SB Nation User Blog: InYoFace

Good Terry Frei blog post on attendance

InYoFace — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 23:05:44 -0000

Good Terry Frei blog post on attendance

And for all the insulting "Denver is not a hockey town" nonsense....

"For the record, the Avalanche was 26th in the 30-team league through Thursday’s games, averaging 14,144. The Nuggets were 19th out of 30, averaging 17,061. And gee, given that the Nuggets went to the conference finals last season and aren’t any higher than that, this must not really be a basketball town, right?"

Rapid Reactions to Game 4

InYoFace — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 03:30:09 -0000

Avs lose a hard fought game in the shootout 4-3.

1. Defense.

This team is gradually improving on D. Far fewer shots allowed in this game. Also, Foote and Liles were no longer turnover machines this game. But Clark...

2. Brett Clark

Awful game. I know Hopfenkopf predicted you would cause X number of shorthanded goals this year doesn't mean you have to live up to that prediction. Those kind of mistakes are excusable from the rookies because, well, they're rookies. You should not be making those mistakes. Between you and Salei, the Avs lack a 6th D-man. Pressing maybe?

3. Matt Duchene

I am itching for that first goal. So are you I bet. You need some linemates, badly.

4. 3rd and 4th lines

Bottom two lines were very good tonight. Darcy Tucker? What the hell man? This is the energy guy I thought we were getting last year. O'Reilly? Killer game. Great play on the 5 on 3. The Avs need more games like this from their bottom lines. Now only if they had a true 2nd line.

5. The Shootout

I was wondering how Anderson would do in the shootout. After a shaky beginning, he seemed to correct himself and gave the Avs a chance to win. On the shooting side, some strange shooters after Stastny at 5th. Tucker was a good call since he scored but Stewart? Hendricks? Sacco, you have them on the 4th line. What about Galiardi? Or a D-man like Liles or Quincey. This is mostly water under (over?) the bridge since shootouts rarely go this many rounds but this is atleast an insight to your coaching decisions.

6. Officiating

Many bad calls and non-calls. Not to mention, Kopecy harrassing Anderson all night. Bad night for calls.

InYoFace Rapid Reactions to Game 1

InYoFace — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 04:58:05 -0000

Great win to start the season. I am pumped.

1. Joe Sakic Ceremony.

Well done. I thought it was very classy and deserving of such a great player and person. This organization has been ridiculed and mocked a lot the last two seasons but they did this right. I especally like one thing...

2. Sakic enshrinement in the dressing room.

Have other teams done this? I love this even though very few fans will ever see it in person. This is a permanent reminder to the team of the legacy they follow. An added bit of motivation is never bad.

3. This team came out to play

They look much better prepared to play this season than last. The Sharks were outplayed all game. Even in the 3rd period during that 5 on 3 (that Versus did a great job reporting on by the way. Still don't know what that second penalty was). The Sharks only scared me off of reputation alone. It never felt like the Avs were going to lose.

4. Duchene

Credited with an assist on Liles goal, he should have had more. Man is he fast. And as a rookie, he had great hockey sense. He never seemed to me like he was thinking too much out there. Just playing on instinct. When he screened Nabby on Liles goal, and made several breakaway attempts, we have a very, very special player and I look forward to seeing everything he can do.

5. Anderson and Defense

As noted in the game thread, Anderson seemed to go down a lot. Which isn't so bad except that he seemed a little slow on his recovery. I can see this being fixed though. Plus, if it works for Tim Thomas....

6. The Sharks looked frustrated

This is the most important point. If the Avs can play like this every game (I am not expecting 5 goals each game) then they are going to be in every game. Even in the games they lose, if the other team walks into the locker room thinking, "That game was much harder than it should have been," the Avs will be in good shape.

DirecTV and Versus. What to do on opening night

InYoFace — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 02:25:32 -0000

Come October 1st, Avs fans with DirecTV may not be able to see the opening night game. (Luckily, the Sakic ceremony will be on Altitude.....I think. It may just be a pre-game thing with the actual raising of #19 to the rafters occurring on Versus). I have Comcast so I am not worried but I feel for everybody else including DDC.

So here is a run down of your options.

Go to a friends house with Comcast/dish.

pros: 1. Cheap. You may have to supply drinks and pay to order a pizza, but it is cheaper than going to the bar (unless you go alone in which case I feel bad for you). It is also pretty casual depending on how well you know this friend. And if you REALLY know them, it could be REALLY casual.

2. Good company. You have someone to watch the game with. Also, if your hardcore and need to punch a wall if the Avs are down 6-0, it's not your wall you need to repair.

3. You have a place to crash if you drink too much. That's a given.

cons: 1. Friend may not like hockey. You may have to pull an "I owe you one dude" but a true friend should still let you watch. They can get back to watching Desperate Housewives later, this is too important.

2. Weird house rules. Say they have small children sleeping down the hall. How do you think they will feel if you scream F*** YEAH ANDERSON after a great save?

3. The Bail Factor. Everybody bails at times. Say its an hour before the game and your getting ready to go to your friends house early to watch the Sakic Ceremony and you get the call, "Sorry dude but my parents are in town and I forgot. You can't come over unless you want to join in on some Monopoly." Is there anything more frustrating? You spend the rest of the night either trying to find a sports bar or wondering if you can buy a gun without a background check.

RATING: 9.5 out of 10 for Colorado residents. Your friend is probably an Avs fan.

8.0 out of 10 out of state. They are your friend and should help out.

Sports Bar

pros: 1. They cater to you. They want you to come in and watch the out of state game that you can't see otherwise. Also, you may get some happy hour deals if you find the right place. They also don't judge too harshly on the amount of hot wing sauce on your face.

2. Easy to get friends who don't like hockey to come too. At least there they can drink until they stop asking you what icing is.

3. Make new friends. You may meet another Avs fan! Too bad they disagree with you about everything else. Ignore politics, religion, science, what celebrities you think are hot and stick to sports (Unless they are a Raiders, Lakers, Cowboys, Yankees, Red Sox or Patriots fan of the other sports) Luckily no Pats fans run this blog.............

cons: 1. Competition for TV's. This actually happened to me once. My girlfriend and myself was looking for food downtown one night while the Avs game was coming on. Decided to head into a sports bar only to find about 50 Ohio State fans there taking up almost every TV in the place to watch their thrilling 65-3 game against Montana Christian University or some other stupid cupcake team to inflate their regular season record. I don't even watch college football and I hate Ohio State because of this.

2. Clientele. Similar to point 1 but this includes the drunk guy pissing on your leg.

3. The bar may have DirecTV. The bar may not carry the Avs game forcing to find another one. As a veteran of the restaurant industry, I know most places either have DirecTV or Dish. Very few have Comcast, if any. Hope they have Dish

RATING: 7.0 out of 10 in Colorado. Not too much competition on a Thursday night

3.0 out of 10 out of Colorado. Enough competition for them. Stupid college football game versus two colleges I have never heard of.

Stream it online

pros: 1. Comfort of your own home. Like to watch hockey in your underwear? No problem here. Plus you can get drunk and not have to pay for a cab.

2. Significant other can watch something else while you watch hockey. That is if they don't like hockey themselves and if they don't, why dude why?

3. Cheap. Unless you like to drink champagne on opening night. Which is weird and cool at the same time.

cons: 1. Quality may be poor. mmmmm pixelated hockey.

2. Small screen (unless your hook it up to your TV).

3. You have a crappy computer or slow internet. Kind of like my computer where any MHH game thread this season over 200 comments is going to be impossible to manage on this POS.

RATING: 10 out of 10 with a good computer. Better than nothing

2 out of 10 with a poor computer. Go to the bar.

Radio

pros: 1. Better than nothing.

2. uhhhhh.......Damn this medium is outdated.

3. NHL.com. The site plays the radio feed. You would think, if the dispute is still going, they may even have video for a special event such as Joe Sakic night. For everything NHL.com has done right, there are a hundred other things they could do.

cons: 1. No video

2. Repeat #1 over and over.

RATING: 1 out of 10 in all cases. Only if you have no other option

Come to MY HOUSE

pros: 1. I have Comcast and a pretty nice TV. No HD set-up (yet) but its still better than my poor friends.

2. I provide free beer. Food? Maybe. But beer is a given.

3. I am a charming, charismatic individual who you will wish you met years ago so that we could reminisce about old adventures.

cons: 1. I may be drunk.

2. I may steal your wallet

3. I may make you stay much longer than you wanted by forcing you to listen to the entire Foghat catalog.

RATING: 10 out of 10. Because what is best in life? "To crush your enemies, see them driven before you and to hear the lamentation of their women".

Hedman may fall to third?

InYoFace — Fri, 29 May 2009 03:49:16 -0000

Hedman may fall to third?

Speculation from Dater's blog that Tampa wants to trade one of their stars to a team that wants Duchene.

NOW Granato does it....Arnason scratched

InYoFace — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 23:48:25 -0000

NOW Granato does it....Arnason scratched

From the article, "Also, it appears likely veteran center Tyler Arnason will be a healthy scratch Saturday."

Peter Budaj is back in net. Cumiskey is out indefinitely.

Jones out indefinitely

InYoFace — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 23:22:34 -0000

Jones out indefinitely

Awesome.

Also, Stewart is sick. McCormick has been activated though and should play against Toronto. Raycroft in net.

Raycroft gets start vs. Coyotes

InYoFace — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 23:47:12 -0000

Raycroft gets start vs. Coyotes

No hating in this article. Written by Terry Frei.

Canucks get Sundin

InYoFace — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 00:01:31 -0000

Canucks get Sundin

Because there isn't enough former Leafs in the division

Divisional Opponent Watch: Gaborik placed on IR

InYoFace — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 05:28:47 -0000

Divisional Opponent Watch: Gaborik placed on IR

Marian Gaborik continues to replace Forsberg as the most fragile player in the NHL. His chances at re-signing with the Wild must have taken a hit with his move to IR. If his injuries continue, you can bet on Gaborik being traded by the deadline.