I've heard it said that the definition of crazy is repeatedly doing the same thing and expecting different results. So does that make Bryan Murray stark raving mad? Didn't he know what he was getting when he signed Alex "the artist" "AK-27" Kovalev?
I've watched Kovy for the past 5 years in a Habs uniform only to be frustrated, then dazzled, then further frustrated, then happy he was gone. Sure, he can be a game changer but more of than not he's lazy and uninterested.
Kovalev has four goals and four assists in 16 games, which puts him on pace for 41 points this season. That will change, he'll score a bunch for a week, then cool off again and likely end up somewhere near 50 points. You'd be crazy if you expected anything more.
Showing posts with label Sens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sens. Show all posts
Monday, November 16, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Three Jerks on the Radio
I voiced my distaste for the Team 1200's morning show personalities in a recent post. My overall gripe is that on a morning sports radio show the hosts rarely talk about sports. Secondary to this is that they biased to the point that they don't even discuss other games. In fact, they rarely, if ever, talk about baseball, football or any sport without an Ottawa connection. Finally, they aren't funny at all. If they were funny I could probably live with the lack of sports content.
On Wednesday October 7th I conducted a bit of an experiment. I decided to track the content of the show to see if it was just me getting my hate on or if the jerks really ignore the sports content in their morning sports show.
Before I get into the details I should briefly touch on the general format during my listening time (7 am to 7:45 and 8:30 am to 8:50 am). The show has a 1 to 3 minute sports update every 20 minutes by someone other than the jerks. Pretty standard sports radio fare. So 3 to 9 minutes of every hour has guaranteed sports content. There are traffic and weather updates as well. Finally, there is a contest every day called the Dirty Dozen at around 7:30. Callers are asked 12 questions and if they get at least 6 right they win. If they don't they have to recite some stupid "I am not a man" speech.
For purposes of this experiment I've restricted my notes on the content to the discussion by the jerks. I'm ignoring the 20/20 update and the traffic and weather. The jerks get a point for every segment that involves sports and lose a point for every segment that doesn't. You'd expect the score to be above zero. Anything below zero is a fail.
Today the first words I heard from the jerks were a discussion of David Letterman's apology to his wife followed by the attractiveness, or lack thereof, of said wife. Score - 1 for the jerks.
Next up was some praise for their Swedish God's goal against a guy in his first ever NHL game (a goal he should score). Score back to even.
This was followed by an interview with Cyril Leeder, president of the Sens that began with a chat about Homer Simpson. They played the Simpsons "na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na leader" (think Batman) clip as the intro which brought Homer about. I'll be generous and give the jerks another point since Mr. Leeder has a sports connection.
The interview with Cyril Leeder continued with a request to bring back the ice girls that shovel the snow during breaks in the game. I already gave you a point for the interview, but I'm taking one away now because the request lead directly to a conversation about whether or not a girl wearing a hockey helmet was sexy. They then try to make a joke about needing to wear a helmet while ploughing (their word, not mine) your wife. Not funny at all. Score back to zero.
The Dirty Dozen was up next with the categories being New York Islanders dynasty, sports siblings and the Rideau Canal. 2 points for the jerks and 1 against since there was no sports connection to the canal questions. The jerks are above water.
At this point I went to the office to grab some supplies and came directly home to jump in the car and drive about 25 minutes west of my home. A perfect opportunity to continue the experiment. This particular portion of their show included chats about:
If you want to hear real sports radio, check out the Team 990. Sure, they talk about the Habs a lot but they also understand that there are other teams in the NHL and other sports that people are interested in hearing about.
On Wednesday October 7th I conducted a bit of an experiment. I decided to track the content of the show to see if it was just me getting my hate on or if the jerks really ignore the sports content in their morning sports show.
Before I get into the details I should briefly touch on the general format during my listening time (7 am to 7:45 and 8:30 am to 8:50 am). The show has a 1 to 3 minute sports update every 20 minutes by someone other than the jerks. Pretty standard sports radio fare. So 3 to 9 minutes of every hour has guaranteed sports content. There are traffic and weather updates as well. Finally, there is a contest every day called the Dirty Dozen at around 7:30. Callers are asked 12 questions and if they get at least 6 right they win. If they don't they have to recite some stupid "I am not a man" speech.
For purposes of this experiment I've restricted my notes on the content to the discussion by the jerks. I'm ignoring the 20/20 update and the traffic and weather. The jerks get a point for every segment that involves sports and lose a point for every segment that doesn't. You'd expect the score to be above zero. Anything below zero is a fail.
Today the first words I heard from the jerks were a discussion of David Letterman's apology to his wife followed by the attractiveness, or lack thereof, of said wife. Score - 1 for the jerks.
Next up was some praise for their Swedish God's goal against a guy in his first ever NHL game (a goal he should score). Score back to even.
This was followed by an interview with Cyril Leeder, president of the Sens that began with a chat about Homer Simpson. They played the Simpsons "na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na leader" (think Batman) clip as the intro which brought Homer about. I'll be generous and give the jerks another point since Mr. Leeder has a sports connection.
The interview with Cyril Leeder continued with a request to bring back the ice girls that shovel the snow during breaks in the game. I already gave you a point for the interview, but I'm taking one away now because the request lead directly to a conversation about whether or not a girl wearing a hockey helmet was sexy. They then try to make a joke about needing to wear a helmet while ploughing (their word, not mine) your wife. Not funny at all. Score back to zero.
The Dirty Dozen was up next with the categories being New York Islanders dynasty, sports siblings and the Rideau Canal. 2 points for the jerks and 1 against since there was no sports connection to the canal questions. The jerks are above water.
At this point I went to the office to grab some supplies and came directly home to jump in the car and drive about 25 minutes west of my home. A perfect opportunity to continue the experiment. This particular portion of their show included chats about:
- Boston Candy (-1);
- teen drinking (-1);
- smashing cars (-1);
- hat trick trivia (+1);
- travelling to Jamaica (-1);
- starvation insurance (-1);
- fighting in hockey (+1);
- leafs suck (+1);
- Brittania drive-in (-1); and
- Letterman's wife again (-1).
- the huge playoff game between the Tigers and Twins to decide who gets to make the ALDS (the Twins won in extra innings);
- out of town hockey games, like the exhilarating Flyers v Caps game; or
- any other actual game that happened the night before or upcoming Wednesday night other than the Sens beating the Leafs.
If you want to hear real sports radio, check out the Team 990. Sure, they talk about the Habs a lot but they also understand that there are other teams in the NHL and other sports that people are interested in hearing about.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
A Note to Sens Fans
Dear Sens fans,
I've heard a lot of talk over the last couple of days over the signing of enigmatic winger Alexei Kovalev. Mostly fans are taking a wait and see approach, but the comment I hear more often than not is "I hope we get the good Kovalev and not the one that doesn't show up all the time". Newsflash: there is only one Alexei Kovalev. He is good but doesn't show up all the time, or as Kovy puts it, he tries too hard. There aren't two Kovalev's that take turns from game to game.
He'll be great on a line with Spezza. He may score 85 points this season, he may score 55. Either way, he will light it up one game and not show up for 3. But don't think that there's a good twin and a bad twin. There's only one Alexei Kovalev and you have to take the bad with the good.
Look at it this way. You're losing a guy that skates around with his stick in the air half the time (IF he ever accepts a trade) and getting a guy who shows up half the time. At least the new guy's salary is $2.5 million less than the ingrate's.
I've heard a lot of talk over the last couple of days over the signing of enigmatic winger Alexei Kovalev. Mostly fans are taking a wait and see approach, but the comment I hear more often than not is "I hope we get the good Kovalev and not the one that doesn't show up all the time". Newsflash: there is only one Alexei Kovalev. He is good but doesn't show up all the time, or as Kovy puts it, he tries too hard. There aren't two Kovalev's that take turns from game to game.
He'll be great on a line with Spezza. He may score 85 points this season, he may score 55. Either way, he will light it up one game and not show up for 3. But don't think that there's a good twin and a bad twin. There's only one Alexei Kovalev and you have to take the bad with the good.
Look at it this way. You're losing a guy that skates around with his stick in the air half the time (IF he ever accepts a trade) and getting a guy who shows up half the time. At least the new guy's salary is $2.5 million less than the ingrate's.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
The Heat is Off
Dany Heatley has requested a trade from the Ottawa Senators. TSN is reporting that they have confirmed that Heatley informed the Sens that he wishes to play elsewhere. The reason stated is Heatley's concern regarding the apparent limiting of his ice time and, according to Darren Dreger, a conflict with head coach Cory Clouston.
The Sens traded for Heatley in 2005 after he requested a trade from the Atlanta Thrashers. At the time, Heatley felt there were too many reminders of the tragic event that took teammate Dan Snyder's life. Heatley was welcomed to Ottawa with open arms (with the exception of yours truly), had 2 great seasons with the Sens and was rewarded with a $7.5 million per year, 6 year contract. After a coaching change and his belief that his ice time is limited (Heatley averaged 4th in ice time behind Kuba, Phillips, and Alfredsson), he wants to be moved again.
Go ahead, move the guy. A head coach comes in with a system that produces better results than the last two coaches (based on winning percentage) and turns the team around. Heatley sees his ice time dwindle as a result of the system and starts whining about his ice time. He sounds pretty selfish to me, not the kind of team player you need to win. And who needs a player who skates around with his stick in the air half the time waiting for a pass?
This is probably a good thing for the Sens. They should be able to get a good return for Heatley and the rumours about Spezza being traded should go away. Knowing my luck, Gainey will sell the farm for Heatley.
The Sens traded for Heatley in 2005 after he requested a trade from the Atlanta Thrashers. At the time, Heatley felt there were too many reminders of the tragic event that took teammate Dan Snyder's life. Heatley was welcomed to Ottawa with open arms (with the exception of yours truly), had 2 great seasons with the Sens and was rewarded with a $7.5 million per year, 6 year contract. After a coaching change and his belief that his ice time is limited (Heatley averaged 4th in ice time behind Kuba, Phillips, and Alfredsson), he wants to be moved again.
Go ahead, move the guy. A head coach comes in with a system that produces better results than the last two coaches (based on winning percentage) and turns the team around. Heatley sees his ice time dwindle as a result of the system and starts whining about his ice time. He sounds pretty selfish to me, not the kind of team player you need to win. And who needs a player who skates around with his stick in the air half the time waiting for a pass?
This is probably a good thing for the Sens. They should be able to get a good return for Heatley and the rumours about Spezza being traded should go away. Knowing my luck, Gainey will sell the farm for Heatley.
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