Breaking Bad Hockey

After three days off, I was really looking forward to watching some Avs hockey tonight. That didn't last too long. Although they came out with some pretty strong energy in the first few minutes, that quickly turned into sloppy turnovers and easy goals for the Ducks. Now is not the time to drop consecutive games (if you can remember all the way back to Wed's loss to Calgary) when seemingly every other team in the Western Conference playoff race never loses. Combining this latest Avs loss with a Nuggets home loss to Milwaukee last night, and some rare DU hockey ineptitude, the last two nights makes for a pretty lousy Denver sports weekend (at least the Rockies 'tied' their Cactus League game this afternoon). Here's to America's favorite meth dealers and a good season premier of Breaking Bad.....

The weekend that was....

Nuggets overcome a horrendous night from J.R. Smith to win on Friday night.

Nuggets enjoy a fabulous night from J.R. Smith to win on Saturday night.

Avs play some inspired offense and some lackluster defense (think Andy was getting tired of shots on goal much during this game?) to get 2 points in Dallas.

And the Broncos trade for Brady Quinn (Bret Michaels was a throw-in on this deal). Weird. Got to think about that one for a bit.

avs getter done (sp?)

Dont have much time to blog these days with this whole dissertation bull-shit, but I did have the game on in the backgroundwhile I worked tongiht and from the sounds of it: a tip of the hat to Mr Paul Stasny. The groove post game shows sure could use more toothless intervews. I'm drinking. Anywho, it's good to hear Stasny is scoring goals; I'm not the one to complain about the lack of goals and the buildup of assists but I think it's good for Lasek surgery and 'merica... freedom.

And I'm sure Andy enjoys the W. as well. Great Job!

Unwar my buffs NIT hopes.

War 'Exploded Drawing'... that's right my friend.

Nuggets, Take Me Away (from the depressing shit that is the final minutes of an Avs game)

Ahhh. The healing relief that can be found in a Nuggets/T'Wolves game. So comforting. I think I might even have some candles burning softly in this freaking bubble bath shit up in here. So relaxing.

Very unlike the harsh comedown of last minute Avs choke-jobs. That's more like a prison shower.

J.R.'s spinning alley-oop dunk with about 5 minutes left was quite awesome. Should be on some sort of George Michael Sports Machine highlight reel I'd think.

The Hell Just Happened?

After a glorious first period that gave them a 3-0 lead, the Avs shit the bed in supreme fashion against NW Division rivals Vancouver at home. No one could stop Mikael Samuelsson in the 2nd period, as he registered a hat trick and got the Canucks back into the game despite more offensive fireworks from the likes of Duchene, Stewbag, and Mueller.

Totally brutal to lose such an important game, especially when it involves blowing two 3-goal leads. I've cringed while 'watching' the Canucks come back via the 'ticker' all season, but it sucks even more to feel the wrath first hand. It's pretty clear the Avs played scared after Samuelsson scored his second goal to make it 4-2 and Andy looked rather slow late in the game. Luongo, on the other hand, made some big saves in the last period after having a rough start. All you can say is they blew it. The Canucks are probably the better team, but this was a real shitty loss....when stacked alongside the recent losses to Detroit and Phoenix, this is the third bad loss in 8 days. Need to turn this around quickly, or falling out of the playoffs will be more of a concern than falling further out of first place in the NW.

And now I cry myself to sleep....

Stew-bag!

Mighty fine hat trick. Not something the Avs get too often....it's been several years I think since the Avs last had a player get one.
Nice to see the back-from-injury Hejduk get a goal as well. Magic hands indeed.
Still haven't fully recovered from that Coyotes game, but that worry-free romp was a nice start, and hopefully a good sign of things to come.

Well thanks. Thanks a lot....

Old Wojtek couldn't have scripted that any better.
Traded. Debut with new team comes against old team. Nets game winner with 22 seconds left. Shits pants.
Unbelievable. I turned off my TV. Closed my eyes. Rolled over and cried myself to sleep.

Boom, Outta Here...

Not a real big fan of this move. Wolski is the Avs second leading scorer this season... They probably got no takers for Liles and still felt like making a trade? Lots of potential on both sides of the deal, let's hope all this talk of upside for Mueller and Porter is realized at some point sooner than later. We'll see... So long Super Wojtek.
And as YB trumpeted. Welcome back Yelle.

Hello Huskers

Why yes, I will bask in another Buffs victory over the Cornhuskers. Face Nebraska!.... again. A pretty dominating game despite a mid-game lull. An unexpected good game by Casey Crawford, who I am usually a bit critical of (but probably not at the same level as a Danny Ardoin). The dude was pretty money today though. Probably the biggest part of the win tonight is the end of that stupid Big 12 road losing streak. Nice to know that shit ain't carrying over to 2011.

One other note: After watching the game pretty much in its entirety, I can officially say that I'm sick of hearing the yammering of former NU Defensive Coordinator Charlie McBride (1989-1999?). The pud gets like 2 commercials per TV break to talk about how great Nebraska (and more specifically Nebraska football) is. I'll den the Lincoln Fox Sports feed.

Bring on the Dance!!!!
(the NIT dance)

Shuster? More Like Shitster....

Some fine choke artistry for the US Curling Team, largely thanks to 2006 bronze medalist John Shuster. His nonchalant attitude toward each mounting failure didn't help win many of us die hard curling fans over. I'm fairly certain DeathTruck will be replacing him on the US team in 2014.

Feel free to take some pot shots at this admittedly weak post, Mr. Anonymous.....

Olympic Break Breakdown

No NHL games for 2 weeks...bummer. However, I am getting pretty geeked to watch some of the Olympic hockey, assuming NBC shows it. Despite a totally forgettable loss in LA last night, the Avs do head into the break having won 4 of 5 and will get to rest the majority of their players. While it sucks Andy didn't get selected to the US team, it's probably better for the Avs that he sits for 2 weeks, especially considering his workload thus far this season. And with Vancouver losing this afternoon to the Wild, Avs players can kick back knowing they share the lead in the NW Division. I think most people would have taken that before the season began. Much props to Sacco for the job he's done to this point.....

At Long Last.....

Sorry for the delayed post, but the entire KTH family needed some time to sleep off the large quantities of complimentary beers consumed at the game last night. I'm going to guess that KTH staff can account for 95% of the Miller Lite, Corona, Coors Light, Heineken, and Fat Tire provided in the Blogger's Suite. And that was before the Ancient Age was flowing like the River Nile back at Sonic Tooth's house.

A big THANK YOU to Meghan for hooking us up with what was a truly fun evening of fancy living and great hockey viewing. Duchene, what can you say?!? Dude continues to step it up. Andy has another ho hum brilliant night, and Yip was buzzing around the net most of the game. Big win against a team that is going to be playing some post season hockey. Another test tonight out in LA before the long Winter Olympics hibernation.

Don't call it a comeback....oh, you're right...do call it a comeback.

I was about ready to write this game off. The Avs going up against a team that just traded their best player...a true franchise player. Then the home team goes down early, and looks sluggish in the 2nd.
Ah, yes. The Avs wait until the 3rd period to bring this game back from the brink. Took two goals just to tie things up. Stew-bag. Durno.
OT? I barely had a chance to take a sip of my glass of wine before Cumiskey ends this thing, and secures 2 points. 9 seconds? That's quick work Kyle.

Great Views of an Avs Game / Lauren Game Shows

This is pretty late, but I did want to contribute this jumbotron pic of Lauren doing that damn Price is Right game (it's no Card Sharks rip off) during last night's Avs 5-2 beat down of the Blooze. 30Pack Thief with a last-minute extra ticket in what can be described as the best seats possible in the 3rd level: Row 1, Exact Center Ice. One drawback of Row 1 is that they put the cup holders on the arm rests, making it impossible to leap out of your seat to celebrate another Yip goal without doing a little hip shake. I was able to deal with it with my slender figure.

And yes, Yip fever is spreading like the plague.

WHO DAT?!?!

That's right, my friend...Puppy Bowl VI.....

Face Mercyhurst!!

Ah yeah, this is turning into a college sports blog. No need to mention the Nuggets big win over the Lake Show last night. SonicTooth and I had bigger fish to fry as the DU Pios were hosting the Mercyherst something or other (didn't catch what their mascot is). Anyhoo, these two clowns were drunk on the Light Rail home and open to having their picture taken. They were nice enough chaps, but I can't imagine how insufferable Mercyhurst fans would be if they actually won the game (KU fan comparisons?)....with DT heading back to the dry Coors Events Center, I expect another installment on this college blog soon after my Buffs upset Mizzou....

As a state, Kansas sucks.

The Buffs should have won.
The game was pretty fun though.
I hate Kansas fans.

Big 12 basketball is fixed

Yip Fever

The fever could apply to a number of Avs youngsters, but Yip Fever sounds better than O'Reiley Fever (2 shortys during a 4 min PK) or Galiardi Fever (4 points, including two assists on aforementioned shortys). Plus, Yippers just exudes hockey attitude in this picture. With all the production from the kids on this team, you gotta wonder what they would be like if they had some consistent scoring from the vets (I'm looking at you Stastny and Wolski). It will be nice when the Duke returns....A much-needed win for this team to stop a 3-game skid combined with a rare Vancouver loss makes for a pretty nice little night of hockey.....

Can teams.......

Sammy's got something to say. He didn't like any of the games today.

Nugs...probably due for a bad game at some point. Mission accomplished.

Avs...well, this was a pretty harsh 2 game run that didn't produce a single point.
Last night, Andy plays fairly spotless and then has to lose late 1-0. (a great 3rd period to watch regardless of the outcome. Tons of action)
Tonight. Not good. Modano? Losing streaks are the bane of "Cinderella seasons" and we've got one going on both fronts. I might have preferred a blowout loss in either of these games. The inability to come back fully tonight, and the late loss last night is rather crushing. Who's feeling resilient? Who likes the Misfits?