SB Nation User Blog: ahtrap

Buster Olney really on a Alcides Escobar kick

ahtrap — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 07:09:11 -0000

Buster Olney really on a Alcides Escobar kick

Two days in a row, Olney mentions Escobar, this time in an account of taking his 5 year old to the youngster's first game, and the great impression the shortstop made on the kid just a few plays into the game.

Is Caleb Campbell the next Herschel Walker?

ahtrap — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:35:59 -0000

Is Caleb Campbell the next Herschel Walker?

Former Lions 7th round pick taking a shot at bobsledding. Says he's not giving up his NFL dream yet, though. Good luck to him....gotta say, though, I hope he doesn't qualify for the Olympics, only to have the Army say he can't compete at the last second....

What a year it's been for Pensburgh...on so many levels....

ahtrap — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 18:53:50 -0000

Thinking back to "happier" times for myself, I went looking for the game thread from last year's SCF clinching game.

The Link posted here is to the Pensburgh game thread for last year's Stanley Cup clincher, June 4, 2008, the night the Red Wings won their 11th Stanley Cup, and, given the events of last Friday night, a lifetime, and then some away, now.

I'm sharing the link for a couple of reasons. Not only am I trying alleviate the hockey depression that's befallen me the past week (beyond checking out a few highlights, peeking at a couple of SBN blogs, and reading some of your fanposts, haven't really paid attention much to the post series goings on, as might be expected), but also, to highlight the incredible growth of Pensburgh over the past 12 months. If you look at that game thread, you'll see approximately 8 posters, including D.O. from Die by the Blade (Sabres), Mike @ MHH (Avalanche), Rangers fan cityhockeyfever, Seattle football guy SSReporters, and three Red Wings fans. Outside of a first minute cameo from a "Rather Dashing", Frank was the only primarily Pens fan in the building.

We got to 335 comments on the night, not a bad number for the number of people we had, and it was a lively enough, and above all polite time, which was part of the reason I came back and stuck around all this year....but the point I'm really trying to make here is perhaps best seen by taking a look at the game thread of game 7 of this year's SCF, or, really, for any of the game threads all along during the playoffs, where this Pittsburgh Penguins blog was amply represented by Pittsburgh Penguin fans.

It's more than slightly ironic that, as a Red Wings fan foremost, I can still say, in a crotchety old man's voice, that "I was here when...." Bottom line, though, having been witness to the growth of this website over the past year, here's a hearty congrats to Frank, and Hooks and JD and Lavender, and to all the rest of you crazy Pens fans....

It wasn't Hossa that was the Phantom Menace...

ahtrap — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 20:01:56 -0000

It wasn't Hossa that was the Phantom Menace...

Though, I still say Mario has some incriminating pictures somewhere....but, no, the real ticking time bomb the Pens planted in the Red Wings dressing room was none other than...(insert dramatic music here)....THE CURSE OF TY CONKLIN!

congrats, y'all

ahtrap — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 07:38:46 -0000

I'm wasted, devastated, and all sorts of out of sorts, so, there may be things in here that I regret in the morning, but so be it....but your team got the job done and they are the kings of the hockey world this night, and for that, congratulations. Enjoy it...and enjoy the oversized targets that just got drawn on the back of those black and champagne (seriously, what color is that tan-ish stuff, anyway, officially?)

So now begins the season of your content, my discontent, as the Red Wings try to figure out what the hell went wrong, and where they could have scraped up just one stinking goal in either of the last two games to give them an overtime shot. As most of you seem to recognize in the game thread and in the overflow, this was a series that really was fought right down to the wire, could have gone either way, yadda yadda, fricking icing on the first goal, blah blah blah, but it didn't. It ended with the Pens returning the favor that the Red Wings gave your home crowd last year, skating the Cup on our ice, and if your reports are to be trusted, the Red Wings faithful returned the same favor your fans gave the Wings last year. As, frankly, should be expected, it's a full on rivalry now, and if only the NHL allowed for more than a couple of games a year to keep that rolling.

Your content, though, won't be entirely painless, as you get to decide which of the complementary pieces to keep, which ones to overpay to retain, etc., how to deal with Hossa when he tries to sign for "the best shot at the cup" (I still say you paid the dude off, maybe Mario made him an offer he couldn't refuse?).

The Red Wings will be back, for another couple of years, at least, before age and the salary cap catch up to the big red machine. The Pens, you'd think, aren't going anywhere in the short term. Maybe we'll do this again next year. Maybe we'll both be knocked out by some upstart in the first round, and learn how San Jose Sharks fans feel. Who knows?

But, for now, put all that shit aside, put all your misplaced hatred of the city of Detroit and its people aside, forget what you think about the Red Wings as a team, and revel in this fact:

You wanted the best, you got the best....and now you are the best.

laugh it up, fuzzballs....

CROSBY SUCKS! CROSBY SUCKS!

ahtrap — Fri, 29 May 2009 18:01:12 -0000

You know, I started scribbling this post on like three different occasions, was gonna make a total joke out of it, like, “This is me shifting into enemy mode!” and all that, complete with nicknames (Fedestink-o!), and eventually ended up canning the idea in favor of, well, whatever the rest of this post becomes.

And it isn’t because of any respect for you guys, cuz how much respect can you have for a bunch of militant pengweeners (cookie for whoever gets the reference)…actually, it’s all about that, I do appreciate your letting me hang around Frank, both in the first place as a hostile, and then over the course of the season, and your thoughts, along with those of Hooks and JDunman (send out an APB!), and the rest of the clowns populating this site became a must read daily stop for me.

Frankly, start or middle of this season, I, nor most of you, saw this rematch coming. When the Pens traded for Guerin, I started calling him third round immediately, because I figured he’dhelp get you past the first round, NO MATTER WHO YOU PLAYED, and I figured that the Pens had a ceiling of the ECF. I also was scared of Cam Ward and Carolina going into the playoffs, and, well, you saw how that turned out.

So, what I’m about to predict might just be homeristic blowhardiness. There’s always some of that on both sides of the equation. But then again, I hope I’ve proven not-clueless enough for this analysis to merit a nanosecond of actual thought, and not just a knee jerk “but what about this, you’re WRONG!’ reaction.

Bettman’s baby boy Cindy ain’t gonna win a cup this year!

(Umm…err..woops, that’s the frenemy post I wanted to scribble coming out again….let’s try that again…)

There’s been a lot of focus on how much the Pens have improved, and whether that will be enough to overcome the perceived talent advantage of the Red Wings. Some Pens fans say (using a BS strawman frame, which I usually hate, so I’m calling myself out on it), sure, we lost Hossa, BUT THAT JUST MEANS OUR WHOLE TEAM WILL BE GUNNING FOR HIM! WOOOO! Except, as Malsby points out in his excellent frontpaged post, a significant portion of the current Pens weren’t there last year. For those who were, maybe they get the idea that when you rent a player, there’s a chance that player will walk, witness the Milwaukee Brewers and CC Sabathia last year. Perhaps, in comparison to that situation, there are players in that locker room who don’t look askance at a guy foregoing the biggest money (Sabathia going to the Yankees) to take a shot where he thinks he’s got the best chance for a Cup.

Put it this way, I’m of the opinion that the Pens vs Hossa hype is overblown, and while each would love the chance to show that the other is wrong, it’s a side issue to the circus that is the SCF.

If the Pens are gonna win, Detroit injuries will play a role. Last year, Detroit cruised to an easy victory (the Pens taking it to the 6th game notwithstanding) in large part because Sid was hurt and Geno hit the wall. This year, it’s the Pens that are largely intact, with Gonchar’s knee perhaps equal to Franzen’s concussion issue from last year, and it’s Detroit that are the walking wounded going into the Finals. I mean, at this point, who know what a “lower body injury” means? Did Lidstrom take a puck to the groin at any point of the ECF game 3? But not knowing how well Lidstrom or Datsyuk are going to play…or not being able to count on their usual, high level performances, anyway, should give every Red Wings fan pause.

More than that, however, the Pens hopes will rise because they’ve been here before, and they’ve seen close at hand what it takes to win the Stanley Cup. Last year, it was being done to them, and Pens fans have to hope that they take those lessons learned, and use them against the teachers from last year. Add to that the change in guiding philosophies, from Therrien’s tighter styles, to Bylsma’s more aggressive, more attacking hockey, which better fits the personnel the Pens have, including the 2 stars, and the Pens overall product at this point of the playoffs is better than what they had going into the SCF last year. I’d even argue the product is significantly improved, for reasons pointed out in other posts on this site.

The question, then, as everyone seems to acknowledge, is whether it’s enough to overcome the Red Wings, still the acknowledged masters. As are the Pens more experienced, so too are the Red Wings. And I’m not talking about the old goats, the Lidstroms or the Drapers of the world. I’m not even talking about the middle aged (for hockey) stars and superstars, the likes of Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Holmstrom, but rather the depth of the Red Wings, the still in their 20s types like Filpula and Stuart (actually, I just realized I have no idea what age Brad Stuart is) and the gang, including Darren Helm who put on an absolute clinic on the penalty kill against the Hawks on Wednesday before burying the WCF winning goals. This is a kid who has ZERO regular season goals, and now 5 career playoff goals. He’s not on your radars, and yet, he’s going to be an important part of the equation over the next week and change. The time he gets on the ice will necessary fall if Draper and Datsyuk come back healthy, but when he’s out there, Helm is a speed demon and an enthusiastic, if not particularly huge hitter, and as shown Wednesday, he can light the lamp, too. When one of you guys cite Satan as a reason the Pens can win, I mentally cancel him out with Darren Helm.

I go on at length about Helm because he’s a perfect example of the still unparalleled depth the Wings bring to this party, another facet of which becomes clear when you consider that in the WCF, Dan Cleary was the leading goal scorer for the Red Wings. In the course of a year, this guy has gone from a pretty decent trivia answer (First guy from Newfoundland to get his name on the Cup) to a player who’s contributing big goals at opportune times. This binge in the WCF actually started at the end of the Anaheim series, when he was credited/did the dirty work (no matter what you think of the goal (shoulda been waived, but I’ll take it! Especially after the Hossa non goal stolen (by Brad Watson blowing the whistle) earlier in the series) do I have enough parentheses in this sentence? No? How about one more!) to score the series clincher against the Ducks.

I definitely agree with whoever it was on this site that posited that the series will ultimately come down to the winner between the Pens aggression game vs the Wings possession game. But there are enough peripheral pieces in the Wings arsenal to disturb that neat little formula, enough so that I think we might be in for a repeat performance of last year’s end result. I foresee the Red Wings, much to your chagrin, once again parading around the ice at Mellon Arena, holding aloft Lord Stanley’s Cup, having finished the Pens in 6 games.

This is thoroughly a guess, but I see the Pens taking game 1, the Red Wings striking back in games 2 and 3, Pens evening things out at Mellon in 4, before the Red Wings taking care of business at home for game 5, and finishing the season in Pittsburgh. Since this is precisely how I predicted the WCF to go, pardon me for hoping a similar series takes place in the SCF….

All that said, I’ve been able to argue for a Wings win in 7, or a Pens win in 7, too. Frankly, I’ve been able to convince myself that the Pens could win in 6, but as we’ve seen so far these playoffs, the Pens don’t seem to have that home ice closeout in them this year, so if Pittsburgh is going to win, it’ll be in 5 or 7 at JLA. Since I haven’t been able to convince myself of the 5 game scenario, either way, if the Pens win, it’ll have to be a game 7….

Have at it, droogies.

please allow me to introduce myself

ahtrap — Fri, 22 May 2009 19:12:06 -0000

I'm not a man of wealth, and taste, well, that's subjective...

not that most of you will care....but if the Canes were to overcome the militant pengweeners and face the Red Wings in SCF, I might hang out for a couple of weeks, so I thought I might say hello....

I've been keeping an eye on Canes country for a couple of weeks, and finally dipped a toe into commenting on yesterday's game thread. I'm pretty sure I tipped my hand as far as where my rooting interests lay, a Red Wings fan foremost, and secondarily, rooting on your enemy for this round.

That said, I'm not one of those types coming in to stir stuff up, just to interact, and get a view from the other side. I think the fact that I commented through the first 2.5 periods without getting any grief from the other game thread denizens should back that assertion up.

Then again, there were a couple of comments late that made me think I should just lay out where I'm coming from...

If you're one of those blogs that can't abide folks who aren't drinking the same flavor kool-aid, let me know, I can certainly make a lot more noise.*

And just to bring things full circle from the subject line...I've got a bit of sympathy for the Devils for the way you guys came back from the brink, and not only tied the game, but immediately followed it up with the killshot...the link below is to a fanpost I threw on Pensburgh right after that game, comparing that devastation to this years NCAA Finals (Miami up 3-1 on BC in the final minute, BC scores twice and finishes it OT) and last year's SCF, where Detroit was 34.3 seconds away from the Cup only to see the Pens score, and then win in 3 OT. Would love to hear your thoughts on the subject...

http://www.pensburgh.com/2009/4/29/858894/34-3-and-3ot-or-old-fashioned

*(Note to Cory and Bubba, and all sane Caniacs, that's a joke! looking forward to interacting with you guys....)

Wings fan, comin' a trollin'!

ahtrap — Fri, 15 May 2009 06:37:01 -0000

Actually, I'm kidding. While I am a fan of the team that has suddenly become the enemy for you guys, I hope you'll let me stick around, and not Scum me to death too much. Ask the folks over at Pensburgh, I'm not too bad a guy....they let me stick around all year, even after the Wings beat their guys while I was hanging out on their board during last year's SCF.

I scribbled the following as a response to the Ric Flair thread, but it got long enough, and I think useful enough as a conversation starter to merit a fanpost. Hope you'll agree....

Some of the references are to that thread, but I didn't go back and edit...as it's 1:45 AM, I hope you'll forgive me).

If it helps, (if someone tells me how to post a pic from my own computer) I can post a slightly fuzzy pic of Adam Burish from the night he led Wisconsin to the NCAA title as a pre-peace offering....

That said, take a look at what I'm thinking about this year's WCF series, and let me know where you think I'm a moron, or where you might even (*GASP!*) agree with me.

Wings fan, secondarily a Pens fan from hanging out at Pensburgh since last year's SCF and throughout this season, thinking both those teams will win their respective series' in 6 games.

The fact that I think the Wings will win scares me, since pessimism has served me very well over the past three years. The only time I thought the Wings would have an easy time of it was the 07 WCF, and the Ducks took us down that year.

So at least I can take small comfort in the thought that I don't think this will be an easy series by any stretch.

Lest you think I'm trolling (which some of ya will think regardless), here's my rationale: it starts with experience, with the Red Wings knowing how to win, and the Hawks being maybe a year or two away from having that same...foundation...not sure if that's the word I'm looking for. Your kids, and I say that fondly, because I'm up in Madison, WI, and the Blackhawks are the only team I can hear on over the air radio, grew up a lot in that first round series, and definitely impressed with the way they took out the Canucks, but you haven't had that bitter growing, learning experience yet that a lot of championship teams go through before rising to the top. Think of Jordan's Bulls coming up short against the experienced Bad Boys, taking their lumps in 89 and 90, before learning what it takes, and ruling the rest of the 90s. There might be an analogous succession in place going on here, with the same two cities involved (though I don't see any NHL team ever taking 6 out of 8 titles any more, too much parity, too much pressure on the shoulders of a single man, the goalie).

The second factor is that while the Wings are facing a much better rounded offensive team in the Hawks than they saw in the Ducks, the Hawks, while big, and capable of physicality, do not hit as much as the Ducks. Even as the Wings face better offensive pressure, so too will the Blackhawks. Calgary and Vancouver score 3.06 and 2.92 goals a game during the regular season...Detroit scored 3.52.

The stats from the site below can be used to show that the Blackhawks also score more than the Ducks (~3.2-2.9 as I posted above somewhere), and that the Hawks have a better goals against than Detroit....but as Chrome said (in the Ric Flair thread), nobody's expecting this series to feature a ton of 2-1 games. It's gonna be all about offense, and Detroit's scoring machine is second to none in the NHL.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/teamstats.htm?fetchKey=20092ALLAAAAll&sort=avgGoalsPerGame&viewName=summary

The third leg of my argument comes, and I'm serious here, in the form of Chris Osgood. The man has won two cups as a #1 goaltender, and I believe would have won a third if Scotty Bowman had enough trust in him to start the playoffs in 1997. You compile all his stats together, and they're pretty much Hall of Fame numbers. And yet, he gets ripped, not only by opposing fans, but by Wings fans, too. You can say that he's not an elite goalie, and the GA stats might back you up, but he's a gamer, and more than that, he's a playoff performer with a proven track record. We Wings fans have gone through hell with this guy, starting with the 94 playoff series against the Sharks, where he throws a puck up the boards, right to Jamie Baker who makes no mistake in breaking our hearts...but he's also taken us to the heights of Mt. Stanley in 1998, as well as 2008. I'm perfectly happy to put our hopes on his shoulders yet again.

What gives me pause in this series is the Hawks offensive capabilities: it's not just that you guys can score, but that you can play a game that can match the Wings' own style. There's enough skill on the Hawks, lines 1-4, to keep up with the Red Wings offensively.

The fact that your team is younger, and far better rested (and less bruised up for not having to play the Ducks) is also a cause for concern, and I wouldn't be entirely surprised to see Chicago steal one of the first two games at the Joe (I'm thinking the Hawks steal game 1).

A third factor that will not get mentioned by the Versus types: Chicago really gets into their series, really generates hatred for the opponent...Detroit's a more cerebral type team, but the Hawks dragged the Flames into playing their mind games, and it's possible they can do the same to the Wings, to some degree.

Khabibulin also worries me to some degree....but....this isn't 2004. The fact that Vancouver lit him up for about 18 goals in a 6 game series
makes him less scary than he might have been, or was 3-5 years ago.

In the end, this is what it's going to come down to: as physical as the Hawks can be, they don't hit as much as the Ducks, and the don't play as dirty as Anaheim. The Red Wings have withstood that barrage, and survived, and I think the Red Wings will find more room to roam than they did against Anaheim, and they will make Chicago pay for it. I'm of the opinion that that will ultimately count for more than the youthful exuberance, and fresher legs of the Blackhawks, and allow the Red Wings to take the series in 6.

From the Red Wings perspective, I think it will go LWWLWW for the 4-2 final tally.

Would love to hear your opinion on this analysis.

Manny being Manny...on PEDs?

ahtrap — Thu, 07 May 2009 16:06:59 -0000

Manny being Manny...on PEDs?

Oh, Manny, say it isn't so....I'm saddened that this goofball persona is getting hit with the drug thing...for all his foibles (at least partly attributable to the Red Sox' attitude), he's still an offensive force, and this cheapens his abilities and accomplishments.

34.3 and 3OT? Or old fashioned Jersey whacking?

ahtrap — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:18:42 -0000

Over the past year, there have been some absolutely horrific, heart rending losses (or wins, depending on who you were cheering for) in hockey, and I was just wondering how they might rank in your minds.

When you consider this question, lay aside your own personal rooting interests, and put yourself in the fanbase of the losing team, and judge which one hurts the most..

1) As a Red Wings fan, I died a little bit last year with game 5 of the SCF, when Phil Pritchard (sp?) had his white gloves on, the cup was ready to roll onto the ice at the Joe Louis Arena, less than a minute remained, and the crowd was deafening in anticipation of that finall buzzer, ready to unleash their joy to the rafters. And then Maxime Talbot tied the game with 34.3 second to go. And then we all lost a couple of years off our lives as we sweated our way through to the third OT, and Sykora sent you guys to bed happy with his game winner.

2) Just three weeks ago, Miami University had a 3-1 lead in the last minute of the NCAA Championship game. They had the heavily favored Boston Terriers on the ropes, scoring a knockout blow with 4 minute to go, to give them a cushion that should have led to the first national championship in ANY sport for the boys from Oxford, Ohio. Except...they gave up a goal with 59 seconds to go, to give Boston U a sliver of hope. And the Terriers grabbed it with all the tenacity their nickname suggests, and tied it up with a mere 17 seconds to go, now an eternity separating the Redhawks from that trophy. The game went into overtime, but the end result might as well have been mailed in, Solby Coehn took a shot, which hit the hip of a sliding forward trying to block it, and the puck tumbled end over end, over the shoulder of an oblivious goalie, and settled into the corner of the net. Game over, dream denied for Miami.

3) And last night....Game 7, Jersey had been hanging on to a one goal lead from midway through the second period, and their defense is solid (not that I got to see any of the game), and Brodeur is making that goal stand up....until with about a minute and change to go, the Canes break through that wall, and tie it up, and all of a sudden, it's time to buck up boys, yeah, sure they scored, when we thought we had it wrapped up, but dammit, we're pros, and this is it, overtime in the Stanley Cup Playoofs, and it doesn't get any better than that! WHOO! Except, of course, it never got there....Carolina potted another goal just a few seconds later, going from a 1 goal deficit with a minute and a half to go, to a stunning, incredible, OMFG victory, on the road, no less, and New Jersey went from dreams of seeing the White House (as tourists when the play the caps, and maybe as visitors with a cup in tow), to the ashes of the golf course in one unbelievable minute of hockey action.

Personally, I rank them 2, 3 and then 1. The Miami tragedy can't be touched, because it's kids, it's a college national championship, it's a two goal lead with a minute to play, and thereafter, they were dead men skating, waiting for the axe to fall. The Jersey whacking ranks second in my book because it was, after all, Game 7, their bags were metaphorically packed to go face the Caps, and all of a sudden, Carolina blew in and booked themselces a trip to Boston, leaving NJ crying at the train station. And the Red Wings, as excruciating as that was, personally, there's still a banner hanging at the Joe commemorating the outcome of the series. It was brutal when it happened, but the sight of Nick Lidstrom hoisting the Cup two days later took away a lot of the sting....

Curious to know what you guys think?

Poll

Most excruciating loss?

Red Wings 34.3 seconds away from a Cup, Game 5 2008 SCF

4 votes

Miami U, a minute away from NCAA Championship

8 votes

New Jersey, Game 7 final minute meltdown against Carolina

9 votes

21 votes | Poll has closed