DRI & OT Victories

It was a late one, but the three opening bands allowed ST and I to take in the 3rd period and OT. Awesome game and another good DRI show (despite Mad Man not being on the set list). Matty D continues to amaze and is becoming rather clutch. Considering it was a 16 and over affair at the Bluebird, I would have bought the lad a beer for his efforts if he made it over from Pepsi after the heroics. This just in, the Avs are fun to watch.

Fleischmann, cold lampin'

...with flavor, no less. Stone Cold Lampin'.
Pretty impressive hat-trick from the new Av. I am a fan of Hannan, but the points and goals scored by Tomas since coming over in that trade have been huge.
Avs have won 4 in a row, 2 in a row against the defending Cup champs, and now head home for a 5 game home-stand. The time at Pepsi could be huge...
Sort of love the animosity that the back to back games generate, if tonight is any indicator....it produces very inspired, yet chippy play.
On that front, hope Stastny is OK. He received a rather awkward cross-check that sent him into the boards head first with a fairly major head of steam. Looked uncomfortable. The Avs have enough injuries already, don't need the surging center out with the rest.

Mauldin? He got himself a goal too.
Anderson? His 5-hole is looking hella soft, don't take that the wrong way, but damn, those pucks just dribble through there. He did face a shit-ton of shots, but you've got to fear those times when letting the "easy" ones through will come back to haunt the Avs when they aren't able to score 4+ a game.

wow

I'm a little out of breath and lacking coherence after that thriller.

Shit-tonnes of goals (Cody McLeod even tallied), dicey goal tending (TURCO!), clutch late game heroics from Duchey and the newly acquired Tomas F. Great win, seeing as I was calling for Budaj in net midway through the 2nd period. I don't ever call for Budaj. Ever.

The Avs are the highest scoring team in the Western Conference. Is that surprising? Tonight's damage was wreaked without Hejduk and Stewart. Pretty much the entire season thus far has not seen the full core of the team healthy. Imagine if???
Besides the intangibles your best players bring, got to wonder what would be different if the whole roster was available and in the lineup night in and night out. The lines thrown out on the ice still manage to win games and demonstrate guts and resilience - especially when down late. Tonight was a first class example. During the Altitude post-game, Keefe and Rycroft were pretty apeshit flabbergasted, funny when they are on the air but not really able to hold any train of thought together. Is that why I'm washing lettuce and they're making the big bucks?

The Blackhawks get a chance for revenge in the ass-end of a home-and-home Wednesday in Chicago....
That is, unless the Avs can throw another Elway up on the scoreboard, then I like our chances.

Yo Coach, Now Might Be a Good Time To Put In Tebow.....

Not sure what to expect if it happened, but at this point, why not. If there wasn't already a legion of fans out there clamoring for God Boy, getting rolled by a shit-ass NFC West team (the B'cos are a combined 1-3 against that illustrious division, for those scoring at home) while Neck Beard has an even worse game than last week's stinker (the hell happened to him?) will certainly increase the volume. And while I don't like further cementing the recent culture of losing, the way the NFL is these days for those teams outside of the elite (which is every team other than the Pats, Steelers, Ravens (maybe?), and New Orleans (probably) - definitely not the Bears) you might as well roll the dice with the rookie QB and see what he has. Worst case scenario is that he proves he's not an NFL QB and the team gets a higher draft pick. Best case is that he shows he's a player and you have something positive to look to next year (and will still have a good pick). By the way, that was one of the most boring football games I've ever kind of watched. Studesville doesn't appear to be the answer.....

Not Too Much Mauldin.....Way Too Much Short-Handed Mauldin

At Least We Got A Point.....again

A pretty lack luster road trip unfolding. No wins, an OTL point here and there, and a team that looks like they could use Stewie pretty badly. No TV tonite, but maybe that's a good thing (I had to work late anyway and would have missed almost the entire game). As you know, I love Greg Mauldin, and that's the only reason I chose this photo from a game I didn't see.....

I'm Lovin' It!

No, not McDonalds...or McDowells.
I'm talking about the flame broiled taste of a fired McDaniels. It's pretty damn tasty right about now.
I know some McD sympathizers, have been one myself, but I have no issue with the early dismissal at this point, but will listen to and welcome arguments. Bluntly, the Broncos have never been less relevant since I've been a fan. Granted that is only ~25 yrs or so. Anyone who knew the true lean years can call me out. But this has been a really BAD stretch. Unacceptable.

Call it a PR MOVE.
Bowlen is acting senile and perhaps Al Davis Batshit Insane Jr.
If he wants to waste his money on fired coaches, I'm not sure I can argue. It seems like he wants to maintain some franchise respect right about now? He can't continue that crusade without further spending and whatnot, so if his coffers are depleted but can cut losses and admit a poor coaching decision back in January 2009 (and he can afford it), then he can buy the next round...and the high draft pick next year. But then hopefully not truly become Al Davis and run the franchise completely into the ground within the decade. shit.

I'm ill prepared to offer much beyond emotion (and a Josh McD final win percentage of .393. yikes). I'm pretty surprised really that this happened mid-season...I guess things are working out for the Vikes and Cowboys after their jettisons. still doesn't really make sense to me. I'm rambling, but am pretty curious what the "fanbase" thinks.

The Broncos will probably win out and get a shitty draft pick and draft an overrated prospect that will be cut in two years.

Also, anyone know who Eric Studesville is?

Yes, The Broncos Suck, But The Raiders Win....Why Is That Pleasant? I Think I Officially Hate Football.

Ouch, my hand.

Van Wilder Goes Wild

Van Wild....I mean Sam Bradford further adds to Broncos embarrassment by completely having his way with Broncos' defense. Familiar no pass rush, no forced turnovers, inability to cover the quick slant, etc...Meanwhile, the offense was almost a carbon copy of the SD game for the first three quarters. Great start in the first quarter and then a nose dive (which didn't help the struggling defense). Making matters worse, we coughed it up a couple of times at key times. While a furious comeback in the 4th quarter made it somewhat interesting to watch down the stretch, you never had the feeling there was a legit chance. Completely sucking for two quarters of the game has a tendency to do that. Combine this home loss with a nice game for Cutler (he's really turned into a great game manager), and chalk this up as another shitty Sunday in the NFL. At least the Raiders lost I guess. While I cannot help myself but root for the B'cos, it's clear the number one overall pick is in our sights. Can't imagine it will be the present coach making that selection though....

Not Too Much Mauldin, Too Much Mauldin

A very nice way to bounce back from a frustrating and pointless two-game Canadian road swing with a big win against a team that could have leap-frogged the Avs in the standings. After a pretty listless looking first period, the Avs flat pucked in the next two periods and applied a hurting on the Wild. My Main Man Mauldin collects four points (2G, 2A) and the #1 Star in what could be a breakout game. Once again, a very fun game to watch, even when Boods let in a obligatory softie that made it 5-3 toward the end of the 2nd period (way too close for comfort at the time). A couple 3rd period goals ensured that this game never got too interesting down the stretch.

As great as this game was, a mystery injury to Stewie is a concern (not to mention what appeared to be a bad knee injury to Winny). Hard to say what happened, considering Stewie easily got the best of the preceding scrap. Let's hope both injuries are minor.

7 goals against the Wild? The ghost of the Jacques Lemaire-coached version of this team is rolling in its grave.

After such a promising start, that game was plenty brutal to watch (even with the good beer specials and a comped 3 Dogs meal). I don't know if it was the fake punt that took the air out of the defense after two good series, but they never looked the same afterward. Rios will always get his points (especially against us it seems), but the defensive squad looked defeated thereafter. One thing that drives me crazy about this defense (and has been the case for the last few years) is how few turnovers we get. That Bailey INT was really just a great defensive play that saved a long pass completion. Didn't really work in the traditional turnover sense in that it would have been 4th down and the punt would have been a similar result most likely....Offensively, as Tirico so aptly put at one point, they just looked out of sync. A few good plays here and there, but nothing sustained after the first drive. The gadgetry was overdone. At a pretty crucial point while the game was still close, we had a 2nd and 3 inside Charger territory. A failed razzle dazzle bomb to the end zone followed by an INT pretty much closed the door on any realistic shot. I guess this team isn't going to win the Super Bowl afterall.....Oh, and he's still very hateable in the post-Cuntler era.....

MLS Champs

Don't really know what the level of excitement is in CO/Denver, but it's pretty much party time here in this little pocket of LA (that I like to call "nik's apartment"), all due to my Rapids. Should have been 1-0 rapids after a blatant penalty kick was not called after Conor Casey was tripped (what up South!). Whatever, he scored anyway a little later on, and so did my main Kandji. I'm sure most blokes would agree, it was a pretty entertaining game all-in-all. Pickens: more than solid (some pretty awesome saves). And boom MLS Cup. Thank you Rapids.

I would also like to thank lads who have attended 'lads night out', especially those that drank a lot of beer.

The view this evening at Pepsi Center includes very insane TAZ leather jacket sightings (and a 5-1 beatdown delivered to the Rangers)

There were sightings of TAZ-themed Rockies shirts this summer, but TD sent me this shot of someone this evening at the Avs game willing to high-roll and really spend bills like he means it...the TAZ leather jacket. You know that shit don't come cheap. Top dollar. Dude had to do some ledger work to figure out how many trips to the Arby's drive-thru he'd have to cut out of his routine to afford that stylish addition to his wardrobe. We're all better for it.

The game? Hell yeah. The kids continue to pile on the scoresheet (and old Hannan also adding to his assist numbers).
That 2nd period was an Avalanche shit storm of goals. Good stuff.
Andy back...looking sharp, but let it be said, he got some solid help in front of him, didn't have to face a ton of pucks.
Good to see Duchene get a goal finally. Porter scoring goals has become a pretty regular occurrence. yes...

Holy Shit, That Was An Awesome Comeback

Young Avs Can Light The Lamp

I know newcomer Greg Mauldin didn't score a goal in this game, but he did register his first career assist and deserves some love. A national TV audience surely ignored the MNF game and was treated to a scoring barrage from the young Avs. While the Avs defense can certainly cause some major heart burn at times, thankfully, this team can also flat score goals no matter which line is on the ice. MJL (with a pair of goals), Stastny, Yipper, The Locker, and Porter (built-in hockey nick name) all score. Not exactly a star-laden cast. And while last year's rookie sensation, Duchey, continues to struggle to find the back of the net, his play is not unnoticed. He had a sweet assist on the Yip goal and even gooned it up a bit in the 3rd. Good to see.....I need to get to a game...is that Blogger's Suite becoming available soon?

Well, I didn't expect that....

I can only imagine Chiefs Zubaz guy didn't either.
A pretty straight up shellac-ing handed to KC today. A dormant Broncos offense awakens and (gasp) runs the ball with success and Orton and Tebow both in the TD pass mix. Not likely enough to jump-start or salvage the season if you ask me...but whatever, a rare "fun" day of football viewing.

I can only imagine the revelry enjoyed by Dahmer and TD at Mile High this afternoon. I guess I chose the wrong time to pass on the chance to attend a game. Can you blame someone for being gunshy to throwdown the ducats in the wake of the Raiders debacle?

Fast starts to games are key. Let it be known. Let's work toward that in the weeks to come and see if we can win a few more games this year.

My Rapids?

Love the fact last night's San Jose - Colorado game was for the Eastern Conference championship. I got Rapids fever......

Buh-Bye, Hawk.....

I know they don't get a lot of love around these parts, but as an alum, I feel I must acknowledge the passing of what turned out to be a shitty coaching tenure at CU. Hawk was a likeable dude (especially when compared to Barnett) who seemed to have a ton of potential to make the Buffs something worth paying attention to when he was hired. But, for whatever reason, it did not pan out. Blame the decision to bring in his son as a QB transfer, the recruiting restrictions, the chore of righting a ship gone totally wrong, the intramurals meltdown, etc. At the end of the day, the dude hardly won any games. And when it seemed like games were in the bag, KU scores 35 4th quarter points. Poof...you're done.........Good thing, because there's load of work to do before the move to the mighty PAC 10. Lots of talk about bringing back Mac. I say it's Eric Bieniemy time. The dude has pro credentials. Give him a shot....

Boods & the 4th Line

Well, the title of this post sounds like some shitty mid-70s pub rock band, but I assure you if you saw them this evening they were anything but shitty. A 5 - zip shellacking administered to the Stars. Who are these Avs?? Porter? Dupuis? The guy with the Dutch name?

Old Raycroft actually stood fairly tall at the end of the game...the Avs were still peppering him, it was 5-0 and he hadn't been pulled. Pretty solid play to end a game where he really stood no chance, if I may be so bold (thank you aggressive Avalanche offense). Kind of liked the guy when he was on the Avs, not a ton. But admittedly I preferred him over Budaj.
Duchene gets a couple assists, Hejduk with a tally, Stewie doesn't even need to muster a point - (honestly, his skill is nuts. just watch) and Budaj gets a shutout against a team that has just been straight-up offensive as of late. Makes for some rather entertaining Saturday night hockey. Pretty sure that was the most shots the Avs have thrown at the opposing goal this year. It looked good. A fairly diametric opposite of that shit-ass Canucks game the other night where they looked sluggish and uninspired. Build on it.
Don't forget the Nugs....they completed the Dallas shutdown tonight. Had to come from behind to do it too.