Ok, not really. It was more like one extremely apologetic man and one frustrated fellow-but it was just as entertaining to watch. It was a week that got a lot of hype and excitement which led to a highly anticipated Sunday. Did it disappoint? Not if you were there.
Quick Game Overview:
Game #1- A 5 to 4 win for the White Team. Remember the adage that the best “team” doesn’t always win? To me, that line usually has no merit but I’m a believer in it now (no doubt in mind either). The white team had two balls dribble pass the goalie and they also scored on that weird Chris/Nick/Petzold goal. They had no business winning the game…but they did. The Dark team should have been 3-0 this week, but they made up for it big time. The apparently “overrated” player had the Game Winner.
Game #2- Was it Dale that said I knew nothing about hockey? Well, the jury is still out on that but I did well at picking the teams this week, huh? Back to back 5-4 games, with each team winning one? You can’t get better than that. In fact game one didn’t end until 8:00 pm. Highly competitive, and interesting games lead to a fun week on the blog. Anyways…this time the Dark team came away the victory. The white team was ready to collapse at any moment. The” GAME WINNER!!!” went to Brendon; how fitting.
Game #3- 5-2 Final Score…I think. I’m not so sure. The stats aren’t up yet, I can’t remember the score and I don’t feel like asking Johnny. I’m sticking with 5-2, sound good? I will tell you this though, this was a laugher quick. As usual, after a game in which Johnny was out on the floor way to long he decided to start game three on the bench. And his teammates disappointed him. Big time (Not as much as he apparently disappointed his teammates though). As a result the white team fell to a 3-0 hole quickly. This game was the dagger to the Johnny and Jared combo. After one particular play in this game, Jared yelled “Are you kidding me!”, he shook his head and got off the ice in disgust. This summed up the night for the White Stallions. Ehhh…not a fan of the name. That sounds like something right out a Richard Simons exercise video. The game winner went to Ron. Would you believe me if I said it was a wrist shot? I wouldn’t either.
My weekly chat with the Scout:
Scout: Ok Nick, this was fun when we started but you’re not interesting enough to talk with on a weekly basis.
Nick: I see what you’re saying. I’m like salt, if you have a little it’s always good, but if you have too much…
Scout: It leaves a bad taste in your mouth.
Nick: Exactly.
Scout: So can we skip this week?
Nick: Big Board won’t let me. Let’s just start. Get it over with.
(The scout tried to pull a Johnny and sweet talk his way out of the chat. You know, he tried to make you believe it was your decision to do so but it really wasn’t. Nick, though, smartly interrupted.)
Nick: I wanted to ask you, what did you think of the Johnny and Jared combo?
Scout: hmm…they, at best, lacked chemistry. It was tough to watch. It seemed as if they had never played together before. Jared, on several occasions, looked up in amazement of what Johnny was doing. I lost count the amount of times Johnny said “sorry Jared” or “my bad”.
Nick: Yeah, that was big of Johnny to apologize. He usually yells at Brad or Mike.
Scout: Well, Johnny still yelled at Brad. He didn’t seem to say anything to the incredible hulk though.
Nick: The incredible hulk? He isn’t green or that big. He needs to get off the HGH and move on to steroids if he wants to be the hulk.
Scout: His slap shot is very green though.
Scout: That was a weak transition, wasn’t it?.
Nick: Glad you recognized that yourself. Speaking of Mike what did you think of the other Mike?
Scout: First off Mike gets the D back because of Petzold.
Nick: Oh, yes. Every one forgot about the other Mike.
Scout: He is easy to forget. He runs by you so fast you cant even see him. Now he is more like superhero than Mike is.
Nick: Mike D or P?
Scout: P. It stands for pronto.
Nick: Clever.
Scout: Thanks. What’s your theory on Jimmy’s balancing techniques?
Nick: I have decided that he doesn’t have pinky toes. That’s the only thing that makes sense to me.
Scout: That’s a theory. What about Vertigo?
Nick: Like the U2 song?
Scout: And that IPod commercial.
Nick: Yeah! Do you have a prediction for this coming week?
Scout: Johnny will yell at Brad.
Nick: Hopefully Brad wont cry.
Scout: Yeah, there is enough salt on the field.
77 comments:
How about game two when we were bombarding dave with shots tied up at 4 while you guys decided to stop playing defense? Did the "best" team win that game?
That was very entertaining!!! Thanks Nick & Scout .
I think part of the problem is that as a Team, we dont talk enough about any strategy or gameplan. Some of you may say that its only pick up hockey and there is no need to make plays.
It is pick up hockey, but if you have a gameplan, then you have everyone on board working together, instead of John,Jared taking the brunt for the whole team. (Not a dig.. you guys played great as usual)
Tell the guys what they are expected to do and how you are going to approach it, then review after a game for a few minutes instead of just trying to individually change things in the next game.
Despite the fact of how good anyone is on any team, no one can win without the rest of their team!
This is by no means a shot against anyone, I actually liked those teams last week, but if our approach is different then the outcome could be as well!!
well said player coach!
Nick, I think it's the Black Stallions, not the White stallions. And I'm not sure what the white team's name is yet, but it might be the white knights. Depends on who likes it......I smell a poll!
PPP is here with a rear post
Please enjoy this masterful post and insight responsibly. The Professor does enjoy bringing it to the hungry crowds and in rare instances will respond to well thought out rebuttals.
I think WPR’s TOP 5 was right on the money. On this night, the TOP 5 performers were indeed all from the Black Stallions.
It’s been mentioned before, but bears repeating (I know everyone loves repeats, re-quotes and reposts), there’s no question that TPJ and JR are overall top performers and rightly so, they can carry their teams and have demonstrated that time and time again. But not on this night!
The strong performance on D from Darrin, Joe and Nick (aside from a couple ill advised clears) was TOP NOTCH. Dave performed brilliantly all night, except for that one wacky goal of course. Then toss in the performance of Ron, Darrin and Brendon on offense and you have WPR’s No Brainer TOP 5.
Now for the White Knights (that name was somebody elses choice… but I like it). There was some sustained pressure that was impressive. There was a cool pass connection from TPJ to JR that makes my hi light reel. However, overall the Knights didn’t overtake the Stallions in my top 5.
For this week only, PPP’s TOP 10 breakdown would of came in like this...
1. Ron- Adjusted impressively for those who stepped up to block his shot, moved around with ease for open lanes.
2. Dave- Very hot glove hand. Even though he felt lousy, he got down at the right times, moved side to side brilliantly.
3. Darrin- Had great awareness with the ball in both ends. Took advantage of opportunities and showed great vision
4. Brendon- That dump and chase thing works when he hustles. Needs to work harder with seeing who’s open for a pass though.
5. Joe- Showed power on the point. Pinched and kept the ball in the offensive zone. Goota keep working to get that shot DOWN.
6. Jared- TPJ covers a lot of ground. Takes care of the ball well. Scored on a play using great stick handling to get around the D and goalie.
7. Nick- Stays in position and played tough in the corners. While this makes up for dump plays, it needs to be corrected to crack the Top 5
8. Johnny- Always involved in the action, especially in the offensive zone. Communicated well with his team.
9. Chris- Was a presence on D and showed good poise when handling the ball. A True White Knight with that Sparkin White Shirt he wore.
10. Mike P- If this kid could come more often and learn to handle the ball, he’d be unbelievable. He’s got speed beyond belief.
Hey i love wpr, he/she is the 2nd best read on this site, but there's no way in two 5-4 games lasting over 2 hours that the 5 best players were on one team.
I've had this conversation with brett who talks frequently with wpr, and i believe the rankings are more relative to expectations. so someone like brendon who played great and way outperformed expectations gets on the list.
when are stats up johnny, cuz i think we connected okay sunday, i thought we assisted a few times on each others goals.
ok white knights, what happen?
We've heard from John & Jared, but not much from rest of the "team"
There hasn't been a whisper from Mike D or Brad.
or a word from Chris, Jack, or Lee
they're licking their wounds. but they'll be vocal again when they win more games!
Using the spy gear I got from ToysRUs I intercepted an internal memo from the White Knight game plan for this Saturday.
I guess there are a number of things on the table for immediate implementation.
High fives and fist pumps are out...
1. The hockey pat on the rump for the atta boy is being considered.
2. Hugs after each goal for all those not in the play is a real possibility.
3. To allow them to not shift at all, heart shaped nose strips are being considered.
Looks like these guys are pulling out all the stops to ensure a winning night.
It's not all about love and affection though... guess what else I dug up?
Interpol has traced an order of Spiked Shin Pads being delivered to a PO Box in southern NH.
Wow, I never thought that it would come down to this. These guys are taking this way too serious.
I thought the first two games were well fought.
Both Good Games
I do think that we, the "White Knights" played as well as the "Black Stallions" for the first two games.
I do think that we were not aggressive enough on Offense at times. J & J played well together as expected. But they will not always be on the floor, so the rest of us need to pick it up!!
The Defense played well for two games , but could not get it back after 4 quick goals from the Knights.
We need to work on our positioning, recognizing our limitations and use that to defend.
That being said. Lee played great D. Jimmy a bit off, maybe some new kicks would help. I made some mistakes on D that I think I corrected out there. But I could have played better. Johnny, i am not sure if he knew what to expect out there, but played tough.
Bradley...step it up Kid. you play as if you dont expect to score... Act like you mean it out there kid!!
Mike D... stay at the center position. You have the energy and the talent to get guys moving, just let some of them know where you expect them!!!
Jack, playing solid as usual, stay aggressive near the net.
Thats my team Recap... Lets run with these teams again.
I thought the teams were fair. I thought the dark team deserved the first game (white got two goals in off feet and one from the other end of the rink), but I thought white actually had more momentum in game 2.
For the record, that was the second-worst goal I've ever given up. You don't want to know about the worst one. Chris, I'm doubling my fee this week.
lol. was that the goal that you put in yourself, dave?
on the flip side if dark was able to move white out from in front of the net then those goals wouldn't have gone in
When there traffic in front whoever has it should shoot and shoot low, which apparently worked well
Dave, the worst part is, I had no intention of scoring, it wasn't even a shot!
so for saturday it's $2.00 right?
you talking about b-ball?
what time we playing Saturday?
3:00 - outdoor rink
what time are stats going to be up?
Ya johnny, let's get these stats up!
Stats are already done...waiting on Nick now.
all set guys.
John your such a loser for counting that last goal
yea, that last one should not count!
right now you almost have the same top 5 as how last year ended
Counted it for Jared last week too...we were still playing, so it should stand.
That makes 2 meatballs
yes but you continued playing knowing that you wouldn't finish.
You were already overtime on the time slot you guys had.
That's why i've always suggested timing games.
it makes the stats more accurate for goalies. and makes it leaves the scores to be different than just topping out at 5.
If the games ended in a tie we could do a shoot out. I think that could be really fun.
3 30 minute games each week would work out perfect. that gives 30 minutes for practice and everyone to show and then 3 games.
Like this past week. I think the goalies would have appreciated seeing the score of game one ending as 1-0 or 2-1(as was the score 30 min in).
It wouldn't be that hard to do.
And that way each week would be the same. No weeks with 2 games and others with 4 or 3 or 1/2 games. No more skewed stats like joe having an above 5 goals forced per game like he did last week.
brett you continued to cut the rest of your fingers after you cut the first one, so whose dumber now.
i disagree Brett. I think you forgot that most (if not every)week we play over time. We didnt end until 9PM this week-and that was because we decided to stop. I see no reason to play less hockey just for the sake of the stats.
I dont care if the stats are somewhat flawed or skewed. The stats are just a fun additive to hockey-they should not lessen the amount of time we play.
I just want to play hockey.
then why have a limit to the amount of goals that can be scored per game? just keep stats for the one game all night long. then the stats won't be skewed
im not sure I see a reason to change anything.
Let me ask you:
What do we do if we discover the teams are not working well that week, its a blowout. Do we just play with them all night? What if one team falls down in a big hole, do we have to play a boring game? We all been on a team that had no life to it, those games are awful to be a part of-no one would want to play that all night. I think it would lead to less consistency of people coming. I think it could make a given week more exciting but it could also have its negatives.
"why fix something if it's not broken"?
Again, you're not seeing my point. The STATS are fun, but no one wants to sacrifice the competitiveness of the game(s)so that the stats are scientifically more accurate.(besides lenny):)
you don't think a team would push harder if they are down by one goal with 2 minutes left? of course they would time is a powerful motivator or lack there of. and that would make the games more competitive.
And yes it is broken if the stats aren't accurate. That's why i go to street hockey over ice. thats why jared goes. BAM you just lost 2 of the best that show every week.
And why can't we swithch the teams if they are lopsided? we've done it before. But i thought we were keeping the teams no matter what anyway. Set teams remember?
nick your a creature of habit so i understand why this might be scary for you but change is good. why not try it for a week or two? Whats the harm?
brett burned by nick, i bet he wishes he posted anonymously, well put nick
first off saying that you & Jared won't come isn't the end of the world so BAM don't come
Timing the games definately would make it interesting, but we waste way to much time arguing to time games and who would actually keep the time?
We can barely keep the stats right
"How much time is on the clock?"
I can see a team with a one goal lead with 5 mins to go, just start icing it. That would be fun to play with.
i can see a goal happening with the clock already stopped. One team is yelling "no goal!" the other "we won!" Im sure that wouldnt be a big argument. Im sure people wouldnt leave.
Brett, I thought you said the game would last all night? Either the way it seems silly. The stats are entertaining the games are competitive, why mess with that?
no nick, i said why not make the games last all night if you don't care about the stats?
And how many times do you think a goal would be scored with 1 second left to create that controversy? and Lee throws his stick and leaves all the time now so what's the difference? More people would throw their sticks and leave? give me a break...... give me a break, break me off a piece of that kit kat bar
the NHL times their games so it can't be that bad of an idea.
So you say the stats aren't why people come? Ok so you don't care that me and Jared won't come. Do you really think Johnny would still play?
Why do you think he wants to always get in that last game? It's to get his stats up!!! not cause he loves playing and wants to get in as much fun loving hockey as he can.
Timed games would add different elements to our games while not taking away from the good ones we already have.
And anonymous i think you've forgotten about me on the bench for the next two months. I think i could handle it.(when you argue against 2 people it makes your counter post really long)
back to Nick. all those problems you listed already happen all the time. what's the difference? if i'm on the bench with the clock to stop it, you just do running time and when it gets to 2 minutes left do stop time. There are very easy solutions to all the "complex" problems you THINK timing games would create.
If a team ices it, i stop the clock when it crosses the line and the other team gets it in the offensive zone at the top. no face off. that's enough to deter a team from icing it.
And no other anonymous this is what you call having a debat with two people who aren't afraid of giving their opinion with their name attatched to it.
I can see both points of view, but I think there is a danger of over-managing things. There are some guys who simply want to play hockey - they don't care about the stats or anything else. I want to keep the games fun for them as well.
As for the stats, we were actually playing for 4 or 5 years before keeping track of the stats. Personally, I simply love to play sports, but especially hockey. I think the stats have helped motivate some people to show up on weeks where maybe they are tired or not feel like leaving the house, but speaking personally I just want to play hockey as much as I can.
A big part that makes that fun is having good competition too - that's my biggest reason for preferring floor hockey to ice hockey. Once everyone stops caring about the score in ice hockey the game becomes far less fun. Our games are always very competitive, yet for the most part a good competition - people remain friends afterwards.
All of that being said, I don't think timing the games in theory are a bad idea, but I also think the way we play right now and quality of play right now is very high. Goalie stats and point per game stats might be skewed a little bit, but over the course of 80 plus games they tend to even out.
Johnny in our ice hock games we would time them, one game all night. They use to be the most competitive games i've ever played in and we didn't even keep stats. people cared more about getting the win. there was no icing and alot of epic comebacks from 2 goals down with 2 minutes left to steal the game. Each team tried harder as the game went along.
Yes i do agree the games are fun as is. but why not make it better? why not try it while we have someone on the bench all game to manage every thing? The game needs to evolve!! Evolution is real
Not that my opinion counts for a whole lot, but I'd be up for it in my final game of the year.
Johnny how many people from the pre-stats era still play?
did nick call johnny in for back up? Couldn't handle brett by himself
street hockey existed before you Brett and will carry on if you stopped going
Pre-stats era went on for years and ended because guys moved, became a pain to run, and few other reasons
what do you mean became a pain to run?
how is not having stats more of a pain than having stats?
yes i do believe street hockey would still exist if i stopped. But when competition starts to lower, it becomes less fun for the telented players. How long would hockey last if Johnny and Bradley were the 2 top players? Not very long
Even though it was before his time, Nick could answer why it became a pain to run!
Just a quick rundown...
Most of us were playing in the pre-stats era. There were guys playing before myself and the other Salem / Alliance guys started playing.
Guys that still play that were playing before I started were: Lee, Joe, Lenny, Steve, Mark Stevens, Dale...don't think I'm missing anyone.
We started playing for 3 or 4 years, and then started doing the stats.
and guess what? they all care about stats with the exception of maybe Lee. They have all made a stink about false stats in the past.
So let's stop doing stats and see if it leads to better street hockey as nick keeps suggesting.
oh and is Mark Stevens they guy who dropped F-bombs while playing? The same guy who wears the googles?
haven't seen him in a while.
The point is, is that stats are more than just for fun. They are the motivating force that make most people show up most weeks.
S"o let's stop doing stats "
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Not to speak for Nick, but I don't think he's implying that we should not keep stats, I think he just means not let it get in the way of the actual game.
Because we've been able to do that so far it's kept it successful.
I don't think we should be talking about peolpe on here!
talking ABOUT people, or speaking FOR people. what are you saying?
dont forget about BBBBLLLLAAAASSSTTTT IIITTTTT!!!!!
Anonymous, you confuse me.
i work all day, I dont need backup.
but with that said, Johnny did a solid job expressing my viewpoint.
Brett, quit trying to make a lot of nothing. I didnt want to have a conversation about this for 2 days. And yet, here I am. i never said that we shouldnt have stats, I enjoy them, in fact, i'd say most people do.
But hockey is fine the way it is. People have fun, and we our entertained. Shouldnt that be enough?
"the NHL times their games so it can't be that bad of an idea."
That's your best argument?
Again, why mess with what we have? Give me a good reason. I dont want a change things for a potentially better game. I want a guarentee.
So if we start timing games this week, and continue on, what do we do in two months when you're healthy? Do we make someone on the bench keep track of the time? That seems silly.
pain to run? Did they have shin-splints too?
he siad that the stats are only for fun. But in reality they are the sole reason for some of the players that come. the reason they play as hard as they do.
Like you have anything better to do Nick. who else are you gonna talk to? How many numbers do you have in your phone?
Back to the argument. you get a timer that goes off after a half hour and makes a loud noise so that even the deafest of people can hear it. People on the bench keep stats why can't they press a button?
Nick why do you have to be so short sighted? Didn't you have to take a chance when deciding to keep stats?
I've given you a bunch of reasons. more effort for 30 minutes, better stats(the reason everyone plays), it doesn't take away from any of the good things we have going already.
You haven't mentioned any real problems with timed games. None that can't easily be fixed. You just sound scared.
Are you willing to carry this discussion to round 3?
Welcome to a relevant edition of BB! Good games last week, with Nick's solid picks, perhaps the Board is looking to take on a writer. Or maybe Nick is the writer? One quick note, BB is implimenting a one week suspension from the board for those who miss the prior week. Perhaps some exeptions can be made for those who apologize. On we go!
1) Ron- In the spirit of Pedro pitching tonight, white team should've just called ron their daddy and went home.
2) Jared- BB talked to Jared after the game sunday and there are rumors of him switching to play a little center.
3) Dave- everyone has to adjust their schedule so Dave can get one last shot at some goalie stats. We here at BB expect a shutout and some stellar goaltending to leave us wanting more
4) Johnny- So here we are johnny dave #3 you #4, like billy over brett (and darrin over brett), will you prove us wrong?
5) Darrin- He's not really underappreciated or unsung at all, everyone knows darrin is good. I do expect a little more offense in the upcoming weeks.
6) Joe- Joe wants to get more stats, and don't we all, but he has the ability to be the best defenseman and he showed it last sunday.
7) Nick- Nick has the ability to pass it up the middle and turn the ball over, and don't we all, but he should probably stay in his comfort zone and use the boards.
8) Brendon- There was a healthy disagreement between BB and WPR over how good brendon was last week, but we do agree that it was one of his better weeks.
9) Chris- I want chris to go back to being intimidating and mean, i think his niceness has hurt him. Get that chip back on your shoulder chris!
10) MikeD- Man competition has been great with Mike only at #10 and guys like dale and griff on suspension, but it was a solid week for mike defensively and getting a few assists, BB doesn't make too many predictions, but here we go 3 goals 2 assists come saturday.
The ever popular and suprisingly accurate Fantasy Forcast!
Start- MikeD (right when i remove D petzold shows), Dave, Jared, Johnny, Dale (not suspended from FF)
Sit- Steve, Brendon, Anyone on white defense, Griff, and yes RON!
Sleepers-
Chris, Darrin, and i'll keep Brett on here.
maybe you should go to meetings brett.
im up to two numbers now Brett. Maybe one of these days I'll reupdate the thing. I am getting good at memorizing people's numbers now though.
Thats besides the point. Good joke though.
I think the real issue here is that people only show up because of the stats? Are you kidding? You are probably right, it may be a sad reality but are people really this self centered? "Im playing tonight so 20 guys think im amazing". That's lunicy!
Brett, most of us go to have fun, excercise and enjoy each others company (ok, im stretching truth on that last one). The stats add to the experience-that's it. Stop trying to make the stats the experience. If people only go to hockey so their numbers look good on this website than they have a problem.
Anyways...Im willing to take the risk, like you said the stats were a risk in the first place and so was this website. Some of us may remember the original stat website by brendon, it was awful on so many levels. Than I took over with Johnny and the stats took off. My point is that we could make timed games work if we put the effort into it. I just dont see how the potential rewards are worth the effort.
my meeting was on wednesday this week due to the C.O. in the other congregation. Thanks for the sheparding call though.
I'm completely indifferent on timed games, but I think it will have an interesting affect on stats
I think you'll see a decline in stats because the games won't drag on until someone hit's 5, games could end 2 - 0.
Look at how many times someone is up 4 - 0 and the game takes like an hour and then the other team wins 5 - 4.
Thats a good point: if you change now in the middle of the season (ok ,not middle, but weve already begun), then the timed games will yeild different results than the non-timed games. Goalie averages will drop, most likely, but it's a penalty for the goalies that played thusfar because they will have some higher numbers on them from past games. I vote that we keep it consistent and stay the same. We can try timed games on a week where not enough peopel show and we don't count stats (like a snowy day this winter).
ummmm, yeah. I vote no on timed games. lets not change things now.
The only way to keep it fair stats wise is have 2 sets of stats
The set of stats we have already - untimed games
Start a new set, everyone from zero - timed games
That would be an interesting way to see how time affects the stats because you can look at the results side by side if you play the same number of games both ways
I think it would be interesting to start at zero with timed games to see how scoring changes
Sniff, sniff...Why don't you guys do everything I say?...sniff, sniff...Please, someone listen to me!...sniff, sniff...I need stats for my self-esteem...sniff, sniff...Timed games will make me play harder...sniff, sniff...I just want to be the best player ever, is that so bad...sniff, sniff...
hahahahahahaha!
just curious who's going to pay for the big clock that makes a loud noise when times up?
There's a score board in the rink, isn't there?
why not just ask if we can us it?
They probably just have to give you the control console for it
crybaby must not know that i'm not playing anymore? I'm gonna say it's borges
ya good point brett
well if it is, that is the most pathetic thing I've heard in LOOOONG time
not borges
i still think it's borges
I don't know if anyone is interested but I haven't been showing up lately because of a knee injury. My knee keeps swelling up when I run a little bit. And also because of the times the games have been scheduled. Unfortunately I work weekends. Just thought I would let you guys know that I haven't fallen off the planet. Beam me up, Scotty!
Post a Comment