharks vs. (7) Los Angeles Kings — San Jose - 3, Los Angeles - 2 (OT).  San Jose leads series 1-0.  Next game Saturday night.

(3) Detroit Red Wings vs. (6) Phoenix Coyotes — Detroit leads series 1-0.  Next game Saturday afternoon.

(4) Anaheim Ducks vs. (5) Nashville Predators — Ducks – 5, Predators – 3.  Series tied 1-1.  Next game Sunday evening.

Eastern Conference

(1) Washington Capitals vs. (8) New York Rangers — Capitals – 2, Rangers -0.  Washington leads series 2-0.  Next game Sunday matinee.

(2) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (7) Buffalo Sabres — Buffalo – 1, Philadelphia – 0.  Buffalo leads series 1-0.  Next game Saturday evening.

(3) Boston Bruins vs. (6) Montreal Canadiens — Montreal – 2, Boston – 0.  Montreal leads series 1-0.  Next game Saturday night.

(4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (5) Tampa Bay Lightning — Tampa – 5, Penquins – 1.  Series tied 1-1.  Next game Monday night.

Pittsburgh's Pascal Dupuis Keeps His Head in the Game

 

 

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Posted by on April 16, 2011 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: ,

Morning Lineup – April 13

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Wednesday Morning – Let the Games Begin!

The second (and better) National Hockey League season begins tonight.  We were talking the other day about how the final positions for the playoff ladder were still unsettled with only one regular season game left to play, and it proved to be exciting right up until Sunday night.  In the Eastern Conference the 8th and final slot wasn't confirmed until the Carolina Hurricanes went flat and lost their game and their place in the playoffs.  All they needed was one point, but they gave up 3 goals in the first period and never came close to coming back.  That handed the first round entry to the New York Rangers.

The Western Conference was just as unsettled.  The defending league champions Chicago Black Hawks had to win their last game to clinch a slot, but they lost to Detroit in an exciting nationally televised game.  They still had a chance to sneak into the playoffs if Dallas were to lose their game later that evening and the Stars obliged by losing.  The whole bottom tier of the Western Conference was so close that if Chicago had won that final game they would have finished in 5th place.

Well, the "if only's" and the "what if's" are done now, and the first round of the run for the Stanley Cup begins tonight and tomorrow.  The quality of play and intensity get ramped up during the playoffs and the entertainment factor is huge.  And every year there is at least on giant-killer who knocks off a highly-seeded team in the first round.  Last year three of the top four seeds in the East were eliminated in the first round.  So who do you think will be the goat this year?  Here are the matchups for the opening round:  Note for the casual observer, the top four seeds have the home-ice advantage in the first round and the series are best-of-seven contests.

Western Conference

(1) Vancouver Canucks vs. (8) Chicago Black Hawks — Wednesday
(2) San Jose Sharks vs. (7) Los Angeles Kings — Thursday
(3) Detroit Red Wings vs. (6) Phoenix Coyotes — Wednesday
(4) Anaheim Ducks vs. (5) Nashville Predators — Wednesday

Eastern Conference

(1) Washington Capitals vs. (8) New York Rangers — Wedmesday
(2) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (7) Buffalo Sabres — Thursday
(3) Boston Bruins vs. (6) Montreal Canadiens — Thursday
(4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (5) Tampa Bay Lightning — Wednesday

For the purely entertainment value, let's hope that the Boston – Montreal games get good television coverage.  An established and strong rivalry between those two teams guarantees a great series.  Tonight's network game in the U. S. is the Capitals – Rangers game on Versus Network.

Now let's find our own entertainment and get our equipment checked out for today.  I'm going to make sure there's plenty of coffee ready.

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Posted by on April 13, 2011 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: ,