Army of the Ohio

One day (but really three days) later ...

2011-10-26T13:07:00.002-05:00

Did I say I was going to make a more detailed and information filled entry "tomorrow"? I'm sorry, what I meant to say was "after I finished formatting and fixing my poor laptop before it had an absolute and total meltdown due to a myriad of issues." But hey, this is about par for the course from what I remember when I did keep this blog going, so whoever still checks this place probably isn't surprised, right?

In any event, let me just go over why I've suddenly found an interest in coming back here, and seeing if Army of the Ohio can't be resurrected from its grave. Let me also touch a bit on why AotO died off so suddenly and abruptly back at the start of the 2009 season as well.

First, the reason that this place went kaput at the blink of an eye. In retrospect it is sort of funny, how after spending goodness knows how long getting this nice, new, Civil War-esque layout, and even making an entry for the first game of the 2009-2010 NHL Season, to just up and drop everything.

To rattle off the primary reasons, the first one was that I was starting my last semester of college, and it was effectively around-the-clock crunch time to finish and graduate with my Bachelor's in Sport Management. I had been holding off on my more vexing classes until the final semester (curse you, math), so I had to spend all sorts of time on classwork, homework, studying, and so on and so forth.

The other reason? I got to admit, the blogscape was changing a lot. I chafed under the sudden realization that the people who were blogging on the Blue Jackets when I was were suddenly either slowing down a ton, or retiring from blogging. On top of that, new people were coming along that I really had no connection with, including a couple that seemed to have some actual in-roads and sources to the team. It may sound silly, but suddenly I felt like I was behind the times, and not able to catch up in terms of effectively blogging on the Blue Jackets.

So I bailed out and focused on college, and the following year focused on a variety of different work ventures in an attempt to find a stepping stone in to a career.

But truth be told, about a month or so ago after getting back from Japan (I was there for half a year to teach English), I realized that it was silly to give up on this blog. That, and I also realized it was silly that here I have a 4-year degree in Sport Management, and I haven't even been trying to put it to use, let alone look for a job that I could put it to use at.

So here I am, back blogging on the Blue Jackets and the NHL as a whole, while at the same time taking part in a Hockey General Manager and Scouting course via a group called Sports Management Worldwide, which is an 8-week course that starts in November, and is run by people both formerly and currently involved with hockey on the professional and minor league levels.

I figure that Army of the Ohio can give me an outlet for all the hockey I'll be watching once again, and even if the Blue Jackets are currently in the ruttiest of ruts that ever did rut (1-7-1, anyone?), it'll give me something to talk about. And maybe even analyze a bit more in-depth as I gain some better knowledge and experience on scouting from the SMWW course.

Will I try and keep things going at a constant, post-per-game clip? More than that? Less? I'm not really sure at the moment, to be honest. I'm mostly just going to play things by ear and see what happens, but I do plan to use this blog throughout the season.

With that said, I'll be going through the old blogroll links, seeing who is still active, who is not, and also try and find new blogs to add to it. Considering it has been about two years since that thing was updated, I am sure that there is a lot of change that needs to be done.

And that's about it for now! Hopefully this'll be a successful return to blogging on the Blue Jackets.

It's no Green Lantern Corp. mantra, but ...

2011-10-22T21:31:00.006-05:00

"In Fearful Day, in Raging Night
With Strong Hearts Full Our Souls ignite
When All Seems Lost in the War of Light
Look to the Stars...
For Hope Burns Bright!"

I picked the best time in the world to decide, "Gee, blogging sure was fun, and I seemed to find a good niche in it. Maybe I should come back!", right?

Anyway, now that that is out of the way, and I've probably confused whoever still tracks this blog by referring to the Blue Lantern Corp. mantra (on the other hand, their color being blue, and considering the state of things the Jackets are in, it is more fitting than the Green Lantern Corp. mantra ...), I will leave this blog to stagnate one more day before I come back with something a little more beefy and with content tomorrow.

Keep the flag high, folks.

P.S. Oh god, I've forgotten half of the quirks and methods and ways I used to make posts when it comes to font, layout, and use of shortcuts. Someone save me from myself!

Post-game #1: Blue Jackets vs. Wild

2009-10-03T20:43:00.004-05:00

Okay, first off, where the frak was my "Thanks, Jim Day"? Where was my "Thanks, Jim Day"!?

...

Now that I got that off my chest, since I waited for the expected Rusty Klesla interview during the post-game (it had to be either him or Steve Mason considering the stars of the night, and Klesla was the one with the GWG and a new contract in his pocket, let's do something of a break-down.

-Speaking of Klesla and contracts, he certainly showed everyone why he signed for just a little under $3 million a year for 4 years with that game winning goal, as well as sound defensive play. Oftentimes Klesla seems to be trotted out as a prime example of how being kept around at too young of an age can have a detrimental effect on a player's growth i n the NHL, and he certainly needed more time to mature as a result. But over time he has come around, and a prime example is his short but still strong play during last year's Stanley Cup Playoffs.

-I know John Michaels -- that is his name, right? -- is new to the whole Blue Jackets Live gig, but the interview with Klesla was awkward. If I listened right, he only seemed to ask one whole question. Now given, Klesla may have been in a rush to get back to the locker room, but I don't know. Dude seems a little green.

-Nikita Filatov: Not much time on the ice, huh? A whopping 9:18, actually. Only two other players had less time off of the bench, and they were Andrew Murray and Jared Boll. The result of that ill-placed penalty he received in the 3rd period that resulted in Minnesota's lone goal tonight? Possibly. TOI nosedived to 1:29 in said period. Nice opportunity early in the game on Niklas Backstrom, however ... the only problem is that he seemed to get just a little too fancy with the puck, and ended up losing it along the way.

-Ken Hitchcock refers to Raffi Torres's play as "weighty" as I type this with the post-game show on, and every person with a "Hitchionary" lets out an amused chuckle. But Torres was playing a pretty heavy game tonight.

-One offseason later, Steve Mason looks as steady as he did last season. To be honest, if I had to sum up his play tonight with just one word, I'd use "sound". He played the proper spots, seemed to have his head on a swivel at all times, and were it not for a nifty little move by Andrew Brunette during that Wild Power Play, it's feasible he could have kicked off this season with a shutout. But give credit to Brunette for making sure that did not happen.

-How about that power play, huh? The first 5-on-4 advantage in favor of the Blue Jackets was well enough and showed that the team has seemingly upgraded a smidgeon when it comes to moving the puck around and not shying away from tossing the puck in to traffic near the net, let alone shooting. On the other hand, the double minor opportunity that the Jackets had was just plain brutal. It's just one game in to the season, so let's hope that this doesn't become habit like last year.

-As for the penalty kill, nothing to complain about. Save for Brunette's goal in the 3rd period, it was steady, and also resulted in one shortie thanks to R.J. Umberger. That goal was definitely a thing of beauty.

And that's all I got for now. Cut me some slack, eh? This is my first post-game analysis in ... ::Checks.:: ... ...

... wait, still looking ... ::Flips through the archives.::

... ...

... okay, so it's been a long time! Stop looking at me like I'm some lazy sport blogger!

And we're live in 3 ... 2 ...

2009-09-30T17:53:00.003-05:00

Okay, well, when I said "layout", I really meant finally take care of the "Ipsum lorum" that had been in my sidebars for ages now, since I never had the inspiration or motivation to put everything back in that was lost during the original revamp near the turn of the year.

It's true, a lot of people read blogs via feeds or readers nowadays, so it's almost a pointless thing to fret over, especially when the majority of viewers don't see the blog's actual page. But nonetheless, it's a gripe of mine to not have something completely, totally, and absolutely finished before rolling it out.

Of course, I still need to find some other blogs for other teams. As you can see, I sort of tried to stick with just three blogs per team to begin with, but that was only because I wanted to get it out of the way. Thanks to Kukla's Korner for the oh-so-convenient blog roll he has that covers damn near every team, by the way! Though I admit, it does need a bit of updating to get rid of dead/defunct blogs.

... self excluded. ::Coughs. Coughs.:: Speaking of which, any help from any readers to better refine the blog roll would be much appreciated, since I'm sort of reacclimating myself to the hockey blog community and all.

So! What happened while I was away during the offseason?

•Manny Malhotra looked for just a little bit too much of a pay raise, and in the end did not come back to the Blue Jackets. But that didn't stop him from representing the team at the NHL Player's Association when they fired Paul Kelly at 3 am in the morning (he did vote against the firing, though, so good on him and best of luck in San Jose!).

•In lieu of bringing back one of the league's faceoff percentage leaders last season, the Jackets instead went with Sami Pahlsson for three years to round out the checking line.

•Rick Nash played hardball for about the extent of 24-48 hours before he came to an 8-year, $62.4 million agreement with the team, essentially making him the solid bedrock for this team until 2017. Or beyond!

•Although he was just recently sent back to his junior team, John Moore made sure that both Scott Howson and Ken Hitchcock gave the kid a good, hard look before doing so. I'm in the camp that believes that it wouldn't have hurt to keep Moore around for perhaps a few games in to the regular season to just get his feet wet on the big stage, but considering he was only drafted in this year's draft, there's plenty of time for him to get even better, and all but ensure he stays around next year.

•Pointless as it is, the Jackets went 4-3-1 over the pre-season. In the process Dan LaCosta showed why, as good of a story he was to come up and hold the fort down last season when Steve Mason went down with mono, he is not the backup goaltender to the Calder Trophy winner after the shellacking he received at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first exhibition game of the pre-season. We can only hope that Mathieu Garon is a capable backup.

•Nikita Filatov is hoping to make a splash during his rookie season, and if last year's hat trick is any indication (yes, it was just one game, but come on), he should do just fine. Meanwhile, Derrick Brassard will hopefully not get in to any more shenanigans that involve the dislocation of appendages, because as much depth as the team might have overall, the center position is still something of a fickle creature.

•Off the ice, Danny Gare and Jim Day were both rather unceremoniously ejected from their roles with the Blue Jackets organization, the former apparently just not liked by some, and the latter having too big of a mouth (see: too honest and not enough homer-est). What this says about Business Ops. is anyone's guess, but Gare had grown on me in his short time here, and I always liked Jim Day's unabashed perspective on how games went (and even if it is old hat, how can you feasibly chastize someone for bringing up the late Mr. McConnell when the Jackets clinched their first ever playoff berth? I mean, really? Really? Come on, now).

For now, that about wraps up some of the more key happenings since the last time I moseyed around here. With less things going on in my life right now -- thankfully -- and graduation looming for me at the end of the year, I sincerely hope to be more active this season. At the very least, I'll have some thoughts on the majority of games, hopefully insightful, but more than likely usually not!

It tastes like hockey!

2009-09-30T15:47:00.004-05:00

(Blogroll and sidebars under construction. Come hell or high water, I will finish this blog layout before puck drops on Saturday night for the Blue Jackets.)

We're almost back!

2009-08-11T00:57:00.002-05:00

Do I owe you any royalties, Skraut?

Trust me, what few people are still left and checking this lowly Blue Jackets' blog. Mike Turner will be back in the saddle this coming season. But first, to finally finish putting this damned blog together after getting that layout I kept looking for several months ago.

Podcast of the Ohio - Podcast #4.

2009-04-16T17:04:00.003-05:00

It's really been over a year and a half since I did one of these, huh?

But this is a very special day. And to be honest, I couldn't think of any better way, as a sport fan, hockey fan, or Blue Jackets fan, to express myself.

Like I said in the cast, I originally just planned to write, then read. But it didn't seem right. False, even. I just wanted to express things in the here and now, with an hour to go before the Jackets' first ever playoff game.

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

A little rambly, a little emotional, but still some thoughts on my heart and on my mind as the clock winds down.

Go Blue Jackets.

This is my rage face.

2009-04-13T19:59:00.002-05:00

We interrupt this lack of posting to bring you the following rage-inducing video:

My reaction, by the way, after watching this:

Not a hockey player, but I do know a thing or two about teeth.

2009-03-23T14:54:00.004-05:00

So, unfortunately, a little speed bump along the path towards regular posting occurred last week.

It's called wisdom teeth extraction.

Yep. That's all I got, folks. In the meantime, thanks to the couple o' people who posted references to blogs. I'll be working on the blogroll tonight.

(On a side note, know the worst part about the extraction? It's not my gums, or my mouth. It's my poor lips ... the oral surgeon literally ripped open where my upper and lower lips meet, and as a result, I've hardly been able to eat anything much lately, due to the lack of ability to open my mouth wide. Talk about your miserable few days, right?)

What's a blog without a blogroll, right?

2009-03-16T17:04:00.003-05:00

One of the harder things to deal with when getting back in to blogging after such a long period of time is re-creating a blogroll. And honestly, with the way that bloggers shift about even more than some hockey players do from site to site, or affiliate themselves with megablogs (which I'd never do ... no offense, or anything), it becomes very apparent that unless you have a pulse for what is going on and never take your fingers off said pulse, you lose track of things very quickly.

So whoever is out there that is actually peeking this way, with the occasional post or two coming once every few days now, I humbly request some assistance in finding blogs that I should put on here for linking purposes. I already have a good few in mind, but I'd like a day or two to hear from whoever sees this post, to see if there is anyone I should keep an eye on.

Oh, and apparently someone kidnapped the 2008-09 Blue Jackets and trotted out some cloned versions of the 06-07 version of the team yesterday afternoon during a 4-0 trouncing by the Red Wings. But, hey, it happens.

Here comes the Central Division.

2009-03-14T17:14:00.006-05:00

It was just a few years ago that, amongst the hockey world, fans and writers alike bemoaned the fact that the Detroit Red Wings, winner of three of the last four President's Trophies, feasted upon a weak group of Central Division teams. The Blackhawks were in nothing short of disarray, and the Predators, while competitive, have never done better than .500 against the Wings since the season before the lockout. The Blues have fared just about the same, as well. And the Jackets? Well, this will be the first season they ever finish, at least, at .500 against the Winged Wheel.

This season? Well, true, the Hawks have been swept in their first four against the Wings, and so have the Blues for that matter in five of their six games. But in spite of this, the Central Division has ultimately found itself in a rather unique situation:

Barring the Hawks record in the last 10, as well as the current downtrend of the Predators, all of the teams in the Central have been scrapping it out rather diligently. The Blues, who could be considered the "worst" of the lot, are still just 2 points out of a playoff spot (this will change to at least 3 after tonight's games, it should be noted).

Of course part of this is related to the overall mediocrity of the teams vying for their part in the playoff picture, with some rather low point totals overall. But even factoring that in, there is the outside chance that each team in the Central Division -- yes, every team -- could get in to the playoffs.

Of course with so many inter-divisional match-ups in this final stretch, that is some tricky math to figure out, and I'm not going to even try and figure out how all that in-fighting between the Northwest is going to affect the final standings, as in seasons past it has definitely made things rather wonky. Going by Aaron Portzline of Puck Raker's recent post, in which he downgrades the minimal points needed to get to the playoffs to 90 (by the way, Porty, the Jackets need 12 more points, not 14), this is how it would shake out for each team:

Detroit: lolwut? They already have 99 points. Just move along, everyone.

Columbus: Of course the team we care about amongst all others, so whether or not the other Central Division teams make it is not important to us for the most part. So having said that, this team needs to settle in for about a .500 record over the next 13 games. Some examples of this are by going 6-7-0, or 5-6-2. Of course getting just the projected points needed is never what one is aiming for.

Now even though, record-wise, the Jackets seem to have the easiest path (excluding the Blackhawks), they also hold a lot of team's lives in their own hands in the Central. They have 2 more games against Nashville, and 3 more games against the Hawks and Blues, respectively. You'll see when I get to the Blues how a mere 3 games can mean life or death to St. Louis right now, as they have the most precarious hold on hopefully clawing in to the top 8.

Chicago: Barring a total collapse by the Hawks, there really isn't any way they can not get 90 points, as they sit with 83 in the bank and 16 games to go. A whole 3 wins and an OTL will get them to that magic number, but expect them to win more than just a fifth of their last 16.

Nashville: Now we start getting in to the teams that are definitely going to have a harder time of it. The Predators, in spite of their torrid pace in the recent weeks, have lost 3 straight, and as a result now sit a point out of a playoff berth today. Even a win against Phoenix tonight may not be enough, as they could still be out of the top 8 depending on who else wins tonight (if both Edmonton and Dallas win, suddenly the bar is 74 and no longer 72, and 7th seed will be either 73 or 74, factoring in potential OTLs or if Minnesota can beat Dallas).

The here and now aside, to make it to the nifty 90 the Predators have to go 9-4-1, or potentially 8-3-3. Either way, they have a real fight on their hands, especially with the way their offensive output has crashed right back to earth, with a total of 4 goals in their previous 3 losses. Pekka Rinne -- who I simply do not like on the grounds that the idea of him winning the Calder Trophy is ridiculous babble (in my homer opinion) -- can only carry this team for so long, after all.

St. Louis: It would have been a lot easier to make a case for St. Louis if they hadn't continued to choke against the Red Wings, like they did today when the Wings dropped a three-ton weight on their playoff hopes by hammering them for 3 goals in less than a minute, and going on to lose 5-2. But that is simply how it goes sometimes, and with 20 points separating them and 90 with 14 games to go, it's even uglier for the Blues than it is the Predators.

This team really has no more room for error, and if this late-season surge of theirs is going to pay off, they have to grab at least 10 wins in their final 14, going 10-4-0. Or if you want to show them a little leniency, they could potentially go for 9-3-2. But either way, they need six more wins than regulation losses.

Focusing specifically on what Nashville and St. Louis have to do, and from the position of someone who would be rooting for all five teams to make the playoffs in the division -- the first time ever in the NHL in who knows how long -- there's one small blessing in the fact that the Predators and the Blues do not face one another any more this season.

Both teams are in the unfortunate position of having a great majority of games on the road, too. The Blues and the Predators both have 9 road games and 5 home games left, and neither has a winning record when away from the confines of their home rinks, either.

Funny how the more and more we dissect this, the further and further away from getting 90 points these two teams are, huh?

Let me just close this topic up by saying that I really have no idea what could potentially happen over the next month. Logic would have dictated -- and certain bloggers from years past have even said this -- that the total points needed to get in to the playoffs would have risen due to the 3-point games that every team now plays thanks to the shootout. But instead, we've seen teams with as low as 94, 92, and even 91 points (Nashville last year) squeak on in, defying what should have been a rational assumption about points needed to get in.

I don't have the time, nor the energy to try and get in to what the current minimal point total could be to get in to the playoffs if we crunched every potential game conclusion between now and April, but with the way things have been going now, I almost wonder if we really will see a team make it in with 90, or even 89 for that matter. We'll just have to wait and see, right?

I'm a freakin' broom closet.

2009-03-11T01:51:00.003-05:00

Your random "O RLY?" stat of the day:

Amongst all teams in the West, the Blue Jackets are one of just two teams that have ensured a full sweep of an Eastern Conference division as of last night's win over the Boston Bruins.

VS Atlantic: 2-3-1
VS Southeast: 4-0-0
VS Northeast: 5-0-0

With the exception of the Minnesota Wild who swept the Southeast Division, every other team in the West has lost at least one game to an Eastern foe from each of the three divisions. In regulation, no less.

Additionally, when the Jackets go on their two-game road trip near the end of March through Florida (@Panthers on the 21st, and @Lightning on the 24th), they could become the only Western Conference team to sweep two Eastern Conference divisions this season.

And that's all I got.

Because excuses mask the bitter taste of tears.

2009-03-08T02:45:00.005-05:00

Yeah, it's too bad that tonight's game wasn't a fair one, right? I mean maybe if and Pavel Datsyuk and Niclas Lidstrom hadn't been forced to sit out tonight's game due to Gary Bettman, they woul--

... oh, wait, what's that? That was from two games ago against Detroit? And we apparently beat them in a game between then and now with Lidstrom and Datsyuk in the lineup?

And then we did it a second time just last night!? You mean they were in, and we beat them!? Well, who would have guessed!

(This much-belated, horse-beating, first-post-in-half-a-year entry is brought to you by the letters H, A, T, and the number 3. ... yes, that can be looked at in two different ways, too.)

And to follow up with the last post ...

2008-09-19T12:12:00.002-05:00

Not that I haven't wanted to post since I posted the five ways to get back in to posting. I just sort of came to the conclusion that for the moment, it's best to take a back seat, and wait until the pre-season gets under way, starting with the first home pre-season game against Nashville next Friday.

In the meantime, though, I want to comment about something I've seen occur on my blog that has me scratching my head. Look back at the last post. Okay, done? Now look back at my post about the Arena District just a few posts down.

See anything interesting? And I only noticed this after someone decided to comment on the District post in the last week or two.

Despite the comments having some content to them, they come from people using names such as ...

-"Franchise Consultants Inc."
-"Thousand Oaks Office Space"
-"Franchise Marketing in Mississauga"
-"Personalized Pens" (this one I actually thought was for a Penguin's blog. Shame on me.)

Let me make something abundantly clear: Even if I've left the blog in decay for more than a few months, that doesn't make it your place to go about linking your businesses all over the place, and hiding behind mildly in-depth comments on the posts you are responding to. Go post on Craigslist, or buy a web ad from Google, or something. AotO is not the place for it.

If it keeps up, I'll simply change my comment options to users with blog accounts only, as much as that would punish good, anonymous and/or blog account-less people. Sorry, but this is just one of my pet peeves.

And now, I shall be taking my class-induced migraine with me to the couch for a little R&R. Be back in a week, folks.

Five things a hiatus blogger should do to resume posting.

2008-08-31T13:44:00.003-05:00

#1: Declare e-mail bankruptcy
When you first return to your blog, you might remember that somewhere, deep in the recesses of your e-mail archives, there is something around 50-100 e-mails concerning your blog that you simply left unanswered over the duration of your hiatus. Maybe these e-mails were just spam from people who were trying to peddle their books or their advertisement boxes, while others were legitimate e-mails about where the Hell you've been over the past several months.

Forget about them. You've already been gone for so long, and taken so long to respond, that you may as well throw them in to a big, proverbial trash bag along with the tons of other e-mail you've neglected, and move on. Changing your e-mail address to one specifically for your blog also helps, as that makes it easier to filter out e-mails from your blog, and your more personal e-mail account, if you haven't already done this.

#2: Ignore forums, and fellow bloggers for a specified amount of time
Nothing is harder to do than returning to your blog when you feel as though everyone around you already has all the bases covered. Maybe some smarmy, upstart blogger has come around while you've been away, and goes out of their way to enthusiastically post about the simplest of things, from how they saw [insert player here] at the corner of Nationwide Blvd., to how their buddy couldn't get a truck load of personalized Mike Commodore jerseys at the team store, and how we should all know about this. Or maybe your team's HFBoard forum seems to never sleep. It must be demoralizing when Mrs./Mr. Old, Cranky Poster #243 never shuts up about everything, and in turn taints your own perception before you have time to even come up with your own conclusions about a trade, an article in the local rag, or what have you.

With that in mind, toss aside your RSS feeds and forum links for a week. Maybe two weeks. Get right out of the loop so that you don't feel as though anything you say will have already been touched upon.

#3: Stop friends from reminding you to post again
It's a matter of reverse psychology, whether your friends, family, and acquaintences mean to do so or not. The more that they tell you that you have not posted in a while, the more that you may feel the urge not to post. You feel pressured to update, and in turn just throw your hands in the air after a certain point.

A good threat of "Well, maybe I just won't post ever again" will probably make them stop, so you can have a little breathing room.

#4: Ignore most things that have happened while you've been away
It's the end of August. No one cares what you have to say about the NHL Draft at this point. And for the most part, all of those trades and signings are old news, too, with the exception of maybe one or two that involved some of the more notable players on your team getting the heave-ho elsewhere.

Think of it like a statute of limitations, if you must. Besides, there'll be more news coming around as it gets closer to the season.

#5: Post
When all else fails, stop being such a lazy ass and write something.

A small market companion in need, is a small market companion indeed.

2008-01-31T11:34:00.001-05:00

I figure with a whole 2 days off before I work on Saturday, thanks to the wonderful idea of cramming all my classes this semester in to just Tuesdays and Thursdays, that I might as well make the best use of my time and make another post while I have my creative juices flowing. That, and I feel a bit guilty.

I feel guilty because one of the cooler, better bloggers I've read -- ol' Mike W. from Covered in Oil -- asked me in comments a few weeks ago if I could not only speak about the Arena District from my own perspective, but ask readers and fellow CBJ bloggers alike how it's affected Columbus, and how it helped to "revitalize" that area. Of course, being highly unreliable when it comes to getting back to people when I am on my manic hiatuses, I never responded with so much as a peep.

But I definitely wanted to post on that topic. It's an interesting one, to be sure. So without further ado, let's jump right in, shall we?

----------------------------------

For all of you who did not see the comment in the post "A New Hope", the question by fellow blogger (and fellow Mike) Mike was put like this:

"Michael, you're a good man with a good blog: may I ask you and your readers a question about the Arena District in Columbus?

It's being used as a model for building a new arena in downtown Edmonton. There's lots of debate over an arena's ability to "revitalize." Did the area in Columbus become more vibrant after the arena was built, or is the growth attributed to other things?"

Before I get in to the history of the Arena District, let's first step back and take a look at some of the similarities between Columbus and Edmonton, as small sports markets (pertaining to professional leagues; Buckeyes boosters need not comment), as well as some differences in the markets themselves.

By census standards, Edmonton and Columbus are almost exactly the same size in terms of population. Edmonton, as of 2006, boasts 730,000 or so people living there, while Columbus has 733,000 or so. That's no more than, like, an extra dorm or two at The Ohio State University, really.

So in terms of size of each city, they're actually pretty similar. The big difference, though, is that the Oilers are a storied franchise, who have existed for decades, and been an integral part of Edmonton life since the early 70s. The Blue Jackets are no more than 7 years old by season standards, and only hitting double-digits in age if you factor in the time when the franchise was awarded to Columbus by the National Hockey League.

I'll get in to how that can be a big deal later on, but for now, let's move on to the Arena District itself.

Having lived in Columbus only since July or August of 2005, I practically have no direct experience with the building of the Arena District, Nationwide Arena, and how it first affected the city of Columbus when it occurred. Sure, I've heard plenty of stories, but that's all I can say. Undeterred, while I was at a recent Blue Jackets' game, I was browsing through the new Blue Jackets' 2007-08 season yearbook (now just $10 at your local FSN Ohio Blueline! *Tucks away a wad of advertising cash.*), and near the end, it spoke about the Arena District, and how everything came to happen not only in terms of being awarded a franchise, but also turning what was once a run-down penitentiary into not just a sports venue and top arena in North America (going by ESPN polls and standards, and that "#1 IN FAN EXPERIENCE" banner they hung for so long in the arena itself), but a vibrant community with upscale apartments, restaurants, clubs, and the like.

I'm going to scribe this from the yearbook by verbatim, so be sure to keep in mind that much of this is written rather glowingly, as is to be expected with a bias. With that said, here's what the yearbook writes:

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WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DECADE MAKES
The arrival of the Blue Jackets and Nationwide Arena has changed the Columbus landscape dramatically over the past 10 years.
By Craig Merz

Because Columbus civic, community, and business leaders refused to take no for an answer, their vision of a rundown penitentiary site as an entertainment mecca is a thriving reality 10 years later. Of course, a decade ago no one was calling the 95 acres bounded by the railroad tracks just north of Maple Street, High Street, and Spring Street and Neil Avenue the Arena District -- that would come later -- but there is no doubt that events 10 years ago changed the face of Columbus forever.

It all started with a vision ... that of Worthington Industries founder John H. McConnell to bring a major league sports team to the city that had given him so much. He believed Ohio's largest city and state capital deserved to have a major league team to call its own and knew the impact it would have on the community would be felt for years to come. The process began in November 1996 when he led a local ownership group that submitted an application to the National Hockey League for an expansion franchise for the city.

"A lot of people assume that you get into something like this to make a lot of money," McConnell said at the time. "That's not why I am doing it. I'm trying to pay back. Columbus has been very good to me."

If Columbus was going to get a new team it would need a place to play. Several months later an announcement was made that Nationwide Insurance (90 percent of cost) of cost and The Dispatch Printing Co. (10 percent) would privately finance a downtown arena. As a result on June 25, 1997, the NHL announced the awarding of an expansion franchise to the city of Columbus.

In 2007, the Columbus Blue Jackets are playing in their seventh NHL season and Nationwide Arena is the crown jewel of an urban revival that has become the envy of cities across America.

The Arena District offers 1.2 million square feet of office space and 300,000 square feet for retail, restaurant, and entertainment venues. There are dozens of restaurants within walking distance of Nationwide Arena as well as luxury hotels with more than 1,000 rooms; more than a million square feet of event space, the Arena Grand Theatre, the Lifestyle Communities Pavilion concert venue, coffee shops and casual and formal dining spots. Also, the Blue Jackets were the first team in the NHL to attach a practice facility to their arena. What a concept.

"I don't know why others don't do it," veteran Blue Jackets forward Sergei Fedorov said. "It's a fantastic opportunity to be in the same building. You don't have to worry about moving stuff around. You have a chance to keep your focus. Everybody would love to have that opportunity."

The Dispatch Ice Haus is just one of many forward thinking ideas when discussing the Arena District.

"What really matters isn't (just) the arena, but the Arena District," Tim Curry, co-author of High Stakes: Big Time Sport and Downtown Redevelopment, told the Columbus Dispatch. "Many stadiums and arenas tend to be islands in run-down neighborhoods. Our Arena District is well-known throughout the country."

There's no question the future looks bright with more condos and offices on the horizon not to mention the new home for the AAA baseball's Columbus Clippers. However, before moving ahead, it's important to look back at how Nationwide Arena and the Arena District came to fruition.

The story begins on May 7, 1997. It was a Wednesday, a gloomy one at that for those who dreams of seeing an NHL expansion team in Columbus. The previous day voters rejected a sales tax to fund an arena and soccer stadium on the 23-acre site of the old Ohio Penitentiary. It was the fifth ballot rejection for a sports venue in the past 20 years.

In the wake of the latest defeat, NHL officials told Columbus leaders that if they could somehow come up with a plan for an arena the city still had a shot -- but they had less than a month to get their act together.

At a breakfast meeting on the morning after the vote, Nationwide officials discussed the idea of privately funding an arena.

Then-Nationwide chairman Dimon R. McFerson remembers the light bulb moment when he gazed at his company's skyscraper overlooking the wasteland below that was once the pen site. "I looked out the window and saw an awful lot of land that would sit there forever we didn't do something with it," he would later recall.

Then-Mayor Greg Lashutka, Franklin County officials and business leaders scrambled to get a plan in place. Former Nationwide executive and vice president and chief investment officer Robert Woodward Jr., once said in an interview that those ensuing days were "chaotic... Contrary to popular opinion, there was no Plan B," if the ballot initiative failed.

Fortunately for those involved locally, on May 9 the NHL delayed its recommendations on expansion cities to give Columbus more time.

As plans for a $150 million arena evolved, Nationwide officials concluded that they could do more for the surrounding area and committed nearly $500 million toward developing what would become the Arena District.

"It was something we were doing for the community," Woodward said.

On June 2, just shy of four weeks after the setback at the ballot box, Mayor Lashutka went before City Council with a plan for an arena and site development. It was readily endorsed and a few weeks later the NHL's expansion committee recommended that a group headed by McConnell be awarded a franchise to begin play in the 2000-01 season.

"With this team and the arena, the city will see things it's never seen before," said John P. McConnell, who serves as an Alternate Governor of the Blue Jackets. "It will revitalize Downtown."

Those words proved prophetic and the rest is hockey (and city) history. But there is more to the history of the Arena District. The land in question was known as "Irish Broadway" for some time and in the 1850's it was "Irish Shantyton" for all the Irish who settled in the arena.

Of course, the most famous, or infamous, structure was the Ohio Penitentiary. It opened in 1834 and closed in 1983. At its peak it housed 5,235 prisoners. Among the notorious inmates were boxing promoter Don King, Dr. Sam Sheppard (for whom the TV series and motion pictures "The Fugitive" was based), members of John Dillinger's gang and William Sydney Porter, better known as the writer of O, Henry.

The pen had an eerie side. A total of 315 prisoners were electrocuted there from 1897 until 1963 and a 1930 fire killed 322 inmates in the worst prison fire in U.S. history. Some people insist that Nationwide Arena is haunted by the ghosts of those who dwelled inside the massive stone barristers.

"I've heard about that. There are probably some penitentiary walls around here somewhere," Blue Jackets forward Jason Chimera said. "If it's haunted, hopefully it haunts other teams when they come in here."

The state sold the pen site to Columbus for $1 in 1995, paving the way for the demolition of the buildings and ultimately the rebirth as the Arena District. Groundbreaking for Nationwide Arena was in May 1998, and the first tenants of the Arena District -- Buca di Beppo and Resource Marketing -- opened a year later. The arena itself had its coming out party in September 2000 with a concert by Faith Hill and Tim McGraw and the Blue Jackets' first regular season game was October of that year.

Today the Arena District draws more than 2.5 million visitors annually and Nationwide Arena has been host to the Columbus Destroyers of the Arena Football League, numerous concerts, the Ultimate Fighting Championships, NCAA men's basketball first and second round tournament games, conventions, Team USA's World Cup of Hockey 2004 training camp and exhibition games vs. Canada and Russia and the NHL Entry Draft in June 2007. The latter was the type of event with international appeal that community leaders envisioned when they put the plan together for Nationwide Arena in 1997.

While the Arena District was designed with the fans in mind to private pre- and postgame entertainment, it has been a godsend for players such as Chimera and rookie Jared Boll who live (and work) in the district. "My wife and I go to the restaurants frequently," Chimera said. "There's a lot of variety of restaurants and stuff to do in the Short North. It's always active and a fun place to be. I walk about 75 percent of the time to the rink."

Added Boll, "It's great to be this close to everything."

Ahead for the Arena District is more housing, more business, and the sound of "Play Ball!" with the first pitch at the Columbus Clippers' Huntington Park scheduled for April 2009. (Also increasing are the boundaries of the district as the ballpark site is west of Neil Avenue but most consider it part of the Arena District). Other highlights include the opening of the Condominiums at North Bank Park in December 2007 and the first and second round games of the NCAA women's basketball tournament in 2009 at Nationwide Arena.

The Arena District just gets better and better -- take it from a former Red Wings star and world traveler.

"The way it looks now and the outcome, it's very nice," Fedorov said. "I see a lot of people coming Downtown. It's not like Detroit. It's totally different, a brand new town. I think it's comfortable, personally. I like it, my family likes it. It's very, very nice. It's very convenient."

And if the next 10 years are anything like the past decade, the best days truly lie ahead for the Blue Jackets and the very special place they call home.

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Yes, I know, the homerism in that article is strong. But there's enough meat on that story to give you the idea that the Arena District has been nothing short of a godsend for Columbus, and especially downtown.

You'll remember near the beginning, I made mention of how one key difference was that the Blue Jackets came with the Arena District, while the Oilers have been around for a long time. The point I want to make here is that part of the Arena District being successful, I think, had in large part to do with a new sports franchise coming to Columbus; and a professional one at that, compared to the minor league Clippers and ... well, the Crew (which depending on if you're in the majority of people in North America (excluding Mexico), consider soccer a second-class sport). There's always something about a new sports franchise that can electrify a community, let alone spark success in an area of a city. It could very well be different for the Oilers, who would simply be relocating to a better venue.

But that's just my opinion, and much like Dennis Miller, I could be wrong.

I'd like to step aside here, and let other Blue Jackets' bloggers and people who live in Columbus to take a shot at giving their opinions on how the Arena District helped Columbus, and what it's been like since it was built, along with Nationwide Arena. So feel free to leave your comments, and have at it.

These fists were made for fightin'.

2008-01-31T09:20:00.000-05:00

Even though I'm amidst a bit of a slog in terms of classes resuming for me, I feel it's only right to come out from my little cave and say something as it pertains to the trade of Jody Shelley to the San Jose Sharks, which only happened no more than two days ago.

Besides, I figure if anything will get me to finally write something, this is it.

----------------------------------

I'm not about to lie to anyone here and say that Shelley's existence on the Columbus Blue Jackets since their inaugural season (he was signed in January of the 00-01 season) had a profound impact on me either way. To tell you the truth, I've never been much of a person for getting attached to the individual players on a team, no matter who that team was, with the exception of a choice few. So when I see people pouring out their heart and soul over Shelley's departure, I need to remind myself that getting beyond my more disattached perspective of who is and is not on the Blue Jackets, it's understandable how upset a lot of fans are over this.

You've probably all seen the numerous articles that came out of the Columbus Dispatch on the trade since yesterday (1, 2, 3, 4), and other bloggers out there writing on the topic. I probably can't say much else that would add anything of value, but I'll try.

Right off the bat, I get the feeling that the majority of people -- at least, if you're one of those people that goes to the HFBoards -- don't "get" this move. This wasn't simply about getting a 6th round pick, two drafts from now. All you need to do is step back, think about this for an extra minute or two while those brain synapses spark to life in your head, and you'll see there was at least two or three other reasons for this move.

1) The most obvious one, to me, is the need for roster space. Shelley was regularly scratched, and had been scratched for at least 20 of the Blue Jackets' 52 games this season. On a team like this, where more and more youngsters (Jared Boll, Andrew Murray, Curtis Glencross, and now Gilbert Brule once more, with his recall back to the CBJ as of yesterday) stepping up and vying for competitive spots on the roster, it is important to not have to keep shuttling these kids between Syracuse and Columbus on a regular basis, juggling player after player because you don't have enough available spots on the roster to set them aside as healthy scratches if they're not playing that night.

2) It's no secret the Blue Jackets have a self-imposed salary cap that sits around $10 million less than the league ceiling. As a result, and this is important, every penny counts. You need to be milking every bit of that $40 million you have on the payroll for as much as you can, and look for bargains in the process. On a team like the Rangers, the Red Wings, the Ducks, where there's less of a concern about using the full cap allotment of money, the $600,000-$800,000 that Shelley was making might have been a pittance. But the Jackets could very well use that now freed up cap space when looking for a deal before the trade deadline.

There's also something else, and this is outside the realm of just hockey operations-style critical thinking; Shelley was respected here; by the fans, by his teammates, by the coaching staff, and yes, even the guys up top, who with the exception of a few people (obviously Scott Howson), have all been around for a while in this organization, much like Jody. And in my mind, that is why instead of possibly offending one of the players who has been the so-called heart and soul of a team during some of its worst times by releasing him, or waiving him, they found somewhere where he could go, and hopefully continue to play.

A crackpot theory, to be sure. Even I find that idea a bit incredulous to believe, but that's just the feeling that I get. Shelley had been one of the hardest workers during practice, even knowing that his shot at being in the line-up much of the time simply hinged on who was injured, and if he'd fit in for a particular match-up prior to a game. Beyond his on-ice and locker room commitment, he's also been one of the most amicable people to ever don the Blue Jackets' jersey, more than willing to go wherever he had to, whether that involved autograph signings, Hats for Heroes events, lunch-ins, or whatever.

While it's true that an NHL hockey player is almost obligated to partake in fan and community development initiatives such as these, he did these things with a motivation and an eagerness that was as sincere as I think it could be. In essence, he wanted to be out there with the fans. If he didn't, I don't think he would have so emphatically proclaimed Central Ohio as his home, as he did in some of those aforementioned articles.

In the end, however, this is the best for all parties involved. The Jackets have more cap space, a roster spot freed up, and a draft pick they can either hold on to (2009's supposed to be a deep draft, but even I think the sixth round is a bit far off from that "depth" in it), the Sharks get a known pugilist and banger who will help them get tougher on the ice when facing off against the bruising Ducks, and Shelley? Well, he actually gets to play ... and if the cards fall in just the right way, he might just hit 400 games (he's 20 away from that number).

The Blue Jackets as a team might be stunned, and even a little morose, at losing one of their locker room leaders. Even if he wasn't always on the ice, it was obvious that he had an impact on the people around him. But here's what I have to say to that ...

... suck it up, and make the playoffs. I obviously can't speak for Jody, but I think that is what he'd want to see this team do, regardless of the fact that he now wears Sharks teal, orange, and black.

Besides, I know I'm not the only one who would be delighted at the prospect of the Jackets finally making it in, only to face down their departed yet hardly forgotten pugilist in the first round, since San Jose is all but a playoff lock (and possibly a 2nd seed favorite).

In short? Make him proud, you maggots.

Pansies vs. Panzers.

2008-01-11T02:03:00.000-05:00

Far be it for me to get in the middle of what apparently is some hemming and hawing of mere different opinions over this particular entry that was written by Aaron Portzline over at Puck Rakers in the past day, but after seeing both Truth's response, and then Bethany's response to AP's commentary, I figured I would chime in as well. Besides, it gives me something to write about on my brand, spanking new desktop (gloat-filled pictures to come later).

I've always been a pretty pragmatic person, at least when it comes to differing opinions. Not exactly on par with "Yeah, well, you know, that's just like, your opinion, man" a la The Big Lebowski or anything ... but you get the idea. In any event, if Bethany could be considered the Id, and ol' Truth could be considered the Super Ego, to take a page from Sigmund Freud, then consider me the Ego in all of this, aiming for the middle ground between irrational base desire and overly rational use of logic and restraint.

Much like Portzline the other night, as I watched Nikolai Zherdev take a near-knee from Blues' player David Backes, I wondered aloud why there was a lack of response from Zherdev's teammates. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't looking for violent retribution, or a line brawl ... but I was looking for something.

In this regard, Portzline is right when he says that this Blue Jackets team can be soft. Although the team may work better together, something seems to be missing. Character guys, perhaps? Or maybe it's a lack of true leadership at the top of the chain, as it pertains to the players? Whatever it is, this team seems to go through spurts of having that fighting, driven, and feverous spirit of energy that we want to see a team under Ken Hitchcock has. As I mentioned in my last post, this team is quite manic.

But Truth's also right; we don't need 19 other players all acting the role of Jody Shelley, looking for fights if a teammate so much as trips over an opponent's skates. This team needs to win, and if that happens, things such as motivation, confidence, drive, and ... dare I say it, "toughness" will come as a result. However I guess it all depends on what sort of person you are: a chicken or an egg sort. Does the toughness bring with it wins? Or do wins bring about toughness?

But this is hockey, not Philosophy 101, so I won't even bother trying to get in to circular logic or paradoxes at 2:22 in the morning.

Ultimately, what I am saying is that this team is being weak at the moment. Back in October, this team would fight, and it would claw, and it would scratch its way to wins. Now, whether that also involved putting up the fists or not, that doesn't really matter ... it was a team mentality sort of thing. A drive to push it to the limit. But right now, I'm not seeing that. I feel like I'm watching the majority of the players go through the motions, or look for ways to do things that don't involve getting their hands dirty, be it mucking it up in the offensive zone, or crashing through the neutral zone. Right now, this team needs people who are going to take more risks when it comes to offense ... how they get those people, or motivate the current players to turn things in that direction, is up to both Hitchcock and Scott Howson.

Late night/Super early morning musings.

2008-01-07T00:56:00.000-05:00

In the most recent blog entry by Jackets' beat writer Aaron Portzline over at Puck Rakers, Portzline dumbs down the mathematics of what the Jackets must accomplish in their next 40 games if they want to have so much as an outside shot at making the playoffs at the end of the season.

Prior to the first game of 2008 for the Blue Jackets, I'd been actually wondering the same thing, trying to figure out if the Jackets really would have to hit that magic number of "95" in terms of season point total to crack the top eight in the Western Conference. The thing is, the current teams at the 7th and 8th spots are themselves not on pace for that many points. Colorado, who has been hampered by an injury to Joe Sakic and a more recent injury to Ryan Smyth, sits with 47 points in 41 games, meaning they are actually on pace for 94. Meanwhile, the Anaheim Ducks -- although they have picked up the pace ever since Scott Neidermeyer's return -- are still on pace for lower, with 48 points so far in 44 games, meaning they're actually aiming for somewhere between 91-93 (it's 1:11 in the morning; don't ask me to do the specific math, folks).

Still, the Jackets themselves are currently on pace for only 86 points, in large part because of the fact that they have been unable to string together consecutive wins on more than just a few occasions since November. And when they have, they have in turn dropped consecutive games, negating what they may have accomplished. It's obvious that this sort of inconsistency can be highly infuriating, as it's just about the same as living with someone who is suffering from manic depression. One moment everything is peachy keen, and they're on top of the world ... alas, the next minute, they go emo on you, and start listening to Linkin Park as they start to self-destruct behaviorally.

Analogies to serious mental issues aside, I have no qualms if I never see another several game winning streak, much like we saw in October. Although it amounts to the same thing that Portzline said when he dropped on Puck Rakers' readers that the Blue Jackets need to go 24-12-4 (or the other two record examples), perhaps it won't seem as daunting when put in to a month-by-month perspective. In essence, the Jackets need to do this over the next 11 games of January, then the 14 in February, 14 in March, and last three in April:

January: 7-4-0 (14 points)
February: 7-5-1 (15 points)
March: 7-5-1 (15 points)
April: 2-1-0 (4 points)

48 points, plus the 44 the team currently has, leaves them with 92 points. They need to try and aim for, on average, finishing every month two games over .500 if they want to perhaps sniff at the playoffs. Considering their road-heavy schedule over this month and next, that's going to be one brutal task. Additionally, if they do want to crack or at least match the magic point total of 95, they're going to have to steal some games that would let them finish more than two games over .500 each month, too. The best time for that to even possibly happen? March, when the Jackets will finally return back to Nationwide Arena for 8 of 13 games during the month. It's asking a lot, but if this team can just hang on for dear life the rest of this month and the next, considering they have one of the top home records in the league (something along the lines of 3rd? 4th?), they could do something around that time.

But this is all very much just guesswork. Who in the world knows what'll happen between then and now. Will Rick Nash shake off this inconsistency he seems to be dealing with (yes, he had a hat trick on New Years' Eve, but had been having consistency issues both before, and then after that)? Will the team manage to get healthier, with key players such as Fredrik Modin having been out for practically all season now? Will Gilbert Brule make a successful return back up to the big show after a several game stint down with the Syracuse Crunch, or will Derrick Brassard instead come up for some games? And will any trades be made by General Manager Scott Howson, and what will they address if they do come to happen?

This week is going to be a real mettle tester for the Blue Jackets. They'll be playing the Blues for the fourth time this season on Tuesday, and although they had shut St. Louis out in two of the three games they've played so far, that third game in St. Louis (and this next game is also in St. Louis) was ugly. After that, they'll face off a second time on Friday, followed by a real make or break game against Nashville the day after that. If this team wants to even consider making a push, they need to get over themselves and this Predator-phobia they seem to be dealing with. No more choking against Nashville, like they did twice in December, in one week no less.

With all of this said, it's late, and I go back to work after a much-needed vacation as of tomorrow. Peace out.

Shall all the quaintence ...

2008-01-02T15:59:00.000-05:00

Alright. After an injection of chicken soup, about two dozen NyQuil and DayQuil combined, and buckets of lozenges later, I'm back! Still have a bit of a cough, but I'll survive. I'll definitely survive.

I should have tried to dredge up the energy to post about the game on New Years' Eve, in which we saw our first hat trick at Nationwide Arena -- in favor of the Jackets, at least -- in forever and a day, all thanks to Rick Nash and the many faces his goals wore. First on the short-hand on a juicy Dwayne Roloson rebound, then on the power play also on the rebound after a little bit of patience, and then lastly from half-ice in to an empty net, after a pass through traffic by none other than Nikolai Zherdev.

But it isn't just the hat trick that impressed me about that game, as I watched it, curled up under my blankets and staying cozy and warm. No, what impressed me is that the Jackets bent but never broke. Although the Jackets played well throughout most of the game, the Edmonton Oilers were just as feisty throughout. Their speed is what had given Jackets fits during the first meeting of the season back in November, and they were still flittering all about. But this time, they kept their composure. Even when the Oilers tied it the first time, and even when they tied it yet again the second time.

And in the end, all that patience and sticking with the game plan -- as cliche as that sounds -- paid off with a power play opportunity that led to the game-winning-goal.

So, a win to ring in the New Year! Now let's move on to 2008.

(And yes, Matt, I've also noticed how the Jackets seem to win whenever I am sick. So let's hope I keep this cough of mine for just a little while longer.)

Tonight's game -- which I thankfully have Center Ice for since FSN Ohio will not be sending anyone out for it, nor for the next two games -- will be in Orange County, against those pesky Ducks. The last game against them, just a couple of weeks ago at Nationwide, infuriated me due to the way in which it ended, on a ... let's say 'curious' penalty in overtime against Duvie Westcott.

With the OTL, the Jackets fell to 1-0-2 against the Ducks this season, their only win coming against the Ducks on opening night, when they whooped their feathery butts 4-0. This being their fourth game, it'll be their last of the season. I'd like to see a series "split", if only because a split would actually be a series win for the Jackets, who by way of their losses coming in OT or the shootout, would ultimately get 6 points out of the season series, while the Ducks would get just 4, or 5 with an OTL and SOL.

It's worth mentioning -- knock on wood -- that the Jackets actually have not yet lost in regulation to any team in the Pacific Division. Just a random bit of information to throw out there.

In terms of team activity, the biggest news that came out of the past couple of days was the demotion of Gilbert Brule to Syracuse. I got to tell you, after all of 1 1/2 seasons of him being up with the Jackets, I still don't know what to think of Brule. Like has been mentioned by other bloggers over the time he's been up here, this definitely was a touchy situation, in which a demotion could mentally jar the young player, who was supposed to have brought instant dividends for the Jackets last season. Instead, he got very little in terms of ice time, and never really gelled with any other players when shuffled through the various line matchings that both Gerard Gallant and Ken Hitchcock tried him with.

Reading between the lines, where it's been said that both Hitch and Scott Howson want to bring Brule back up after several games and seeing how he does, I think that ultimately, unless we see some sort of great output of points -- and I don't see it happening -- he may be down there for a good while. And that's okay, you know? This is for the best.

So good luck, Brule. Go down to Syracuse, and become a better player. Hopefully we'll see you back up with the big show soon.

The only other thing worth mentioning before I go down to Best Buy and use my gift cards from Christmas is that center Manny Malhotra will be back tonight, after sitting out several games due to injury. All that is left to worry about is Mike Peca and any possible concussion he has, Fredrik Modin who, I admit, I feel like I may never see play this season ... and David Vyborny who tweaked his groin just a little during the game against Edmonton.

Seacrest ... out.

I has teh snibbles ...

2007-12-28T14:16:00.001-05:00

You know how I said I was going to post the day after the game against the Thrashers?

Yeah, well, Mr. Flu Bug decided that was the perfect time to hit me like a freight train. I actually had gone to the game that night after arriving back in Columbus, and found myself unable to make it through the whole thing, as my dad and I left at the end of the 2nd period. By the time I got home, I was shivering and spasming like someone in the 2nd stages of hypothermia (I exaggerate you not, folks).

Fortunately after forcing myself to stay in bed all of yesterday, using what little energy I had to curse and yell at the Blue Jackets at the end of last night's 4-3 loss to the Predators (0-12!), I'm starting to feel better. A very stuffed up nose, and a nagging cough and tickle in my throat, but it could be a lot worse.

As unfortunate as it is, this current health condition isn't exactly all that conducive to blogging, let alone even focusing on things happening on the ice as I watch, be it at the game or on TV. Last night's game is a real blur to me, beyond shoddy reffing (on both sides, but my homerism dictates that I should say it was mostly against the Jackets in the 3rd period), a more fluid power play, and the aforementioned score due to an epic choke that made last week's choke against the Predators seem not as bad.

As an aside, I was joking with a friend of mine just a couple weeks ago at work that if the Jackets fall to 0-12 against the Preds in their last 12 games, I might very well boycott blogging on the team. Then I realized, having posted nothing for a month, no one would have even noticed. Ah well.

But I need to get back in to bed now. Or at least make some soup and lay down on the couch, with a couple of DayQuil to pop in 30 more minutes, once I hit that "wait 6 hours between each dose" warning time on the box. If I don't post before the New Year, don't hold it against me. Chalk it up to Murphy's Law when it comes to my health ... whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.

Christmas story time.

2007-12-25T22:27:00.001-05:00

So let me tell you a little story about a young man named Mike, folks. Consider this something of a Christmas story, where you can settle in, sip on some hot cocoa, and let me ramble to you. Once I'm done, I'm sure most of you will understand why I went on my month-long hiatus, and have also been very sporadic in general with my posts since as far back as August. If no one here is in to personal stories, then by all means return in a few days, when real Blue Jackets or hockey-related posting will resume.

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Returning to traditional (see: non-online) college for the first time since 2004, Mike struggled with the task at hand. After bombing out of classes the previous two times he attended your "traditional" colleges since 2001, he'd all but lost faith, despite the fact that he was at least going to give it one more shot. He desperately wanted to turn things around academically so he'd have a successful future to look forward to, and he thought he had finally found the motivation to do so, by picking Sports Management as his major after cycling through Political Science, Public Relations, International Relations, and for a time even English.

This time around would be even more challenging. He had no car, so public transportation became his life line to get everywhere and anywhere, including his classes. He now had a job, and as enjoyable as his job is, it meant he'd have to properly maintain a balance between work and classes. And he had other things he had to juggle with this, such as his focus on getting in to better shape again, as well as finally building a social life in Columbus, something he'd neglected to do since he arrived in mid-2005. And then there was Mike's sports blog, which had been around for over a year, and had brought him not just a lot of joy and entertainment, but also taught him a lot about the sport that he loved, which was hockey.

Mike had to give one of those things up, even if just temporarily, while he grew accustomed to the stress of all of these things happening all at once. His blog, sadly, had to take a backseat. Oh, he promised himself he'd return to it, because it had actually become a part of his life. But it just had to wait, as he suffered through the final stretch of his first semester back in college. He didn't want to lose his scholarship that he'd received merely based off of his inflated (see: not as challenging) grades from classes online.

So in Mike went in early December, to attempt to tackle his final exams and final projects. With his GPA currently hovering at 2.8, and needing to drag it up to a 3.0 to keep his scholarship intact, he simply did his best. Maybe he wouldn't do perfectly, and maybe he wouldn't even succeed, but unlike in the past, he at least tried instead of giving up.

And then, as if a holiday miracle had come early, he achieved greatness:

-------

And now, my faithful readers, you know why I've been all but AWOL since just around mid-November. And for that, I profusely apologize. Especially to my fellow Blue Jackets' bloggers, some of whom even sent me messages in hopes that I'd reply, but I was too busy being a mental basket case to even take time to respond to them.

Trust me, I generally don't like to share this sort of stuff with people, and in particular on a blog that is about sports, not my personal life. But I felt that it would better explain what happened to me, and why, perhaps, I just was not able to balance all of those things like a "normal" person would have been able to.

But hopefully from here on out, things will be different. A friend of mine and I are working on giving Army of the Ohio that graphical and layout overhaul I've been wanting to do forever, and I hope that it will be done sometime soon, so that links are no longer obsolete, let alone statistics, and the whole thing just appears better. I also will finally come up with a definitive, and more permanent layout for game-day posts, that'll make it easier for me to write them up, both before games and after games.

And the podcasts will continue, despite the fact only one between Drew from End of the Bench and I took place. I've been spending what little free time I've had learning how to do online podcasts, and if my fellow colleague is still willing, I plan to keep the podcasts coming. Once every few weeks at least, to a month at the latest.

With that said, I thank all of you who stuck around and waited for me to come back. It means a lot to this humble blogger. I'll return on the 27th, with a full post-game analysis of tomorrow's game between the Atlanta Thrashers, and your 2007-2008 Columbus Blue Jackets.

Merry Festivus, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Hanukkah, or just plain Happy Holidays, every one.

RISE FROM YOUR GRAVE.

2007-12-14T06:05:00.000-05:00

From my deathly state do I finally awake,
So many posts did I not make.
Although I may not have been around,
My mind is still wholly sound.

Trust me, fair reader, your patience is not in vain,
For AotO will return, even without its one reader from Maine.
With thoughts on Nash, on Vyborny, on Foote,
Barring Santa Claus covering my laptop with soot.

But I promise you, readers, that after Christmas day,
That if you do not see a new post, I will indeed give myself Hell to pay.
Alas for now, I must bid you adieu.
... because I have a flight in three hours to New Jersey, and f@#$ finding a rhyme for "adieu."

Hiatus!

2007-11-15T22:46:00.001-05:00

Not a long hiatus, but still a hiatus nonetheless. I have an old friend in from Michigan (great timing, eh?) who'll be staying with me through the weekend, and so I'll be spending my time having fun with them, instead of sitting at the computer. I'll be in attendance at the game on Sunday against the Red Wings, too.

Oh! And for those of you who don't go directly to AotO and instead read my blog through a reader, it's worth mentioning that I have now added the cannon poll, pertaining to its name, on the top left of the blog. So, vote! Vote to your heart's content! Or just once, since I have it set to only accept one vote per person.

By the way, my birthday is tomorrow. So if anyone out there feels like giving me well wishes or even presents, feel free to do so, eh?

Step away from the emergency button, please.

2007-11-13T09:30:00.001-05:00

Immortal words in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, folks. Let's take a deep breath here before we start having our annual "It's done, the Blue Jackets are finished" aneurysms.

I'm in the same boat as probably the majority of Jackets' fans out there, I admit. To perfectly sum up how the Blue Jackets' played last night in one, simple example ... I think the best example would be in the latter part of the first period, when Martin Erat rode a cumbersome, flat-footed Rusty Klesla from the neutral ice zone all the way in to the Jackets' zone, shoved him aside with one hand like a rag doll, and then tossed the puck in behind an otherwise defenseless Pascal Leclaire.

In essence, you saw in that one play much of what you saw last night. A team that played stupid-aggressive. Because there's a difference in playing aggressive -- which is what this team did during its six-game point streak -- and playing stupid-aggressive. Stupid-aggressive is like what we saw earlier in the season when this team faced off against the Vancouver Canucks.

One highly astute observation came from Ron Hainsey, who told The Columbus Dispatch that the fact the Jackets couldn't draw any penalties at all (save one) was ... well ... bad:

"We didn't draw penalties. What did we have, one power play? That kind of shows you something, that we weren't skating enough to make them have to slow us down."

Given, the Jackets' power play has been deplorable as of late, so why worry about whether they can get power play opportunities? Well, it's more the fact that they could have desperately used some time on the power play to just control play, and also force the Predators to waste time on the penalty kill.

While I say not to panic, I may not be so casual about things if the Jackets' end up dropping the next two games. Up next is the suddenly surging Blackhawks, who have surpassed the Jackets for 2nd in the Central after beating the Red Wings on Sunday night. It's worth pointing out that they are the reason for three of the Red Wings' losses this year (two regulation and one in the OT/SO).

After that, the Jackets face the Blues down in St. Louis. While so far this season we have been running them in to the ground, having shut them out two times in a row, I'm not about to go and make any proclamations about how that game will definitely right the Jackets' ship. Frankly, I'd be a fool to do so, considering it was just last season that the Blues were on top of us in the standings, and were only getting better thanks to some shrewd moves by Blues' president John Davidson.

I know this much: If the Jackets do lose the next two games, I foresee an overall record under .500 by the evening of November the 18th, sometime after the Red Wings have finished sinking their skates in to a Jackets' team that will most likely be playing in front of a highly hostile (both angry Jackets' fans and thousands of traveling Red Wings' fans) Nationwide Arena.

The Drew and Mike Happy Three-Quarters Hour!

2007-11-11T12:11:00.000-05:00

Like I mentioned near the end of yesterday's entry, there was something that I intended to share with all you fine folks out there reading both my blog and Drew's End of the Bench. To tell you the truth, we'd been talking about this as far back as the NHL Draft, when we met one another for the first time. While only conversing about it every so often, it was still something we'd both been wanting to give a shot.

So, yesterday night, after some rather on-the-fly planning, we came together to watch the Blue Jackets' face the Predators down in Nashville ...

... then podcast!

Some readers may recall several months ago, when I gave solo podcasting a shot. Honestly, although I got some positive comments about it, it just didn't feel right doing something all on my own. There's no one to work with, let alone converse with. The better way to do it, at least for someone like me, is to set up something with someone else, and feed off of one another's comments and dialogue.

When the topic was brought up again sometime during the pre-season, I admit that while at first I was excited, no sooner had we both agreed to get moving on doing a podcast, the Jackets' beat writers of Tom Reed and Aaron Portzline came right out of the blue with their own podcast, Cannon Fodder. I truly felt a little dejected, and actually was bothered by the notion that some people may just assume we were copying them, when in reality this had been in the planning stages since June.

In any event, this was my first ever podcast with anyone else, and I'm pretty sure it was Drew's as well, so go easy on the both of us. This baby clocks in at around 45 minutes, and is about 42 MB in size. I should also mention that due to technical constraints (i.e. my own ignorance), we were forced to record ourselves on our own laptops, and then splice the files together so that they sounded like an actual, back and forth conversation. It still came out well enough, although you'll probably notice that at times, there's somewhere around 0.3 seconds in delay between one of our microphone's picking up the other person talking, and that person actually talking. Forgive me, I'm a simpleton!

>> CLICK HERE <<

Since I lack my own host, I sadly can't just make it a Hotlink, and instead must rely on Megaupload, much like I did before. So simply follow these directions to download, and enjoy:

1) Type in the three letter keycode that appears at the top right, then hit enter.
2) Wait 45 seconds while you are put in que to download.
3) Download, and enjoy.

They're not dead yet ...

2007-11-10T12:09:00.000-05:00

I think Sarah said it best in her entry this morning:

"I’m not giving up hope just yet. Detroit is a damn good team, and they
were playing at home, and that would be a tough win for any team. And
of course, I was expecting .500 hockey this season, and they’re still
above that mark, so no reason to panic just yet. Chalk the last two
games up to experience, and move on."

The key parts are bolded. Suffice it to say, the Jackets are still three games over .500. Pascal Leclaire, despite allowing four goals against Detroit, was great. Don't let the score fool you, as at least two of those goals were the results of a team in front of him that looked lost, confused, and otherwise dead in the water.

It's hard to say what I am expecting as this team heads down to Nashville to face the Predators for the first time this season tonight. So far, this team is 1-2-0 against Central Division foes on this trip, and 2-2-1 in their past five games. Remember, the best way to gauge this team is by how well they do in 10-game increments. We're halfway there, and the team is sitting on .500, which is fine. Put aside how nasty the losses to Chicago and Detroit were. Remember what Hitchcock has been telling the players, about how you spend only a limited amount of time dwelling on the losses, or flaunting the victories, and then prepare for the next game.

Tonight, me and Drew at End of the Bench will actually be getting together to watch tonight's game, and barring any technical difficulties, have a bit of a surprise for both of our readers sometime after the game, whether it's late tonight or sometime tomorrow. Either way, stay tuned, as this has actually been in the making for a while now!

(Apologies for the bare-bone post today. A little rushed, and a little pre-occupied.)

That spotlight's getting a little bright ...

2007-11-06T07:46:00.000-05:00

So in the past week, the Columbus Blue Jackets ...

-Have continued to set a franchise record for best start ever (8-3-2), and sit 4th in the West, as well as 2nd in the Central.

-Have seen goalie Pascal Leclaire be named 2nd star of the month by the NHL, after which he proceeded to get his fifth shutout in his very next game against the Blues on Sunday (who he's now kept scoreless for two straight games against them).

-Have been recognized by the national media (that's really just a small taste of some of the attention they've received so far, too).

-Have seen several of their big-time prospects get honored or recognized for equally awe-inspiring play (Steve Mason is 9-2 after returning from Jackets' camp, Derrick Brassard was recognized as the AHL's rookie of the month, and Jakub Voracek was the QMJHL's player of the month).

I mean, for the love of [insert your favorite deity here], I might as well start shooting rainbows out of my eyes while singing Tiny Tim's Livin' in the Sunlight (aka Having a Wonderful Time) and prancing about like some sort of ninny. Seriously, what the Hell do I even have to gripe about? Maybe Rick Nash needs to shave that beard? Or how about I start complaining that we only have one short-handed goal on the #1 penalty kill in the league?

But really, to tell you the truth, all this attention and all of these good things happening leave me just a little concerned. It isn't so much pessimism as much as it's a case of knowing that sooner or later, this team is going to hit its first real roadblock ... and from the looks of it, this next week to two weeks could be considered the Blue Jackets' first real test, as they have seven straight games against divisional rivals to look forward to starting Wednesday.

Blackhawks, Red Wings, Predators, Predators, Blackhawks, Blues, Red Wings. And then one more Red Wings' game about a week after that last one. Daunting task, thy name is November schedule.

The Jackets did start off this long, Central Division swing on the right foot, however, when they once again shut the Blues out 3-0 on Sunday. I'll get through all the positives real quick, simply saying that Leclaire was again amazing (that glove save in the 2nd period on Paul Kariya was highway robbery); Adam Foote now looks like some sort of grizzled Union Army officer, and is playing with about as much passion as one, too, tallying two great assists; Nash and Nikolai Zherdev are practically sharing brains, and no better an example can be seen than by that beautiful airmail pass from Zherdev to Nash, who was waiting in the slot, before dropping it down, weaving a Blues' defenseman, and wristing it home. And don't forget that extended, extended delayed penalty in the 1st period, in which for what was almost a full minute, the Jackets' cycled, passed, shot, left and then re-entered the zone, cycled, shot, left and re-entered the zone again, then finally rifled one into the net thanks to a shot by Manny Malhotra.

Okay, then, that takes care of most of the good. So let's get to the bad, and then move on. The power play never registered a point, despite a prolonged 5-on-3 opportunity very early in the game. Give credit where credit is due to the Blues, who actually have the #2 penalty kill in the league, but also heap a little bit of shame on the Jackets for not being able to bury anything on such a marvelous opportunity right out of the gate. My stance is that so long as the Jackets' can at least manage to keep their power play efficiency somewhere between 16th and 20th in the league, it'll ultimately be a net gain when also factoring in their #1 penalty kill. The problem is that at the moment, it's 21st in the league, so unless they start to pick it up in the next few games, that great penalty kill will be put to waste.

David Vyborny is continuing to struggle, and it's hard to watch. I'll admit, he's playing with a good bit of passion in his recent play, but he's still been held pointless for four games now, after showing some signs of life with a three-game point streak between the 21st and 25th of October. It can be painful to watch, largely because during some of the Jackets' most bleakest times, Vyborny was there to at least give the team some hope (he led the team in scoring in the past two seasons). Is it because he's no longer consistently paired up with Nash? Or maybe he needs more time to gel with his linemates, who have shifted from time to time. He's been paired with Jiri Novotny the past two games, so maybe that can help him out ... maybe, considering Novotny's now gone three games himself without a point, after grabbing five (3g, 2a) in three games.

For now, that's all I got. There's a certain game that I'm eagerly anticipating at the end of this week, but I'm reminding myself -- and all of you Blue Jackets' fans out there -- that we should be focusing on Wednesday's first. Getting ahead of ourselves about certain, measuring stick match-ups can be a bad thing.

Delicious blog post; I must eat it.

2007-11-04T12:57:00.000-05:00

Long night last night. Hectic morning this morning. No pre-game. Instead, I want to spend five minutes glorifying and advertising my newest addiction from The FSN Ohio Blueline: CHOCOLATE PUCKS!

Tired of your average chocolate? Hershey bars, Reeses Cups, and Nestle Crunch starting to seem dull? Bland? Maybe even making you feel sick? Then take a puck to the teeth! A chocolate puck, brought to you by the Columbus Blue Jackets!

Delicious, delectable, and downright divine in their taste, it'll be the one puck that you want to hit you square in the teeth. But instead of knocking out those incisors, it'll simply be knocking your taste buds to the floor in awe.

Made right in Columbus itself, with sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup, and with a crispy crunch thanks to the crisped rice on the inside, these babies -- nearly the size of an actual puck -- can be yours for $2 a pop down at Nationwide Arena. So, go! Go and lose yourself in chocolate euphoria!

Now I'm about to lose myself in apartment-cleaning misery and woe, before I go to watch this early evening's game.

A two-fer-one.

2007-11-02T00:07:00.000-05:00

Great. Now I can't fall asleep after tonight's shootout loss. Whatever feelings of fatigue I had went right out the window as I fought back every fiber of my being to not yell, scream, and curse as loudly as I could, as I didn't want to shock the neighbors both upstairs and next door from me.

And I have class in eight hours. Ugh.

I'm being melodramatic, though. I know I shouldn't be this peeved about tonight's loss, based off a variety of reasons: the Jackets were outplayed due to penalties stifling any sort of rhythm they were trying to get in to. The Jackets were playing back-to-back games. The Ducks had practically been licking their chops -- or bills, rather -- in preparation for this game, both due to their 4-game losing streak, and the chip on their shoulder from that Jared Boll hit on Travis Moen (completely clean) on opening night. The Ducks got three of their regulars back all at once.

And don't forget, no matter how much us Blue Jackets' fans may want to think otherwise, this team will lose at times. I know, it's hard to believe when your starting netminder leads the league in a variety of goalie statistics, and your team as a whole actually has a winning record for the first time ever after the first month of the season.

I'm obviously not being fair by focusing on this loss, and simply glossing over the win against the Kings just the night before. So let's go back to said game, and think happy thoughts before we mull any more on those not-so-happy thoughts from tonight.

October 31st: Blue Jackets at Kings
Much like it'd be folly to expect the Jackets to never lose after such a great opening month, it'd also be silly to expect the Jackets to never give up another power play goal. You got to admit, at times it feels as though the Blue Jackets won't ever give anything up on the PK ... so when the Kings' Kyle Calder scored on the power play and broke the Jackets' club-record 18 penalty kills without letting in a goal, I couldn't help but feel a little bummed.

But beyond that, and the peppering of shots that the Jackets' allowed Pascal Leclaire to face, they put on a strong game. In particular, Jason Chimera was a beast, Sergei Fedorov played smart, Gilbert Brule got his first goal of the season (good for him), and Rick Nash picked up an empty netter along with an assist, to add to his team-leading point total (currently sitting at 15 points in 11 games).

Before Leclaire was recognized as the 2nd star of the month by the NHL, I had a feeling that he would have to put together a great game against the Kings just to prove that all the positive attention he had been receiving was well-deserved. And although he wasn't able to add to his already impressive four shutouts, he played a very strong game, about as strong as the game he played against St. Louis on Saturday.

All in all, a great win against a Los Angeles team that -- even though the loss put them back below .500 -- was riding a four-game winning streak. It's not always about beating the team with the best record, after all ... sometimes it's about beating the teams that are currently hot. And this win, combined with the win over the Blues last Saturday, was good stuff.

... so enough about that. Let's get to tonight.

November 1st: Blue Jackets at Ducks
Michael Arace called tonight's game "awesome television" in his entry at Puck Rakers. I was sooner prepared to call it something else. I don't exactly have a phrase for it, but it made me want to repeatedly bang my head against the wall.

But maybe that's why it was awesome television reminiscent of a playoff game. It reminded me of the kind of stress I felt way back in 1999-2000 during the Stanley Cup Finals, when the Devils and the Stars slugged it out in seemingly endless overtime in both games 5 and 6. Not that a regular season game in November can legitimately compare to a possible Cup-clinching game, but you get the idea.

But truthfully, I wasn't happy with the play of the Jackets tonight as a team, with the exception of Nikolai Zherdev. Zherdev, who every so often gets flak for his play last season and not racking up goals left and right this season despite the fact that despite playing hard since game one, was the very reason that the Jackets managed to bring this game to overtime, when he helped a slightly struggling Jackets' power play unit tally the tying goal just a few minutes after Fredrik Norrena had been beat by Rob Neidermeyer 13 seconds in to the third period.

Watching the shootout may have been why I was so livid after the game. Not only have the Jackets lost both of their shootout games this season, but they've done so without even tallying a single shootout goal. When I touched on how last season, Ken Hitchcock resorted to simply having a shootout drill at the end of each practice and letting the winners be the shooters during any possible shootout in the next game, I probably overlooked the fact that by that point in the season, there was nothing to lose by using such a simplistic method to deciding who got picked for shootouts.

Now, however, shootouts are very important to a Blue Jackets' team that'll need to win a few if they want to stay above .500.

Before trying to finally get some sleep, I just want to say that I hope Fredrik Modin's injury is nothing too serious. Being taken out of the game that early, I believe, had a notable impact on the ability to roll four lines, let alone cut through the top line's efficiency like a hot knife through butter. It'd be vexing if, after being out for several games, he has to go back to the IR. But from the sounds of it, this was something else beyond any muscle strains of pulls, like he'd been dealing with.

And now, to hopefully get some sleep.

Rock out like it's 1981.

2007-10-30T18:37:00.000-05:00

Nothing says professional image doctoring like taking AC/DC's For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)'s album cover picture, and altering it in a matter of seconds in Photoshop. Quite fitting that it has a cannon as the picture, don't you think?

Apologies for the delay in getting the link up, but now every one knows where to go to leave their suggestions for the cannon's name! I doubt I need to remind everyone that this is simply for posterity's purpose, and the Blue Jackets will not be naming their cannon anything at all, to my knowledge.

Doesn't mean we can't have fun, though, right? Have at it, Blue Jackets' fans! Just click the picture at the top left-hand corner and leave your suggestions! The poll with the various suggestions will go up this coming Sunday.

And now, a little music:

Mmm ... shark fin soup.

2007-10-29T18:23:00.000-05:00

Oh, gee, thanks a lot, Minnesota. I thought expansion brothers were supposed to look out for one another! But, no, you went and let Colorado beat you, and bump us down to 5th in the West as a result. Thanks so much. Seriously.

... okay, all kidding aside, let's get to Saturday's game, since I feel at least mildly refreshed after napping the afternoon away. I swear, that music quiz took more out of me than I thought it would.

Sunday's game was ... well, it was something special.

-First game of the season where the Jackets won after being behind during the course of the game. Given, they were only behind for all of about a minute and a half, but it's all about the fact that they pushed harder than ever when they realized that if they didn't act quickly, they could very well get dragged into a proverbial quagmire. And seeing how rough that game was, they really could have been pulled into a sluggish game.

-First win for Pascal Leclaire where he didn't get a shutout, as well as his first win when he started the previous game (which he also won). Although the shot count was quite low, 18 to 17 in favor of Columbus, he still made some key saves that ensured that the Jackets' would stay in the game. Beyond that, this was all about getting past mental blocks. He had yet to put together two solid, back-to-back games ... and he had yet to win without keeping the opposing team off the score sheet. Congratulations, Pazzy ... like the guys at Puck Rakers have been saying, it'll be a bloody travesty if you don't get one of the Stars of the Month from the NHL.

-The ice was just plain bad. Via a connection or two, I heard that one of the ice technicians has recently left to work for the New Jersey Devils, who played their first home game at The Prudential Center on Saturday. It looks like he left after the home game against the Blues on Thursday, no less. So don't hold it against the rest of the crew, who probably had to carry the extra workload on their own shoulders until they find someone new to take over this guy's position. There's a week before the next home game, so there's time to check things out ice-wise and also find someone new.

-The Sharks were chippy, choppy, and at times dirty. I don't deny that the Blue Jackets' play a rough and tumble style of game, especially now with Ken Hitchcock ingraining that in to the team mentality, but the Sharks took it beyond a hard-hitting game with high sticks to both David Vyborny (which was completely ignored or unnoticed by the referees, despite the blood) and Nikolai Zherdev. There was more than one questionable hit of players in to the boards beyond the one that Steve Bernier was called for in the 3rd period. And Jeremy Roenick's banging around of Leclaire after he was knocked in to the crease at the end of the game was bush league. I'm sorry you couldn't get your two goals against the "weak" Blue Jackets, but suck it up.

In other news, as was first reported in a post today by Tom Reed at Puck Rakers, both Duvie Westcott and Fredrik Modin are back in practice and depending on how well they do, could be in the lineup against Los Angeles on Wednesday, when the team tangos with the Kings at the Staples Center. I have to admit, the Nash-Peca-Modin line intrigues me. Two big guys that can cause tons of havoc in front of the net can be pretty brutal, if done right. I wonder if Mike Peca will feel any sorts of height inferiority complex standing next to those two (I kid, I kid).

There's also the fact that Nash and Modin are both considered left wingers. And besides that line, there was also a line with Sergei Fedorov, Gilbert Brule, and Jared Boll. To tell you the truth, that one confuses me more than anything, since both Brule and Fedorov are centers. And Boll, even though he has been a force to be reckoned with on the ice in terms of drawing penalties and just plain pest-ing it up, still just has two points (both goals) on the season so far. I'll wait to pass judgment, however, until I see such a line in action (if it does, indeed, stay intact for Wednesday's game).

Attendance was 400 peoples (heh ... peoples) more than Thursday's game against St. Louis, so the Jackets' are starting to draw fans back little by little. But they need to continue to play the way they have been playing. A long week away from home with two late games on the west coast could also hurt their attempts to stay within the mentality of Columbus and Ohio sports fans who are pre-occupied with the Buckeyes, and possibly a better-than-average Cleveland Browns team. And with the NBA season just around the corner, some doofus named "King James" who reigns in Cleveland might pull some attention away from the Jackets, too.

Now, I have some laundry to take care of.

Mr. Sun came up and he smiled at meeee~!

2007-10-28T16:08:00.000-05:00

...

Total exaggeration, I know. And I promise -- promise! -- this is the last "standings/silence/video" post for a while.

I'm aiming for a more thorough post by later tonight. But right now, I have a Music test to study for that's tomorrow.

Setting up the goaltender guidelines.

2007-10-27T08:06:00.000-05:00

After Pascal Leclaire got his fourth shutout on Thursday against St. Louis, and Fredrik Norrena got his first win of the season in a brutal, high-scoring game against Chicago on Tuesday, I concluded that there are now a couple sets of rules instead of just the "We win if we get a shutout/we lose if we don't." Here's how things go, nine games in:

If Fredrik Norrena is in net:
-The Blue Jackets will win in a wild score-fest.
-The Blue Jackets will lose in a nail-biter, one-goal game/SO loss/OT loss.

If Pascal Leclaire is in net:
-The Blue Jackets will win via a shutout.
-The Blue Jackets will lose ... badly.

As always, these rules are subject to change. Suffice it to say, the one impediment that Leclaire has left to overcome is his current inability to record consecutive wins when he is in net, right after a game he won. And this is a big impediment at that, if the Jackets want to push for something more than .500 hockey. And just from watching them, they really believe they're better than just .500 hockey.

I'm going to presume that Leclaire will start tonight when the Jackets' welcome the San Jose Sharks to Nationwide, and win or lose, Norrena will get the call when the team flies out to Los Angeles for a game with the Kings on Wednesday. Of course, considering how my presumptions usually go, you don't want to bet on that statement.

Lost in the beastly play of not only Leclaire, but Rick Nash's 5-game goal scoring streak (with 9 points in all during that same period), one other player has been consistently producing for the Jackets the past two games as well, notching 3 goals and 1 assist. No, it's not Nikolai Zherdev, or even Mike Peca. It's actually Jackets' centerman Jiri Notovny, who I've admittedly -- and regrettably -- overlooked.

I admit, it's hard to say much about the guy, but in a sense, that's a good thing. He just seems to ... be there, whenever he tallies a point. He only seemed to appear from the very mist he's been concealed in when, before a befuddled Nationwide crowd on Thursday, he was given an automatic goal on what would have normally been a penalty shot. This happened due to the fact that he was in on a breakaway in the opposing zone while the Blues had an empty net, only to be hooked from behind enough to not be able to toss the puck home.

Even I had to take a second to figure out what was going on. Having never before seen a goal awarded in such a way before, but knowing the rule existed, I wasn't sure if he'd just be given the tally, or if he actually had to go through the process of an actual penalty shot on an empty net, and just flip it in. I got to admit, that would've been hilarious if he did have to do that. Well, until he ended up missing the gaping net, a la Dallas/Edmonton from last year. Not that he would!

Speaking of the crowds at Nationwide, they're still regrettably sparse. Thursday's crowd was a couple hundred short of 13,000 ... that extra 1,000 or so fans compared to the previous two home games must be dejected Cleveland Indians' fans. But, you know what? That's okay. Really. The team needs to show that this good start to the season isn't just some fluke. And while I don't want to jinx it, even if they end up blowing up in the final two games of the month, they'll still finish at .500 for the month of October, which would be their best opening month in team history.

Three things I want to see tonight:
-The Chimera/Malhotra/Fritsche line getting a point, after all that hard work they put in Thursday.
-David Vyborny hopefully continuing to shake off whatever was ailing him at the start. He has a three-game point streak going (3 assists), and he needs to just keep on chugging along.
-The Jackets' pouring it on hard in the beginning. The Sharks are wounded, and pissed from last night's bludgeoning at the hands of Detroit. I could tell that much from the snippets I watched on Center Ice, especially seeing Joe Thornton lashing out at times.

You're entering into a strange, new world ...

2007-10-26T07:04:00.000-05:00

...

Real post-game sometime tonight, when I'm done with classes and other important things.

Oh, my cannon has a first name, it's ... wait, it doesn't?!

2007-10-25T12:03:00.001-05:00

So. The cannon. It's a nice cannon, isn't it?

You bet your sweet backside it is. There's just one problem ...

It's still just "The Cannon." And frankly, if you're like me -- someone who likes to name different things they own, such as their computer or their goalie sticks or whatnot -- you feel the desire to give this beautiful, 1,800 lbs. a fitting name.

However someone like me just isn't good at giving names to things! And frankly, considering that ol' "The Cannon" is not just mine, but every Blue Jackets fan's cannon, it's only fitting that the name is something that every one can agree on, or at least come to some sort of consensus about, be it through recommending various names, or even picking several names and then running a poll for what is liked best.

So here is my idea, Blue Jackets' fans. Comment on this post, and come up with the very best names that you can think of. Sometime this weekend I'll put up a link in the top left corner, where that old NHL Draft link is, that'll go directly to this post. And from there, I'll give it about a week to see what people come up with.

At the end of that week, I'll go over the various suggestions with several other Blue Jackets' bloggers and fans -- yes, Drew, Tyler, Truth, Sarah, the rest of you CBJ bloggers, and possibly even you two guys at Puck Rakers, are being conscripted to help whether you like it or not! -- and pick the 5 or 10 best names to put in a poll that'll go for another week. And at the end of it, we'll hopefully have ourselves a name for our wonderful, "authentic replica" 1857 Napoleon.

Spread the word, folks! Make sure that as many names are suggested!

Fragile! THIS SIDE UP ^

2007-10-25T11:17:00.000-05:00

Courtesy of James Mirtle, and via the Boston Herald, we have this little tidbit of information to chew on this early afternoon:

"According to sources in the B’s dressing room, Reebok has been unable to correct problems with the new jerseys introduced this season across the NHL and will replace them at the company’s expense with new uniforms made of the old materials."

Talk about shameful. What happened to the glorified talk about how the jerseys would make players 8% faster? Or how they would wick away all that excess sweat?

While conversing with a friend of mine about a month ago, the topic of why is sweat building up in player's shirts -- as well as other pieces of clothing/equipment -- came up. And really, while the jerseys might be all sorts of technologically advanced and be the next best thing to sliced bread, players are still wearing the same, sweat-gathering undershirts and padding that they've always worn. Reebok must not have factored in such a thing, which goes to show how far ahead they seemed to be thinking. Changing hockey jersey material isn't as simple as changing the material for an NBA player's jersey or MLB player's uniform; those athletes don't need to worry as much about whatever they have under/around their jerseys/uniforms as much as a hockey player, who deals with elbow pads, leg pads, hockey pants, gloves, and skates.

And of course, there's still that issue about the jerseys easily turning in to shredded ribbons with just a good, hard yank during a fight between two enforcers. While I certainly believe it when players say that the material is flimsier than the original jersey material, it does surprise me when I feel the different material with my hands. I thought the EDGE seemed sturdier, just based off of the fact that it was stretchier, thus capable to handle more stress to pull. But then again, I'm not an NHL hockey player.

Still, this makes me wonder: will RBK have to do anything about jerseys that are currently in stores, considering that ... well, frankly, the "EDGE System" is being done away with (whether it's a temporary or permanent setback is debatable)? And what about the other 29 teams in the NHL? Are the Bruins the only one clamoring for replacement jerseys with the old material? Or will the other teams also be given the option to ask RBK to make them new jerseys with the old material? All out of RBK's pocket, at that.

Edit (2:06 PM ET): Uni Watch adds to the intrigue behind this story, commenting on the jersey issue after talking with a spokesperson from the NHL:

"Just spoke with an NHL spokesperson, who told me that the Boston Herald report is incorrect. As it was explained to me, Reebok has informed each team that players who have “moisture issues” with the new jerseys (i.e., lots of water ending up in their gloves and/or skates) will be given the option to have the option to wear a jersey with a new front panel made of a different high-tech material. The spokesperson maintained that there was no league-wide move to scrap the new jerseys, nor was there any move back to “old materials.”"

Well that's certainly interesting. Grabbed from Mirtle, Eric Duhatschek from the Globe & Mail gives us a bit more information on the material/fabric change:

"“There are certain panels on the front of the jersey which are being replaced with a performance fabric, an air-knit fabric,” said Mansur. “They are being given to the players who are requesting them. There is no going back to the old jerseys, no. It’s just the use of an alternate (fabric) to resolve specific issues.”"

Well, give Reebok and the NHL credit for practically coming out, guns blazing, before this bit of news simmered and stewed any longer than it had.

Epiphanies abound!

2007-10-22T21:30:00.001-05:00

In lieu of Sunday's epiphany, I had another one just this morning, after sleeping off the hangover which was a 4-1 loss to a sub-par Vancouver Canucks team:

If you do not shut the other team out, you will lose.

Now, whether or not this rule applies to other teams in the NHL doesn't matter. What does matter is that seven games in to the season, this rule -- as well as last night's "shutout = win" rule -- is valid as it pertains to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Setting aside everything and anything that I've already read from either The Dispatch or other bloggers about Sunday's game, here's what I thought stood out to me the most:

-Curtis Sanford is not God, no matter how much praise people in Vancouver might give him for turning away 35 of 36 shots. If I had a video of last night's game in full to dissect, I'd probably only see maybe a handful of those shots come from anywhere that was not the blue line, or the general area of the outer offensive perimeter.

Right now, the only player that seems to be ready to crash the net and bang around is Rick Nash, who had last night's lone goal on that very sort of play on a 5-on-3 opportunity. Other than that, you'll only see flashes of other players daring to run interference between a few opposing players and the goalie. And more often than not, such as on goals from Jan Hejda against Dallas and Mike Peca against Buffalo, they'll only go in to that 'red zone' if the puck is free after a rebound, or after someone else caused a ruckus in front of the net.

-Conversely, Pascal Leclaire is also not God. Like a friend of mine said as we were talking after the game, expect to see him have some streaky highs and lows this season. Even though he has three shutouts already after just five games, he shouldn't be held to that standard of play all season long ... and frankly, to do so would be folly. He's still young by goaltender standards, and is going to go from brilliant to bomb in a matter of moments every so often.

I just wish it hadn't been on the very first shot against him last night.

-I lied; I'm going to touch on something I did read. Even though in The Dispatch there seems to be this impression that the Blue Jackets controlled most of the play -- and admittedly, it's hard to argue that when they held the Canucks to a big, fat goose egg when it came to shots in the 2nd period -- I simply didn't see it. Sure, they might have had possession of the puck more often, but that didn't do them much of anything when they got in to the Canucks' zone. The Canucks, for the most part, seemed actually quite calm when in their own zone, which led to the issue of no net crashing, no ruckus stirring, and nothing but slapshots from other zip codes that Sanford could easily brush aside.

-The penalty kill is no longer perfect at home. It was fun while it lasted, though.

-I really feel no desire to single out anyone who I haven't already singled out for good or bad play. Suffice it to say, it was hard to even stay interested in this match. And that's saying a lot, considering I gleefully followed the Devils during their glory years, when the neutral zone trap was at its best (or worst, depending on your opinion of it).

Tuesday the Jackets face the stronger, faster, better, younger, better coached, and better managed Chicago Blackhawks in Chicago. Despite Rocky Wirtz's recent declaration that he'll have the Blackhawks on Comcast SportsNet as soon as humanly possible (and seriously, the guy deserves praise for such a quick change from his daddy's -- recently departed Bill Wirtz -- opinion of television coverage), this particular game won't be on television anywhere. FSN Ohio isn't sending ol' Rimer and Gare on the road for this one, so neither FSN nor a feed via Center Ice will give you the Jackets on your television.

As a result, I'm spending tomorrow studying and tinkering on my Music mid-term project!

Canucks visit Columbus!

2007-10-21T11:25:00.000-05:00

I had an epiphany sometime Saturday, after getting home late in the evening.

If you shut out the other team, you win.

Obviously, the poor hockey fans who sat through last night's Rangers/Bruins tilt will disagree, since both of their goalies technically did get shutouts. But, still!

Anyway, let's reflect on that win against Buffalo on Saturday. How about that Pascal Leclaire, eh? Although he was largely untested by a frustrated Sabres team that was kept well in check, he made the saves he had to, earning his third shutout to lead the league. He is 2nd in the league in both Goals Against Average and Save Percentage, only behind Tim Thomas of Boston. He also ranks first in NHL.com's largely pointless but still interesting Three Stars of the Night, the only goalie in the Top 10 besides Philly's Martin Biron.

Now the question is, can Leclaire put up back-to-back strong showings? Leclaire will get the start tonight, as reported by The Columbus Dispatch this morning. The last time he played in a game without Fredrik Norrena playing one between his starts, he was manhandled by an Avalanche team 5-1 in Colorado, though it's worth pointing out that the Avs are one of just four teams in all who have yet to lose at home (and one of three that have played at least four games at home).

Other notables from the Sabres game are Michael Peca, who after two games centering Rick Nash and Nikolai Zherdev, got his first two points of the season (1 goal, 1 assist). Nash now has three multi-point games on the season, and still leads the team in points with 4 goals and 4 assists. Zherdev, meanwhile, finally got his first goal of the season on an empty-netter. But regardless of the fact that it was on an open net, he deserved it for all the hard work he's been putting out. Seemingly returning from the brink after a weak pre-season, Z is playing an equally well-rounded game as Nash is in many ways.

The Blue Jackets have also not allowed any power play goals in any of their games, with the exception of the previously mentioned Avalanche game. Ranking 1st in the league, they're a total 30 of 32 on penalty kill opportunities. Give full credit to Ken Hitchcock, as well as assistant coach Gord Murphy for implementing such an efficient penalty kill. I know last season I just about had the firing squad ready for Murphy, after a particular Canadian road swing brought out the very worst in last season's penalty kill. But it looks like, from an outside perspective, he's learning a lot from the defensive-minded Hitchcock, as evidenced by the team's strong PK play.

As for Vancouver, Aaron Portzline has a great article up on Canucks' goalie Roberto Luongo, and I was quite interested in the part of the article where Jackets' goaltending coach Clint Malarchuk talks about his time working with Luongo, when they were both a part of the Florida Panthers' organization.

The Canucks are coming off a tough 4-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings, in which Luongo let in three goals in a little over a six minutes in the 2nd period. While Luongo might be reeling at the moment with a couple of rough losses to the Kings, and a similar 4-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks earlier last week, he still has vexed the Jackets' in many ways.

This is a good opportunity for the Jackets to show they can win two in a row for the first time this season, and do it against a goalie who has frustrated them greatly in the past.

Basketball called on account of ice ... or something close to it.

2007-10-20T08:31:00.000-05:00

WORCESTER, Mass. -- The NBA preseason game between the New Jersey Nets and Boston Celtics was canceled after one half Friday night because of damp court conditions at the DCU Center.
Boston led 36-33 at halftime when the game was called because of condensation forming from ice beneath the floor. The 25-year-old city-owned facility is home to the AHL's Worcester Sharks, an affiliate of the San Jose Sharks.

Read more ...

If I was a superstitious man, I'd say this was a premonition of things to come as the NHL finally overtakes the (lame) NBA in the sporting world.

Sadly, it's not. But I'll still smugly chuckle at the misfortune of basketball players. Not the risk of injury part, however ... that's definitely not funny.

Great googly moogly!

2007-10-19T23:03:00.001-05:00

It's late, and I am sooo tired. And honestly, I am shocked -- shocked! -- at tonight's results, having been able to catch a good amount of tonight's game on the television at the Dispatch Ice Haus, even as I made sure my cousin didn't oogle the Junior Blue Jackets players too much.

So, keeping that in mind, here's a short version of how I feel about tonight's game:

A longer version may come tomorrow, or packaged in with the pre-game for Sunday's game against Vancouver.

We <3 Buffalo.

2007-10-18T22:01:00.000-05:00

Considering it's the Sabres that the Blue Jackets are playing tomorrow night, I feel almost obligated to write a pre-game, much to my chagrin. Don't get me wrong, if I wasn't so busy strangling myself over my mid-term test results and getting ready for a long day of classes and other things tomorrow, I'd be all over this like Paris Hilton at a photo shoot.

That, and I'm once more going to miss a majority of the game, much like I missed the majority of the game against the Avalanche. I promised my cousin that I'd take her to the Ohio Junior Blue Jackets' home opener, without actually thinking about the fact that it conflicted with the Jackets/Sabres game. I'm sure I'll be able to catch some of it on the televisions at the Dispatch Ice Haus, but we'll see how it goes.

In any event, what should we expect from tomorrow's game? Well, the Sabres are currently moving along with a three game winning streak, after being thrashed by the New York Islanders in their first two games of the season. Given, the wins were against an 0-6 Thrashers team (now 1-6 as I type this), a Capitals team that'll be 3-3 after tonight, and a pretty 'meh' Toronto team who also sits at 3-3 at the moment. Not to take away from their wins, or anything. Just keeping things in perspective for those ever-so-cheery Sabres fans (I mock you because I love you).

Ryan Miller, the Sabres' goalie, has also been pretty 'meh', just going off of his .887 save percentage. But then again, considering the Sabres' -- prior to factoring in tonight's games -- lead the league in most goals for, he doesn't exactly have to be that good. I guess the loss of Chris Drury and Daniel Briere isn't hurting them too much; not yet, at least.

On the Jackets' side, well, I really think it's a coin flip on who will start in net tomorrow night. Although Pascal Leclaire did have the two shutouts to start the season off, the 5-1 loss to Colorado was all kinds of ugly, regardless of how much or how little he was responsible for letting five goals in. Fredrik Norrena has so far had one average outing, and one pretty good outing, but both of them have resulted in losses (one of them an SOL, mind you). So I'm not going to make any predictions ... they never go the way I think they'll go, anyway.

Fredrik Modin will continue to stay out, as he'll be scratched for at least another week due to his slight groin tear, as reported on by the Dispatch Boys at Puck Rakers. I don't think there's a snowball's chance in something hot that Jody Shelley suits up for the game against Buffalo, even if it's a good presumption that it's going to be a hard-hitting affair, especially after last year's wild tilt, coupled with the two pre-season games these two teams had. So once again, expect Curtis Glencross to get a chance to play.

Something I'd like to see -- or at least read about if I can't see much of the game -- tomorrow night? More of a presence from David Vyborny. I have faith that he'll begin to pick things up at some point. Also, let's see if Jared Boll can't get another point ... he's actually come close a few times since his goal against Phoenix, and I just have a good feeling that if he keeps up this style of play, something is bound to happen.

These (Texas-sized) boots were made for kicking ...

2007-10-18T07:26:00.000-05:00

Well, then. If that wasn't a kick to the you-know-whats ...

... five games in, and the top concern I have is the Jackets' lack of a killer instinct in the two close games they've played in so far. While the 4-0 drubbing of the Ducks, and the 3-0 win over the Coyotes were foregone conclusions by the time that the 3rd period had rolled around, the Jackets seem to have some sort of issue with delivering the final blow, or at the very least keeping cool under pressure, when they either have the lead in the 3rd, or take the lead at some point during the final period.

I'm not going to say that the Jackets controlled a majority of the game time like The Columbus Dispatch is; as time went on, the Stars started to become more and more comfortable within the confines of Nationwide, even if they weren't pressuring too much in the Jackets' zone. But even so, the Jackets had enough of a grip on the game that this should not have happened. By 'this', I mean the floundering, blundering, complete loss of any idea of what was going on around them when the Stars tied things up with just over a minute left in regulation.

You couldn't even blame it on the extra attacker once Stars' netminder Mike Smith was pulled. The Stars had already gotten things rolling in the Jackets' zone by the time he had come on, and with a couple of unforced passes, Brenden Morrow one-timed a shot right past Fredrik Norrena.

It's vexing. I'm feeling quite ... vexed right now.

This morning in Puck Rakers, Tom Reed makes an offhanded note about the Jackets' overall record in the shootout, which is 13-9. You know, I recall some two seasons ago when the shootout was first implemented, I could have sworn that they only lost twice in the damn thing. What I am wondering is, what in the world happened? The players who were normally called upon for the shootout back then are the same ones we have now, with the exception of one Jaroslav Balastik, who's currently stranded somewhere in Europe.

Why is it that the team seems to have progressively gotten worse at it since last season? Jackets' fans may recall a time last season when the results were so ugly, that Ken Hitchcock resulted to shootout tryouts during each practice, giving the "winners" the opportunity to take part in a shootout if it came to that during the next game.

Sigh.

Well. Looking beyond the fact that this was a SOL, at least Nikolai Zherdev continues to show that he's working his ass off. Would you believe me if I had said before the start of the season that at any point in time, he would be leading the team in assists? Because that's just what he is doing right now, with 5 in 5 games. Frankly, at this point, I don't care if he never scores another goal again, so long as he is one of the driving reasons that someone else bangs the puck home.

Rick Nash managed to shake off the doldrums that he's been in since the second game of the season, tallying a goal and an assist as well to put him at 6 points on the season (3 g, 3 a), despite the fact he was nursing a sore groin. And I want to commend Freddy-No on what was an otherwise a strong game by him, in my opinion. He was forced to keep himself awake while the Stars hardly tested him until the third period, at which point he handily stood up to a 15 shot flurry, only allowing one of those shots in ... unfortunately, it was also the tying goal. But them's the breaks.

Friday's game has the Jackets' in Buffalo. I would have preferred a winning record heading in to Sabres' territory. Forgive the pessimistic tone, but I got an ominous feeling about this upcoming game.

One final thought: Where has David Vyborny been so far this season? Normally the most reliable Jackets' player in terms of steady production (he's led the team in points the last two seasons), V has only 1 assist and no goals in 5 games. This couldn't happen at a worse time, considering how he'd said he hoped he could stay in Columbus on something long-term during the pre-season.

Wonky schedules, and the Stars come to Nationwide.

2007-10-17T07:09:00.000-05:00

Did you know that the Blue Jackets are one of just two teams that have only played four games so far this season? We're over halfway through the month of October, and every other team has played between 5 and 7 games, with 8 games being the most ... and only because the two teams that have played that many -- the Ducks and the Kings -- started a week early with that wacky "home-and-home" in London.

Anyone who had hopped on to the Blue Jackets' roller coaster early last season probably remembers that the CBJ also were slow out of the gate as it pertained to how many games they played in relation to other teams, too. I'm sure most people remember how often -- to the point of ad nauseum -- we were reminded that the Blue Jackets' had key "games in hand" in comparison to other teams in the Western Conference. That was because while other teams were rattling off game after game, the Jackets had a five day layoff between a 5-1 win over the Phoenix Coyotes on October 9th, and a 5-0 manhandling at the hand of the Minnesota Wild on the 14th. Then they had a six day layoff until their 4-2 defeat to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The three day layoff between this season's first Coyotes game and the recent game against the Colorado Avalanche, followed by a four day break before tonight's tilt against the Dallas Stars, seems to smack of a similar -- but of course not as long of a -- layoff issue as it pertains to the Jackets' schedule in October. Frankly, while I'm not about to go and say this is the reason the Jackets are in disarray (it'd be idiotic to use that as an excuse), it still bothers me.

But the show must go on, even if it's now been over half a week since the Jackets' last played. I'd generally been too busy enjoying my mid-term break to delve into the horrors that made up that 5-1 drubbing by the Avalanche on Saturday. Like I said in a previous post -- albeit in a haiku -- I was unable to watch the game. I wouldn't be doing the team any justice to talk about it all that much, beyond some very general comments. For example, the Jackets are no longer flawless on the penalty kill, allowing two goals to the Avalanche on the PK. Also, Pascal Leclaire also lost his shutout streak, but not before setting a new Blue Jackets' record for consecutive shutout minutes (that was only set last season by Fredrik Norrena, no less).

As for today's match-up, well, it looks like the injury bug is already starting to take its toll on the team. As reported by The Columbus Dispatch, Fredrik Modin will not be suiting up tonight as he nurses a sore/pulled groin. Modin, who has 2 assists in 4 games, has been one of the Blue Jackets more dependable guys on the ice, to say the least. Still, if he needs to rest, he needs to rest. It's still early in the season, and it's better that he's prepared for some of those longer stretches of games.

Other players who have been dealing with injuries are Rick Nash, who was also reported to be having some sore groin issues. However Nash is expected to still play tonight, which is a good sign. Meanwhile, Jared Boll -- who had been injured in last week's game against the Coyotes -- looks to be back in the lineup for tonight. He had been left behind in Columbus during the Jackets' trip to Colorado, where he nursed a sore shoulder.

Fredrik Norrena will get the start tonight. Considering the type of competitor that Freddy is, I'd expect him to play his ass off after seeing Leclaire play two games in a row, only to get brutally dispatched in the second game. This could be Norrena's opportunity to match Leclaire's strong play, after all.

Junior Jackets Weekly - Oct. 14 - Oct. 20

2007-10-16T07:58:00.000-05:00

Did you know that the Ohio Junior Blue Jackets updated their web page? Neither did I, but I have to admit it looks pretty slick when compared to the old site, which was simply a rehash of the old Blue Jackets' site.

I'm ashamed to admit that amidst the excitement of the NHL's regular season starting, coupled with my mid-terms last week, I completely neglected the fact that the OJBJ started their United States Hockey League regular season two Fridays ago, during a double dip on both Friday the 5th and Saturday the 6th against the Green Bay Gamblers.

Going by the standings alone, everything looks good so far for the Junior Blue Jackets, as they currently sit at 2-0-1 after a pair of wins in Green Bay, followed by a tough loss to the Indiana Ice, in which Jackets' defenseman Patrick Goebel managed to tie the score with just 51 seconds remaining in the game. The team would lose in a lengthy shootout that would go all of nine rounds.

Here's a run down of the OJBJ roster, highlighting the team's leaders in points, goals, assists, and PIMs:

One of the more vexing problems when keeping track of the Junior Blue Jackets, I admit, is probably the fact that the only games I'll be able to see firsthand are the games I will attend in-person. Apparently the USHL is affiliated with a webcast group called B2 Networks, ~~however I have yet to see any OJBJ games available for viewing on their site~~. And even if I did, it would require a subscription to watch USHL games; something I just can't afford as a lowly college student.

(Edit: I wasn't looking close enough. To my knowledge, all games will be broadcast by B2 Networks ... however the price for a USHL Season Pass is $140. I'm sorry, but that's about the same price as NHL Center Ice!)

Still, that isn't going to deter me from keeping track of this team. They deserve recognition, after all. And hockey in Columbus is hockey in Columbus, right?

In any event, the Junior Blue Jackets will be kicking off their home opener this Friday against the Omaha Lancers, who they'll also be facing the next day as well. The Lancers are one of only two teams with a 3-0-0 record. While the OJBJ have seemingly been winning thanks to some strong offense -- they rank 3rd in the league in goals for (out of 12 teams) -- they also rank 8th in goals against, meaning that they'll need to tighten things up in their own zone, as well as between the pipes. Corson Cramer, who has played 2 of the 3 OJBJ's games so far, is sporting just a .901 save percentage, while the Lancer's best goalie, Drew Palmisano, has an above average .914 save percentage.

I'll be at this game, so expect something with a bit more meat come next week's JJ Weekly. Hopefully!

And now, for a little Army of the Ohio haiku ...

2007-10-13T09:03:00.000-05:00

...I can't watch the game...

I'll be busy all night long...

...My soul weeps strongly

If you win, they will come. Maybe. ... hopefully?

2007-10-11T19:15:00.000-05:00

After falling shy of a sell-out on opening night for the first time, the Blue Jackets saw attendance drop like a rock for their second home game of the season last night, when the Coyotes came in to town. The announced attendance, as you can see from ESPN's recap of the game, was 11,944 ... or about 66% of capacity.

Even before this season started, there had been signs that attendance was going to dip, even with the ouster of Doug MacLean as a peace offering to the fans, and the installment of more business savvy Mike Priest as Team President. Season ticket renewal, if I recall from reading The Columbus Dispatch during the off-season, was around 85%, which ultimately meant around 11,000 season tickets had been sold for this season. Now, I don't know if that only refers to PSLs or both PSLs and half-season plans.

This makes me wonder about a few things. First and foremost, are the Blue Jackets now announcing attendance as the actual attendance at the arena, as compared to tickets distributed or tickets sold? If there are around 11,000 season ticker holders, it's really hard for me to believe that only about 1,000 more tickets were sold or distributed for last night's Phoenix game. I recall that the Phoenix game from February I referred to in my last post had an announced attendance of 13,825 ... but honestly, having been to both that game and last night's game, this game definitely had more people in the seats and around the arena.

Second of all, was this a sign of fan discontent, or just the average sports fan in Columbus -- and areas of Ohio surrounding C-Bus -- being preoccupied with other things? The Buckeyes, for example, are probably drawing more fans (as if they need any more ...) and more of the average sports fan's cash right now because they're beating the odds. People love it when a team that has lower expectations beat the odds ... and even though the Blue Jackets are doing just that three games in, Buckeye dominance in Columbus and their rising up the BCS rankings trumps that.

Then you have the Cleveland Indians, who despite being about two hours north, will still be keeping some people in Columbus saving their money to possibly make the trip to see an actual playoff team. Beyond that, you also have the usual reasons for a low draw: it was a Wednesday night in the middle of the week, and regardless of the fact that Wayne Gretzky is a household name, it's still the Phoenix Coyotes.

But I'm not going to hit the panic button or anything. Even though Wednesday's game was a bomb as it pertains to attendance, it's still early. How will things pan out when, say ... Detroit comes to town on November 18th? Or the Ducks once more? Or how about the Stars next Wednesday?

In summary, there's really no need to panic ... not yet, at least. The Jackets' organization probably knew that this would be a rough year, not only on the ice, but probably also off the ice as well, as it pertained to attendance, and revenue as well due to said attendance. With pundits from all sides of the hockey media world predicting almost a universal second-to-last place finish in the Western Conference, expectations had to be low.

But it's always darkest before the dawn. So just wait, folks. Even if the Jackets don't make the playoffs this season, so long as they continue to bring the hammer down on teams that come in to Nationwide, the fans will come.

I hear Coyote meat is a little gamey, but good.

2007-10-11T07:39:00.000-05:00

Rewind to early February of this year, last season. One of the worst winter storms I've had to brave was on in full force in Columbus, as I bravely trudged a half mile down the jam-packed, snarled traffic-ed road that led to Nationwide. The Coyotes were in town that evening and the Jackets were reeling from that nasty road swing through Canada, where the penalty kill had pretty much imploded, and sucked everything inside of it like a black hole of death.

That Phoenix game was delayed for a half hour because of the storm, by the way. The Jackets would lose that game 3-0, before a very sparse crowd of maybe 10,000 or so in attendance (13,285 tickets distributed, but with the storm and all ...), and I've been wanting to see the Coyotes suffer at the hands of the Jackets since then.

So it goes without saying that I was positively ecstatic with last night's results.

Now given, the Coyotes have been projected by many different writers and media pundits to do even worse than the Jackets this season, and their lack of cohesion was on display last night. Despite some strong flurries in the second period, coupled with some modest power play pressure -- though they still lack any PP goals whatsoever in their first three games -- the 'Yotes looked highly discombobulated, and incapable of working as a team.

On the other side of the ice? The Jackets' came on strong with the style of play that got them that win against the Anaheim Ducks in their season opener. Even though all of the lines seemed to be clicking well last night, only one managed to stuff the goodies into the net behind Phoenix netminder David Aebischer, and that was the Jason Chimera - Manny Malhotra - Jared Boll group.

Tenacious, strong on the forecheck, and generally a real pain on the backcheck, they were giving the Coyotes fits all night long. To me, it seemed almost as if they had some sort of mental connection going on. We've known Chimera and Malhotra to play on the same lines together as far back as the 05-06 season, however Boll -- who is quite fresh and now all of three NHL games old as a rookie -- has practically hit it off with both Manny and Chimmer very quickly. Look no further than Manny's feed pass to a waiting, broken out Boll, who charged in on Aebischer like a freight train before deking, and sliding the puck home to cement the Jackets' 3-0 win.

But they shouldn't get all the credit, even though they deserve a lot of it. A ton of credit has to, once again, go to Pascal Leclaire, who now has back-to-back shutouts in his first two games of the season. While largely untested early on, once the Coyotes started to come on stronger in the second, as well as during their power play opportunities in the third, Leclaire kicked it up a notch and then some.

While it's only three games in to the season, and Pazzy's only played two of them, it's hard to curb your enthusiasm for the guy. Berated by fans for being physically weak and injury prone, Leclaire is playing as though he has a giant chip on his shoulder, and has something to prove to anyone who's doubted him up until now. And honestly, good for him.

Lastly, before I drag my tired, cold-suffering 'self down to the bus to get to my classes, Mike Peca had his Blue Jackets' debut last night. While modest during regular shifts throughout the game, I was greatly impressed with his penalty kill prowess. One thing that stuck out to me was how on one shorthanded opportunity, he bided his time as the Coyotes never put pressure on him, then tossed a pass off to Adam Foote for a great chance on net. While Foote didn't score, it showed me that Peca isn't the type to get rid of the puck like a hot potato, even during penalty kill situations. And that sort of poise is something that takes a long time to grasp.

By the way, my mid-terms are this week, hence the lack of updates since the weekend. Apologies, folks. Once I am done with them this Friday, I'll be able to breathe a little easier.

Lost in the woods. Please send help.

2007-10-06T20:58:00.000-05:00

I dislike the Minnesota Wild for the very reason that I like the New Jersey Devils: they're defense-oriented, they are highly analytical, and they neutral zone trap you to death. Don't worry, I'm not one of those people that cries foul over 'The Trap' being used ... I just understand how damnably vexing it is when it's being used -- efficiently, I might add -- against you.

With that said, the game was pretty brutal to watch from start to finish. Although the Wild didn't take the lead until around 6:35 of the 3rd period on a goalpost clanger from Brent Burns, they controlled the flow of the game nearly all night long, with the exception of around the latter half of the 2nd period, when Adam Foote stunned just about every one watching by scoring a shortie on the Wild, and temporarily putting the Jackets up 2-1.

One thing that I noticed right off the bat was that the Jackets seemed to revert to their old ways of being unable to -- or not making the honest effort to -- break out of their own zone, instead spending too much time passing the puck back and forth. Of course, part of that could be a result of the way the Wild play, which isn't the easiest to break out against. But if this team truly is as good as their home opener seemed to show, they need to be able to push back against that sort of challenge.

Foote deserves credit for playing modestly well, including the aforementioned shorthanded goal. I wasn't pleased with Kris Russell's play tonight, as he seemed to be trying too hard, and at times pinching in much too deep. One play in particular, though it didn't lead to a goal, was the result of Russell staying out way too long on the ice -- apparently of his own volition during a line change -- and proceeding to cough up the puck as he tried to keep it in the Wild's zone.

Rick Nash, David Vyborny, and Sergei Fedorov? All kept off of the score sheet tonight. Nikolai Zherdev, although he notched two assists by helping with both Jackets' goals, unfortunately was also on the ice for all three Wild goals.

Fredrik Norrena was hung out to dry, despite a solid effort on his part. Saving 28 of 31 shots, he had to face way too many odd-man rushes, breakaways, and a variety of other shots and Wild scoring chances because of total breakdowns by the defense. Blue Jackets' players seemed to be falling all over themselves in the defensive zone, which only further cluttered and caused chaos in front of Freddy.

Still, give the Wild credit for playing their game. I'm going to have nightmares of Brian Rolston skating lightning-fast circles around me, taunting me as he zips around like a pest. A pest that can score, at that.

Now the Jackets have until Wednesday to return to Columbus, practice, rest, practice some more, have Ken Hitchcock mentally browbeat them until they remember how to break out of their own zone again, then take on the Wayne Gretzky-led Phoenix Coyotes.

As for me, I'll be taking Sunday off.

Into the 'Wild'.

2007-10-06T08:29:00.000-05:00

I'm in a bit of a rush out the door this morning, in large part because I have to go and get an x-ray on my left foot, then run a variety of errands. Let's see if I can't cover the most pertinent topics concerning tonight's game before I shower and then jet.

Tonight's game is against the Wild, our wonderful expansion brothers from Minnesota. This'll also be the Jackets' first road game of the season, and the first of the Jackets' back-to-back games this season. The Wild, having been known for their strong play and record at home at the Xcel Energy Center, are probably not going to be anywhere near as big of a pushover as the Ducks seemed to be last night. The Wild haven't had to travel from California, to England, back to North America, and so forth over the past week and a half or so, and have had a day off since their 1-0 shutout win on Thursday against the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Wild are, ultimately, the same Wild we've seen in previous seasons: defense-oriented, with steady and reliable goaltending behind said defense. This'll be a good test for the Jackets', who didn't have much difficulty in running roughshod over a tired Ducks' defense last night.

Unlike the Jackets', the Wild have also shown steady and stable growth and success on the ice since their inception. They have two playoff berths to their name in five seasons, and four seasons of above .500 records.

The bloggers that make up the Wild's blogosphere? Wild Puck Banter (though he's on temporary hiatus), The State of Hockey, who runs the MVN blog for the team, and Minnesota Wild Hockey.

Now, as for the Jackets ...

-Fredrik Norrena will be getting the call to start in net tonight. While I'm sure that makes Bethany as giddy as a schoolgirl, Freddy-No will have to now try and play on par with Pascal Leclaire's shutout effort last night. I have faith in Norrena, however I also have a realistic view on tonight's game, simply based off of the fact that the Wild can be downright brutal when in their own arena.

-Talking with a friend of mine last night after the game, I found out that the rotating A that you'll be seeing this season will actually be tied in to whether the Blue Jackets are at home or on the road. Last night you saw Sergei Fedorov and Fredrik Modin with the A on their jerseys, and that was because Ken Hitchcock has decided that they'll be the Alternate Captains when within the friendly confines of Nationwide. Tonight, you're going to see Rick Nash and David Vyborny donning the A, because they'll be on the road. Unless I hear otherwise, that's how things will work all season.

-Jody Shelley was scratched for opening night, which begs the question whether he'll suit up tonight. It's tough to get a bead on whether he will or he won't, just because at the moment, the three left wingers who suited up last night were Nash, Modin, and Jason Chimera. If Hitch decides to suit up 12 forwards and 6 defensemen instead of 11 and 7 like last night, it's a possibility. Shelley would sooner get slotted in to the lineup than Curtis Glencross, I think.

Puck drops at 8 pm EST. Hopefully I'll be able to catch all of the game, but if not, then definitely the 2nd period onward. Go Jackets!

Quack.

2007-10-06T07:37:00.000-05:00

It took until the third goal at 7:58 of the 3rd period for me to finally exhale last night. Having remembered the collapse during last season's home opener against the Vancouver Canucks, could you blame me for being more frightened than enthusiastic over a 2-0 lead heading in to the 3rd?

But here I am the morning after, finding out that this dominant win over the Stanley Cup Champion Anaheim Ducks was not a dream. I mean, who would have thought that the result would be a 4-0 blowout, let alone in such a dominant fashion?

Before I get in to the game, though, let me just say that it's a real shame that this game wasn't a sellout. Shy by somewhere around 500 seats or so, this is one of those games that you wish had the arena packed to capacity and then some, just because of how perfect it would have been for fans who are currently feeling disenchanted or otherwise frustrated by the Jackets' past season woes. But still, this team does need to convince the people of Columbus that they deserve better attendance, and after one game, so far so good.

Also, the cannon? A thing of frikken' beauty! You couldn't have asked for a better way to kick the game off, let alone celebrate each and every goal. Show of hands, readers: how many of you expected that baby to be fired a total of seven times in the very first game of the season (start of game, goal, goal, goal, goal, two for winning)? That's one Helluva way to break that baby in, I know that much. And if that trumpeter who was standing next to the cannon is there for every game, too? That just makes it even more awesome. When he started blasting his bugle in the 3rd period, the 17,700+ in the arena started to rock that place.

Now, as for the game ...

-Rick Nash is on pace for 328 points (164 goals, 164 assists). Come on, you know he's going to get that many.

-Pascal Leclaire played great when he had to, especially during the flurries the Ducks had around him at key points. I'll admit, there were points where it seemed like he was a little iffy on some rebounds, which was tough to watch. But at the same time, the majority of his rebounds did seem to me as though they were intentionally directed elsewhere to ensure they'd be difficult for the Ducks to take advantage of. This is also Leclaire's second career shutout, which means he's already matched his season record for shutouts (1) from last season.

-The hit that Jared Boll landed on Travis Moen seemed to me less in the vein of something that was dirty, and more in the vein of something that a rookie does when they're too damn enthusiastic. It's clear in the replays that he left his skates, which is a big no-no. However he did not use his elbow, only using his shoulder for the hit. However the hit was also high and to the head, as was evident by the video of a bloodied Moen on the bench.

If he's suspended for a couple of games, I won't be too upset. Any more than two games would be a bit much, however.

-Jason Chimera looked like a hell hound with the way in which he zipped all over the ice. And I lost track of the opportunities that Fredrik Modin had to bury one in the back of the net, only to be rebuffed by some great goaltending by the Duck's Ilya Bryzgalov.

-How about the energy that Nikolai Zherdev played with, too? A far cry from the seemingly unenthusiastic slogging through the pre-season done by Z, he was bold enough to stand up Ducks' players in the neutral zone, was aggressive on both the backcheck and the forecheck, and whether you'll believe it or not, his bag of tricks -- which does indeed include his trademark toe drag -- were actually working. Perhaps the problem isn't so much whether Z overuses things such as the toe drag, but whether or not he personally believes that he can pull it off. Something that's more mental than anything else.

I could go on and on, really, with the players who deserve to be mentioned for their great games. But honestly, you get the idea. I'll wrap things up by saying that last night's effort by the Jackets was simply great. They were methodical, ruthless, relentless, and with the exception of a gruelingly long 2nd period in large part due to the 5 minute major the Jackets' had assessed near the end of it, they never really slowed down.

Now, let's see if they can keep it up tonight in Minnesota.

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOO-- ... HOCKEY!?

2007-10-04T21:26:00.000-05:00

Damnit, I've been waiting too damn long for this! Finally, after idling for two days as a bunch of other teams started off their regular season, the Blue Jackets will take to the Nationwide Arena ice, and hopefully kick things off in fashion when they face the Stanley Cup Champion Anaheim Ducks.

The Ducks (1-1-1), as most people know, started their season off a week early when they and their California brethren, the Los Angeles Kings, took a trip across the pond to England. After splitting 4-1 decisions, they came back home to North America, where their first game on American soil pitted them against the Detroit Red Wings, in front of a nowhere-near-filled-to-capacity crowd at the Joe. They then lose 3-2 in the shootout, trading the lead with the Red Wings at points throughout the game before losing in a 3-round shootout.

From what I've read so far, Todd Bertuzzi has so far lived up to the expectations that Ducks' GM Brian Burke had about him. He has one goal and one assist in three games, with 4 PIM as well. Another player of interest, of course, is Corey Perry, who currently leads both the league -- given, it's just two to three games in to the season for all teams tonight -- and his team with 4 points (2g, 2a).

Off of the ice, the Ducks await any sort of word or signs concerning a decision to whether Scott Neidermeyer, and perhaps of less priority Teemu Selanne, will or will not return to the team while they mull retirement.

Who blogs on the Ducks? Some guy who apparently won some Sports Business Daily award recently. I know I've never heard of this Earl Slick of The Battle of California.

... I kid, I kid. Congratulations to Earl, by the way, on his recent ranking in SBD's Top 10 NHL Blog list. Besides Sleek, you have Finny of Girl With a Puck, and Daniel of Ducks Blog.

Normally I'd have all the time in the world to stay up, and make this post as great as can be. But sadly, prior to the start of tomorrow night's game, I'll be on campus and around the city all day long, meaning that I need to go to sleep now ... lest I fall asleep on the shuttle when I drag myself to class tomorrow morning.

So to sum things up in the most succinct, most simple, and most easiest way possible:

-The Blue Jackets now have a cannon, and be ready to keep an eye out for Ducks players being shocked and awed when it goes off. Nothing says "OH GOD MY HEART!" like a 105 decibel cannon sound coming from the sky above you.

-Fredrik Modin and Adam Foote look like they'll hopefully be ready for tomorrow night's game, while Mike Peca is going to be sitting out with back spasms that have been vexing him for a while. Peca missed all pre-season games, so it's probably for the best. I know my gut is telling me to just presume that Peca is a bust already, but my brain is telling me to not be so brash, and that whatever happens, this was a calculated risk that was worth taking signing him in the first place.

-Pascal Leclaire is going to start opening night, no matter how much Bethany might "Bawwwwwwwwwwwww!" about it. He had a good training camp, a good pre-season showing in the games he played, and deserves this opportunity. Remember that even factoring in his injury woes, last season was supposed to be his first season as a starter, and only his second season after shedding the 'rookie' status. I'm not going to blame the sophomore slump on what happened to him, but he's earned the right to play tomorrow night. And that's all that matters.

-Kepis are awesome.

Go Jackets!

A kinder, gentler criticism of the NHL from ESPN's fine EOE programming?

2007-10-04T18:10:00.000-05:00

Readers who frequent Army of the Ohio know that I generally have no love for Around the Horn or Pardon the Interruption, in large part because of the one-sided, immature and otherwise idiotic antics of people such as Tony Kornheiser, Jay Marriotti, and Woody Paige whenever the topic of hockey, or the NHL, comes up.

After last night's abysmal attendance at Joe Louis Arena for Detroit's 3-2 SO win over the Ducks, as well as the Avalanche's first ever lack of an opening game sellout (they hit around the 97% capacity mark), I just knew I had to tune in and see what was going to be said. PTI and ATH are the sorts of things that we hockey fans watch because we're masochists; we know we're going to get punched in the face, kicked in the groin, and get humiliated ... but we can't turn away.

And so it went, that the topic of the lack of American games playing to capacity crowds was brought up on both programs.

But something different happened this time around ... something quite funny. This time, at least to me, the criticism levied against the National Hockey League was ... gentler, I guess? I can't think of the right word, but suffice it to say, I found myself in near-disbelief at the fact that the likes of Mariotti, in all his boombastik and loud glory, was able to coherently and rationally go over a variety of the reasons as to why the NHL was suffering, which included the majority of ownership being incapable of keeping up with the times. And then there was hockey-loving Tim Cowlishaw, who fired off the largest salvo of intelligent criticism of the league that I've ever seen come from him.

I still took issue with the fact that in general, the reasoning behind both games being unable to sell out were glossed over. Detroit fans and bloggers have already vehemently pointed out a variety of legitimate rationales for what happened last night, which included not just the economy's woes, but also the stronger competition from the other three sports leagues in MoTown, as well as an ignorant, out-of-touch, and otherwise aloof front office that waited too long to act against fan apathy. As for Colorado, it must be remembered that even if Avalanche games are not happening at the same time as Colorado Rockies games, people only have so much money to put towards luxuries and leisure activities, and this being the Rockies' second ever playoff berth, it's hard to argue against people flocking to them at this point in time.

But I'm straying from the topic, which is that it seemed as though the normally over-the-top anti-hockey rhetoric seems to have been toned down, if only temporarily. Perhaps a result of the supposed talks between the NHL and ESPN to try and shuffle the league -- head hung low -- back to ESPN2, due to the currently hurting television ratings they have from their VS and NBC contracts?

Like I said to a friend earlier this evening, it makes no sense for ESPN to commit character assassination on the NHL to the point where if they did once again air hockey games, no one would turn in all thanks to all the hate and apathy they themselves drummed up and directed towards the league. Of course, this is all just theoretical; and I'm sure I'm probably giving ESPN too much credit. Maybe a week from now I'll see something more on par with Kornheiser's tirades that I've come to know and hate him for.

Dayton Bombers, I hardly knew ye.

2007-10-04T17:31:00.000-05:00

No, seriously, I really did hardly know you. Beyond the occasional post by Sarah over at Neutral Zone Trap about you, I had little knowledge as it pertained to what you were up to, despite being the Blue Jackets' junior hockey league affiliate.

And now I'll probably continue to hardly know you, due to today's announcement that the Blue Jackets will be shifting their ECHL affiliation over to the Elmira Jackals of Elmira, NY.

Columbus Blue Jackets General Manager Scott Howson announced today that the club has reached an agreement with the Elmira Jackals to serve as the ECHL affiliate for the Blue Jackets and the American Hockey League's Syracuse Crunch for the 2007-08 season.

"We are very pleased to have the Elmira Jackals as our ECHL affiliate," said Howson. "The foundation of any successful franchise is the development of its young players and we think this relationship will be a very positive one for our organization."

Certainly not anything that was expected, I know that much. Howson's logic is understandable, though ... even if those HFers are crying foul, with one or two of them threatening to not come to Blue Jackets' games in disgust.

But let's be realistic here; the Blue Jackets are better off keeping their minor league affiliates close to one another, regardless of whatever ill effects this may have on the team's popularity over in the Dayton region. Hockey fans, in my own opinion, should be fans of the sport, and not of a team's affiliations. If people decide to stop going to NHL games because their nearby NHL team decided that it was in their best interest to find an affiliate close to one of their other affiliates, then so be it.

And in all honesty, the logistics really need to be considered when analyzing this. CHL, ECHL, and AHL teams do not have the sort of money to send their players from one team to another if they're leagues away from one another (pun not intended). What was once a $200-300 plane from Dayton to Syracuse for a player has now become a $100 (or even less) bus ride or carpool between Elmira and Syracuse.

Of course, this doesn't factor in the poor Youngstown Steelhounds, the Jackets' CHL affiliate, who are still at least five hours or more away from their affiliate siblings. But the Steelhounds actually are the furthest team east in the CHL, so what can you do?

Those are the breaks, folks.

Randomly, is anyone else a little amused at the Jackals' proclamations on their homepage? They sure seem proud of being a member of the ECHL, don't they? Just a hunch, based off of the ad nauseum way in which they proudly proclaim their proudness to be proud members of the ECHL.

Is it already the mid-point of my semester? Good God!

2007-09-25T16:04:00.000-05:00

Go to the usual suspects for your Blue Jackets' blogging needs. Unfortunately, AotO will be taking a break until the day before the first CBJ game of the regular season, due to my own incompetence in balancing out my classwork, among other responsibilities.

Stupid class. Stupid classwork! Stupid projects!! ::Shakes his fist angrily towards the sky!::

A little cup of humor this Thursday morning ...

2007-09-20T07:28:00.000-05:00

Jackets won 4-3 last night in Chicago. From what I've read and heard, it was a rousing game, and apparently Jared Boll is Clubber Lang on skates. It makes me very sad that it wasn't broadcast anywhere, and I was only able to listen to the 3rd period on the radio.

Anyway, as I was checking my mail before going to bed last night, I got an automatic e-mail from the NHL Hockey Jobs Board that they send out whenever something pops up with one of the teams, or the league offices:

Hey, awesome! The Blue Jackets are looking for a new Human Resources Assistant! I should get my resume out right no-- ... hey, wait a minute. What's this? Camera three, zoom in over to the right.

No, no. I said right! More right!

Just a little bit more ...

... ... ...

The truth's revealed, folks. The NHL is -- and every team are -- all just a front for COBRA's takeover of the world.

My nostalgia and joke quota for the month is taken care of now. Next update on Saturday evening!

Pre-season game #02: Blue Jackets vs. Blackhawks

2007-09-18T10:26:00.000-05:00

Okay. I have class in a half of an hour, so I'll need to make this pre-game post quick. Apologies in advance for the lack of links, and the horrendous appearance of the post itself, as I am once again posting from one of the Ohio Dominican computers. I swear, I'm going to try and bring a USB memory stick with a copy of Firefox someday, and see if I can't get it to work on one of these pieces of junk.

This will be Chicago's first game of the pre-season. As most people know, the 'Hawks had an extremely rough year last season. Despite showing some major promise when Denis Savard took over coaching duties early in the season, and managing to creep within arm's length of a playoff seed sometime around Christmas, the Blackhawks would spiral out of control after that, finishing in the Central Division basement. In the long run, that turned out to be the best thing that happened to them, as they then received the #1 overall pick in the most recent NHL Entry Draft.

Some burning questions for the Blackhawks this season? Can Nikolai Khabibulin finally return to his Stanley Cup-winning form, a whole three seasons after? Can Patrick Kane and Jon Toews not only make the team straight out of training camp, but also bring immediate results to the team? Also, how much longer until Bill Wirtz finally realizes that the NHL is not the NFL, and so blacking out any and all non-sold out games is just plain ludicrous?

Meanwhile, in Jackets' land, prepare to see a bevvy of players tonight who did not play on Sunday. Out of the roster I saw posted at The Dispatch's new blog hosted by Michael Arace and Mr. New Guy (I swear I'll memorize his name soon), only Rick Nash seemed to be playing in both tonight's game and the one on Sunday. Nash can use this game to hopefully shake off whatever cobwebs seemed to be draped over him against the Preds on Sunday, since even with the strides that the Blackhawks are making with incoming players, they're still only projected to battle for the basement along with the Jackets. By most MSM pundit's opinions, that is.

Anyway, time for Sports History in America. If I don't return, assume I just killed myself from an overdose of baseball, football, baseball, baseball, and then more football, since that's all we've seemingly spoken about the past five weeks.

Blue Jackets: 1 ... Predators: 3

2007-09-17T12:42:00.001-05:00

Five thoughts on last night's game:

1) Although I had missed the full first period due to getting to the arena late (a technician from my cable provider took a day and then some to get to my house to figure out what the frack was wrong with my digital cable, and I couldn't very well leave until he came), I heard all about the injury to David Vyborny. Fortunately, as was reported on The Dispatch website later this morning, Veebs is only going to be out of commission 2-3 days with a knee sprain.

No word on whether or not Predators' forward Martin Erat will receive any sort of suspension or fine for his role in the hit. He was assessed an interference major (a new NHL rule as of this season allows for interference majors to be called now), and ejected from the game with a game misconduct.

2) Pascal Leclaire, as much as it pains me to say this, looked largely ... average. Despite a pair of fabulous saves that I was able to spot, he really flubbed communication with Jan Hejda in allowing that first shorthanded goal, and although Jed Ortmeyer's shorthanded goal -- during that same penalty -- was on a breakaway, something just didn't seem right. Possibly a result of so much time since the last time he played against anyone not in a Blue Jackets' uniform? Maybe. If he and Fredrik Norrena are being split in to separate groups for each pre-season game, he still has three more games to prove his mettle.

3) Ever the pest, Dan Fritsche drew a high sticking penalty, and also scored shorthanded on a great combined effort between him and Manny Malhotra. Fritsche looks to be back to his usual self, which is a good thing. Although Jason Chimera will be playing with the other group that is rolled out on Tuesday -- and presumably Malhotra and Fritsche will not since they played Sunday -- the combination of those three on a line is tempting, considering the tenacity those three have when it comes to grinding and staying on the puck. Additionally, Chimmer is also known for his ability to pour the pressure on during the penalty kill. Put him and Fritsche together on the PK, and you have two cautious yet highly persistent forwards who can cause havoc.

4) Without Vyborny around for the 2nd and 3rd periods, Fritsche was the replacement on the line with Rick Nash and Nikolai Zherdev. Nash looked to be sort of somewhere between on his game and sort of slogging around, while Zherdev really looked to be taking the body whenever he could and had no qualms about sharing the puck. However with Fritsche on the other wing instead of Vyborny, it just didn't seem to be clicking for them.

Zherdev did, however, seem to abstain from any desire to pull a toe drag from out of his magic bag of tricks. And honestly, that was a good sign. While certainly that sort of move has its place, it's when it is overused that you become predictable. So don't go wiping that move from your repertoire, Z ... just don't overdo it.

5) Jared Boll likes to beat the everliving crap out of people, and also check them as though they were rag dolls.

I'm off to ice my arms ... both of them. The exercises I did yesterday morning came back as I woke up today with a total vengeance.

Pre-season game #1: Blue Jackets vs. Predators

2007-09-16T07:35:00.001-05:00

You know what's been awesome about this weekend? The weather. The past two days have been perfect pre-season hockey weather. Waking up to low- to mid-40 degree mornings, and the temperature for the day only peaking around the mid- to upper-60s. Frankly, I thrive off of cold weather. Muggy, humid weather ... and anything over 80 degrees makes me disgustingly uncomfortable in my skin. The wait for the first pre-season game has been far too long, and five months between last regular season game of the 2006-07 campaign and now has been torture.

The late afternoon match-up against the gutted Nashville Predators should certainly be interesting, if only because I would expect the Predators to be coming out with a whole assortment of prospects they would like to get a good look at, what with the dismantling they went through during this off-season. The Preds have honestly been through Hell thanks to the ownership issues plaguing the team right up to this very moment, and while I'm certainly not about to show any sympathy towards the team itself after the heaping amount of embarrassment they piled on top of the Blue Jackets last season (0-7-1), I can certainly show sympathy towards their fans.

And no, I'm not going to make any cracks such as "All five of their fans" or something lame. Moving along.

Their new team captain, it was revealed in the past few days, is former Devils' E-A-S-y line guy Jason Arnott (IPB might be the only bloggers I know who'd even recall that line). The memories I have of Arnott are only from my time back in New Jersey, when he, Patrik Elias, and Petr Sykora led a then-dominant Devils team to the Stanley Cup in 2000, as well as a seven game Stanley Cup Finals in 2001.

But those are some damn old memories. Either way, the best of luck to Arnott in Nashville as the team's captain; he's going to need it to rally that team, after losing quite a few key parts.

Meanwhile, over in Blue Jackets' camp, expect to see some fresh faces and prospects out on the ice tonight, as reported by The Dispatch. In all, just about half of the forwards have little to no NHL experience, while on the defensive end you have maybe two out of six players with limited experience.

Between the pipes, you're going to have Pascal Leclaire looking to get a quick start out of the gate to prove that he isn't just an injury-prone yet talented netminder, with Tomas Popperle trying to show that his poor showing at the Traverse City Prospects Tourny was merely a fluke. So a lot of players with a lot to prove.

Be sure to keep an eye out for the Rick Nash, Nikolai Zherdev, David Vyborny line tonight. It'll be exciting to see how they do when they're up against players not on the same team as they are, even if it's just a pre-season game.

What I'll be looking for when I go down to Nationwide and watch the game tonight? Besides the NZV Line, and my own personal hopes that Pazzy comes out stronger than ever, I want to see just how well Geoff Platt does. Lost in the logjam that is the center position now that Zherdev may be making a transition there, the stature-challenged but super-gigawatt charged Platt needs to do something -- and something amazing -- this pre-season if he wants to stay up here instead of going back to the 'Cuse again. Here's hoping for the best.

And with that, I am off to start my exercise regime at the fitness center! I found out the hard way last week that a personal trainer over four months would cost something like $4,000+, so after managing to pick up my jaw from off of the floor, I decided I'll just figure things out on my own at the fitness club. Wish me luck!

In Zherdev we trust?

2007-09-14T20:48:00.000-05:00

Don't worry. Unlike Jay Mariotti on Around the Horn, I can honestly admit when I am flip-flopping. In this case, I'd like to say I'm just about thoroughly flopped more than flipped, but that all hinges on whether or not this experiment that Scott Howson and Ken Hitchcock have cooked up with "enigmatic" Russian (did any one besides me notice the excessive use of "enigmatic" last season?) Nikolai Zherdev.

Reported on this morning in The Columbus Dispatch, and even prior to that touched on by fellow blogger Bethany at Bethany's Hockey Rants, the newest news to come out of Blue Jackets' camp is the attempt to put Zherdev at the center position.

Apparently the first day of this experiment was today, when the team that Zherdev has been assigned to for training camp took to the ice this morning. Sadly, by the time I had arrived from classes down at the arena to scope things out, the other team -- consisting of other Jackets' staples such as Freddy Norrena, Mike Peca, and Sergei Fedorov among others -- were already on the ice and doing their own thing.

Still, I was able to gleam at least a smidgeon of first-hand coverage from browsing the HFBoards. Take it away, Willien:

"I heard they were basically unstoppable and scored 10+ goals. It is different in practice than in games, but apparently there was nobody who could play with them."

Of course, take this with a grain of salt, as this was merely the very first day of training camp. And while even though, from what I saw, the kiddie gloves were off when it came to running drills, it's still not yet been seen if this combination of Zherdev, along with David Vyborny and Rick Nash on the wings can work when put to the test in pre-season games, or even regular season games.

Michael Arace, ever the insightful Dispatch writer, brought up an interesting point in the Dispatch article:

"After poring over Zherdev tape this summer, the thought occurred to Hitchcock: Why relegate Zherdev to the wall as a winger and restrict his space? Howson had the same thought. Why not try Zherdev at center? Give him the middle, where he's comfortable. It seems he can handle the defensive responsibilities of the position."

If both Hitch and Howson had the exact same thought, then there has to be more to this.

From my own perspective, though? Well, it's definitely worth a shot. Let's look at this line on a player-by-player basis ...

Rick Nash: Hitchcock has been attempting to mold Nash in to something of a rough, tough, and hard-hitting power forward since the first day he arrived. While Nasher certainly has his own type of finesse, and he can definitely run people over like a freight train if he puts the effort in to it, this gives Nash the ability to play that power forward role that Hitch is looking for out of him. With Zherdev handling a majority of the ice and able to use his creativity with that center area all to himself, Nash can get to work causing a ruckus in the slot and also in front of the goalie. Some goals might not be the prettiest, but all that matters are the goals, and not how they look.

Nikolai Zherdev: With all of center ice at his disposal, Zherdev can use all of that pent up energy of his without feeling stymied by where he is on the ice as a winger, such as being crammed up between the boards and an opposing player, or two. Zherdev, prior to his poor results last year, was known for some unique creativity. Need I remind anyone about Nikki's ol' toe-drag? No? Yeah, I didn't think so.

But in any event, as Hitch points out in the Arace article, Zherdev has shown flashes of proper responsibility in the defensive zone, as well as hustling back to defend when he has to. By giving him the center position, he's being given that extra bit of responsibility, and Zherdev should be both grateful and appreciating of that kind of trust.

David Vyborny: The team's leading point getter the past two seasons, Vyborny is just about the perfect set-up man. Put him alongside both Zherdev and Nash, and he'll be able to take advantage of either a hovering Nikki, or a scrumming Ricky, wherever they happen to be in the offensive zone. He never wastes time in moving the puck around, and he knows what to do with it.

Additionally, with both Zherdev and Nash on the same line, he will not have to worry about feeling pressured in to trying to tally goals to make up for any overall team shortcomings in the point production department. Remember that Vyborny has always been someone who will pass first, and seems to shoot only if he absolutely knows he can score. This isn't to say that Vyborny no longer has to try slipping the biscuit in to the net ... but now he can focus on setting up two players in their respective comfort zones within the offensive zone.

And that's all I got. Mind you, this is all just my personal analysis and speculation. And until I see these three on the ice tomorrow morning (I'll be heading down to scope things out again, as I'm just too excited not to watch training camp this season), I only have hearsay to work off of.

Until Sunday, folks!

Traverse City Trounce, and miscellaneous stuff.

2007-09-13T12:53:00.000-05:00

One more day until the start of training camp, folks. Can you feel the excitement!?

I'm going to be heading down to catch the 2nd half of Friday's start to training camp, thanks to my music class not meeting that day. Who knows, if I am feeling thrifty enough, maybe I'll grab one of those new jerseys. The replicas will finally be available, so it might be worth checking them out and seeing how they compare to the authentics. Given, the authentics aren't out until tomorrow, too, but they've been viewable and on presentation since the draft down at the arena and the Chillers.

Anyway, I'm posting something small today, as I am currently down at Life Time Fitness, and frankly I'd be better off, you know, exercising at a fitness center instead of being on their wi-fi.

For anyone who has been keeping track, the Prospects Tourny in Traverse city, MI came to a close two days ago, with the Baby Blue Jackets representing the West, and the Baby Rangers representing the East. Led by Derrick Brassard, Tomas Popperle, Dan LaCosta, Jakub Voracek, Adam Pineault, and along with a cast of a dozen and a half or so more, the kids went 2-2, soundly thrashing thrashing the Minnesota Wild and Dallas Star prospects, and being thrashed by the Blues and Rangers prospects.

Voracek, who is hell-bent on proving that he doesn't need no stinkin' time back down in juniors or the AHL for that matter, led the team with 6 points (4g, 2a), followed by Adam Pineault, Derrisk Brassard, and Philippe Dupois with 5 points apiece. While those are some dandy point tallies for a 4-game mini-tourny for prospects, we'll have to see just how a few of these youngsters put up when the pre-season exhibition games start up.

Meanwhile, The Columbus Dispatch has really been ramping up their Blue Jackets' coverage in the last week, with near-daily articles and then some coming out on things such as Rick Nash's rebound, Voracek's impressive play, and the uplifting changes throughout Nationwide Arena and the Jackets' locker room.

Personally speaking, even if the team is being written off from the get-go by your mainstream media and more notable bloggers -- not naming names -- I still am looking forward to this season. I've resigned myself to the fact that this season could very well go the route of rebuilding and not playoff contending, and I'm okay with that. What I want to see the most is this team do their damnedest to win, from the very first puck drop on October 6th against the Anaheim Ducks, to the final(?) horn sounding against the Blues on April 6th.

With that said, I'm now off to stretch my muscles, do some treadmill running, and get beaten in to a bloody, pulpy, but hopefully more in-shape mess!

It's become as cliche as going to Disney World ...

2007-09-08T17:29:00.000-05:00

"Alright, gentleman, let's pray. Heavenly Father, thanks first and foremost [...]"

And so begins the ESPN video article on Division I-A football's newest member, Western Kentucky.

Before I begin my entry, I want to precede it by disclosing here and now that I was born and raised Roman Catholic. At the same time, however, my upbringing was highly liberal and open to a variety of lifestyles, in large part because of my own family, as well as how much I traveled as a teenager.

With that out of the way, I think most of you can assume that this entry isn't going to be related to hockey, per se. It's also not going to be directly related to any other specific sport either, though. The focus of this entry is religion in sports, and how much I, personally, wish it would take a hike.

Playing sports from elementary school to high school, I can definitely say I consider myself fortunate that none of the coaches I ever had tried to impose upon me the need to pray before, during, or after games. No holding hands in a circle, shutting our eyes, and quietly "thinking" (see: praying), either. The focus of the team was on, pure and simple, the game. Not on asking God, Vishnu, Loki, Zeus, or whatever deity you believe in to help me "find the strength to win."

To me, forcing a team to pray together is tantamount to forcing a certain belief on them. The moment the team's coach, or even a lead player on that team, make any sort of reference to some sort of heavenly being, you are tempting the possibility that not every one you play alongside, or coach, has the same beliefs as you. Yet you leave them in an awkward position; one where if they try to say something, they could very well be frowned upon by the rest of the team or subjected to unfair judgment. And considering that most people in an American locker room setting will believe in some form of Christianity, it's a reasonable thing to consider happening.

Now, before any one makes any presumptions, I have no qualm with players or coaches praying, or doing whatever they want, in the confines of their own personal space, be it an office, a locker room stall, or whatever. And if other players want to join that person in prayer, then they can as well.

But I don't know. Perhaps I'm simply jaded to the use of "God" in sports. We've all seen how in pretty much every sport's championship -- though I admit, I've seen it less in the NHL -- the moment that a team has won and the exuberant star of a team is being interviewed, they like to take a moment to thank God for their success. For their win. For being able to outplay the players on another team who -- ironically -- were probably also considering praying to God, and could have very well done so just before the game.

Ultimately, it feels like such a thing has become cliche. It's become about as common as saying that one is going to Disney World after they've won the Super Bowl, the Stanley Cup, or whatever other sports trophy in North America you can think of. The sincerity behind saying such a thing seems to have been all but entirely lost, which to me just proves that there is no longer any need for such a thing in sports.

In any event, I had been considering bringing this topic up, after a similar topic was brought up in my History of Sports in America class, when every student had to write an autobiography, and was asked if sports had any religious impact on them, among other impacts (financially, socially, etc.). It wasn't until I saw this clip of Western Kentucky's introduction in to Division 1-A football that I suddenly felt enough of a pull to write about this topic.

All in all, I'm sure this may offend a few people, as I know at least a few fellow bloggers -- some who I do consider friends -- who seem to strongly associate themselves with Christianity. But that happens sometimes when you speak your mind. And honestly, my desire for secularism within the confines of the locker room and the sports field is something I feel very strongly about.

Now if you'll excuse me, I am off to brave the thunderstorm outside, and get a Nintendo Wii.

To all the ladies out there in the hockeylogosophere!

2007-09-06T19:23:00.000-05:00

This goes out to all you dandy ladies, who just love pink.

I forgot to mention that during my recent excursion to The Blueline during the locker room sale, I came across these magnificent things of beauty. Made with the most prettiest of girly pink, I said to myself as I gazed, wide-eyed at this newest creation by the wonderful folks at RBK and the NHL, "Wow! I know so many people who would just die for these with their team's logo on them!"

Just marvelous! Isn't it awesome how not only is RBK catering to our wonderful female fanbase, but also took the time out of their busy schedule to make sure that those beautiful, fashionable pink jerseys would also be made in a similar manner as the EDGE jerseys? I'm telling you, I need to use my overage funds from college to get one for Sherry, and Jordi, and Caps Chick, and the residents of IPB Manor, and the ladies at Hot Oil, and especially every single lady at Hockey Ladies of Greatness. And probably many others who I've simply forgotten to mention! :D

See!? They're even adding that gorgeous cursive of each team's name to the sleeves! Chicks dig that cursive, glittery writing!

(By the way, before one of the many females who I've slighted tonight kills me in my sleep, I leave all of my blogging belongings to Drew in my will. It's been a good life!)

The forgotten team: the Ohio Junior Blue Jackets.

2007-09-06T05:17:00.000-05:00

Outside of perhaps myself, readers in and around Columbus, and my fellow Blue Jackets' bloggers, there are probably not all too many people out there who have heard about the Ohio Junior Blue Jackets. Part of the United States Hockey League, the OJBJ are going to be starting their second season down at Nationwide Arena this year.

Suffice it to say, there is a good reason that probably half of the city of Columbus doesn't even know that the team exists. Besides the abysmal record of 13-40 (amazingly better than the Chicago Steel's record), the team was given the short end of the publicity stick. Don't believe me? Check out this attendance average comparison from the very short Clark Cup Playoffs:

It's a little squished, but what it says is that the Junior Blue Jackets had an average attendance of 776 over the 30 home games that they played in the regular season. That's over 1,000 less than the second worst drawing team -- Chicago -- and they even fared better in the standings than the Junior Blue Jackets did!

Believe me when I tell you that the attendance for pretty much every game seemed even worse than that, if it is even possible. They didn't play in the adjacent Dispatch Ice Haus, but instead inside of Nationwide Arena itself, where the fact that there wasn't even 800 fans out of a capacity 18,136 for hockey games became depressingly apparent.

Let's get back on focus, though, and talk about publicity for this team. The Blue Jackets', for the most part, left the OJBJ for dead after just a few weeks in to the season. It was all but impossible to find anything on the team in local papers such as The Columbus Dispatch as well, meaning that the only way you could even follow the team was to go online and and check out the OJBJ's website.

I understand that the first year for teams such as this are usually pretty rough. The Junior Blue Jackets' didn't catch any breaks, as a majority of the players had to commute from places such as Cleveland, and were unable to simply stay season-round in Columbus. When you're just a U-18 kid, trips all over a state just for your home games can be annoying, frustrating, and downright ridiculous, among other things.

Financially, I'm sure the business arm of the Blue Jackets probably considers the OJBJ to be a money sink, too. Mind you, that is just my opinion, but when you have a team that loses even worse than the Blue Jackets, costing you all sorts of money to keep the arena open for just a gaggle of people, you're really not going to make even a penny off of them. It got to such a point last season that one didn't even need a ticket at times to see a game. I'm sure that doesn't sit well with certain people in the organization. Fortunately for them, the team is being unceremoniously relegated to the Dispatch Ice Haus for all but 9 games this season, unlike last season where all of maybe 3-4 games out of 30 (plus two playoff games) were played there. Those 9 games that will be at Nationwide, by the way, are in conjunction with the Blue Jackets' playing that same day, as per the press release I received from the team.

But enough griping. The reality is that things need to change, and for the most part, positive changes are being made. While the move to the Ice Haus may seem like a demotion -- and it is -- it's still a good idea. Give the team a chance to build its fanbase, let alone build a competitive team, before you go and start rolling out the red carpet into Nationwide Arena itself. The last game of the last season, for example, drew around 800 - 1,000 fans for an exciting win at the Ice Haus, and the smaller environment made that more respectable crowd seem even bigger and better.

Additionally, the Blue Jackets need to do a damn better job at promoting this team. You can't just drop a USHL team down in your arena, or your adjacent rink, and say "Here's a hockey team! Now let's just sit and wait for every one to see them!" Believe it or not, you're going to actually have to spend a little money to make a little money from them, especially with them being so new and full of probably inexperienced junior players, compared to the other USHL teams. By promoting the team outside of giving free tickets to their games to PSL holders and on certain Blue Jackets' game nights, you'll do a better job at making the team appear more like some sort of legitimate group, and not just some sideshow hanging off of the coattails of the Blue Jackets and their giveaways (even if that is what they seemed like when Ex-GMDM was around).

I don't know about any of the other CBJ bloggers, but I feel almost obligated to try and give this team at least some attention and coverage this season, in conjunction with normal coverage of the Blue Jackets. If papers aren't going to cover them, and the Blue Jackets aren't going to give them the essential marketing tools that they need to even be successful, then I say we make a concerted effort to cover them. They deserve better than this, even if they were MacLean's creation for allegedly selfish reasons.

So I'm going to try and at least make it to, or watch, a quarter of the OJBJ's games this season; 15 out of 60. It might not seem like a lot, but it's something.

"Triumverate"? More like crap-umverate! Haha!

2007-09-04T13:14:00.000-05:00

... okay, kidding. But as anyone who has End of the Bench, Bethany's Hockey Rants, or The Neutral Zone Trap on their feeds has seen in the past day, these three Blue Jackets' bloggers will be doing their own previews of the team and the Central Division as a whole in the near future. Drew/Truth, Beth, and Sarah are more than capable in doing such a thing, and I wish them the best when they're coming up with witty and/or thoughtful things to say when it gets to be their turn.

Sadly, although I'd received an e-mail from Dave at Gorilla Crouch asking if I wanted to take part, I never got back to him in time to take part. Ultimately, it's probably for the best, as I just have so much on my hands at the moment as it pertains to classes, classwork, and real work. But that's just how it goes sometimes, right?

A few things before I partake in my article critique of something in my SPM book, though.

1) As was first noted by someone over at the HFBoards, the TV schedule for the Blue Jackets is now official. 75 games will be aired on FSN Ohio, along with one game against the Dallas Stars on Versus. Although I know I'd seen somewhere else that the Jackets were supposed to play one game on NBC against the Red Wings, NHL.com's team schedules has yet to make mention of it. So for now, just assume 76 games will be aired on TV in some form or another.

Compared to last season, this is down by 4 games. There's two less games on Versus, and one less game on NBC, while FSN Ohio has stuck with 75. It's unfortunate, but the reality is that Columbus is probably a pretty horrible draw on national television. It's sad, because two of the most amazing games last season on Versus actually came from the Jackets: that early season and hard-fought win over Detroit, and then that amazing comeback win over the Boston Bruins in December.

2) Last week, I decided to head down for the Blue Jackets' locker room sale. Given, I don't exactly have the cash to go buying game-used hockey sticks or some of Pascal Leclaire's goalie pads, but the fact that I was able to actually go inside of the locker room and see what it was like was reward enough for heading down to the Arena District. The two biggest things that stood out to me were some of the things I saw in the locker room, and then something out of the locker room.

First, I was able to catch a glimpse of the fully finished ice at Nationwide. And let me tell you, it's beautiful. That star/Ohio flag logo right at center ice is made of awesome and pride-inducing emotions. Additionally, the center ice line has stars on it instead of just white dashes, something which a friend had told me was originally tossed out as an idea as far back as one or two seasons ago, but until now was soundly rejected by whoever controls that thing.

Secondly, the locker room itself was just cool to be in. The TV in there is giant, and the stereo system they have in there is quite nice. Something else I noticed was how other people who were going in there were quite ... well, quiet. It was almost like you were walking in to a church. And honestly, I liked that. Try going in to an NBA or an NFL locker room, and you'd probably get nothing like that. It isn't so much that I shun people who are loud and raucous in places like that, as much as I think the reverence of being in an NHL hockey locker room just seems to come over NHL fans more than most people who are fans of the other sports.

And third ... On my way out, I happened to bump in to quite a few different people. Let's see ... first up, Dan Fritsche happened to stop by the locker room, and gave some teen one of his sticks, free of charge. Pretty cool of him to do. Then there was Jeff Rimer, who was definitely friendly enough. I got to admit, he did look a little bored whenever he wasn't talking to anyone and just lounging on one of the benches, however the fact that he was probably going there to mingle of his own voalition means that shouldn't be held against him.

The meeting of the day, though, was seeing Scott Howson. Although I didn't say much outside of "Hello, Mr. Howson" as me and several other fans shared the elevator back to The Blueline, it was just being around him that struck me with a bit of awe. It was a little embarassing when, after exiting the elevator, one of the fans who was asking for his autograph said how much he was looking forward to him "saving the team" or something similar. I am sure that Ken Hitchcock probably felt a little sheepish when El Owner John McConnell said something like that when introducing Hitch last season, too.

On one final note, I was speaking with some of the people at The Blueline who were working that day to help run the sale, after they spotted me looking at the new Blue Jackets' jerseys. Considering where I am, I just asked on a whim if they'd be sold at a Dicks' or some other sporting store once they're released, since that is closer to me than the store itself, or even the Chiller Easton, which is still somewhat close to me now.

They told me that if I wanted to get a jersey right away, my best bet was to go to The Blueline on September 14th, or to one of the Chillers. Apparently they'll be the first to sell the jerseys in-person for a full week, before anywhere else is able to sell them. Besides, that's probably for the best, as getting personalizations through them is a lot more efficient than dealing with some other groups out there (shop.nhl.com, I'm looking at you).

And that's about i-- ... no, wait. Actually, now that I think about it, there is one more thing I should mention, only because there's been such a clamor about this both on the HFBoards as well as other places for a while now.

While at the locker room sale, being escorted on down to the locker room itself, it's worth mentioning that there was something coming from the seating and ice area that caught my eye. Loud, loud booms.

A cannon, as most Blue Jackets' fans know, is something that there's been quite the fervor for, for at least a year or so now. Now, given, it could have very well just been someone playing around with some sounds in the SFX booth, to see how a cannon-like sound would ... well, sound like, when played during a goal.

But it's worth noting that I also took note of a yellow flash coming from behind some of the pulled back drapes which led in to the lower aisles. I don't know of many sounds that also come with visuals, people.

And that's what I got. Take that as you will, as I have to now get to my studies.

Peca a Jacket! ... now I vanish back into obscurity for another week.

2007-08-27T12:31:00.000-05:00

Well, unfortunately my first week of classes has really been giving me quite the swift kick in the rear. It's made finding available time to update about as hard as possible. And sadly, this week isn't looking to be any easier, as I'll be all but outside of my apartment from 8 in the morning to 10 at night Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, followed by a visit by both paternal units starting Thursday. Even now, I'm updating from the ODU library, so I don't exactly have as many tools at my disposal in terms of things to use in my blog.

You know, I don't think I recall college being this time-consuming. Then again, I wasn't exactly as active, nor was I as gainfully employed, either.

In any event, as was announced around the middle of last week, Michael Peca was signed by the Blue Jackets to a 1-year, $1.25 million deal (there is no link because this computer is erroring on my attmept to open The Columbus Dispatch ... poo on that). And just for sake of trivia, he's going to be wearing #19 this season. I guess this means that Alexandre Picard will need to find a new number if he's up with the team this season, and not down with the 'Cuse.

In the end, this decision makes a good bit of sense. Alex Svitov's contract was null and void now that he'd left for The Motherland, and the Jackets needed to do something -- both from an on-ice standpoint, as well as a P.R. standpoint -- to show that they were going to make an honest effort this season, even if it's been written off as a rebuilding and salary purge season. Enter Peca, who was coming off of injury which kept him sidelined for much of last season with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

As nice commentors told me in my last post, the Jackets' ability to tender this kind of offer to Peca was due, in part, to the Rangers' inability to find any cap space to work with. They're at least a bit over the cap as it pertains to the upcoming season, and will need to shave some of that off before they start playing in October.

As for how this helps the Jackets, there are really two big reasons. First and foremost, Peca is a veteran who all but perfectly fits the mold that both Scott Howson and Ken Hitchcock are looking for in rough, tough, hard-hitting players who are also defensively sound. Peca's a firecracker, all 5'11" of him, who isn't afraid to hit somebody. Additionally, his two Selke Trophies prove that he has defensive prowess, even if he is getting on in his years and looking towards the sunset of his NHL career.

This also helps to ensure that no one who would be down with the 'Cuse to hone their skills is brought up too fast, such as Derrick Brassard, which I touched on in my last post. While Brassard may have near-limitless potential, and is considered one of the Jackets' best up and coming centers, he still has a long way to go, especially after getting injured and sitting out much of last season with his Junior league.

Before I bolt to my bus, one more thing to consider is the potential to trade Peca at the deadline, so long as he uses this season to prove his worth around the rest of the league. And considering the type of guy Peca has shown himself to be, I don't have any doubt that he'll do his best to do that. The question is whether or not an injury, or his body in general, will fall out on him this season. Still, with about a 69 games played average over the past 10 NHL seasons (including last season), it's a safe bet that he'll be fine.

AHHHHHHHHH MOTHERLAND!!

2007-08-20T11:58:00.000-05:00

My first day of classes at Ohio Dominican was today, and all in all it wasn't too bad. Given, I'm still as timid as a mouse about making it through a whole semester for the first time, but given my history, can you blame me?

Not that anyone here knows about said history, save for maybe one or two real-life confidantes. In any event, let's talk hockey. Let's talk Blue Jackets. Let's talk about THE MOTHERLAND!!

Yes, the Motherland of Russia, where now former Blue Jackets' player Alexander Svitov has decided to return to. Apparently even the Blue Jackets are not immune to this off season's exodus of players leaving for overseas, which includes Alexi Yashin, Oleg Tverdovsky, and Stanislav Chistov, just to name a few.

When this information first became public just around early Friday, it was hard to believe. Svitov, to most people's knowledge, wasn't in a position where if he had stayed with the Jackets he may have not gotten any ice time. Coach Ken Hitchcock had been leaning on him positively since around the middle of last season, when he apparently took a liking to the centerman's physical play. I remember even bemoaning that, too, because of my own personal preference for more spritely Geoff Platt. Regardless of that, Svitov brought with him someone who hit people hard, crashed into anything not in a Blue Jackets' uniform, and was ready to get down and dirty. He may not have ever become the draft pick Tampa Bay had thought he would be while still with them, but he was looking to be relied on in Columbus.

Then there's the fact that no more than a month ago or so, he'd signed a two-year, one-way contract with the Blue Jackets. That alone should have been enough for Svitov to understand that this team wanted to have him around, just based off it being longer than one year, and also meaning he would most likely be up with the team all season, barring a trade or injury.

Of course, without a transfer agreement between leagues in Russia and the NHL, nothing can be done about Svitov signing to two different contracts, and forsaking the one he agreed on with the Blue Jackets. The best thing to do now is to move on and hope for the best.

However, Scott Howson has to decide how to move on. And therein lies two trains of thought:

1) Going with the fact that the Blue Jackets' already have a low ceiling when it comes to their personal salary cap, as dictated by ownership and the financial arm of the team, even with the $1m - $1.25m that Svitov was going to make off the books now, might it be better to just step back, take a deep breath, and see what plays out at training camp when both regular players and prospects from Syracuse and elsewhere come to camp? If the team is losing money, and most people -- both in and out of the organization -- have written off this year as a rebuilding one, maybe it is better to tuck that extra million and a quarter away for next year, or for a possible mid-season or trading deadline move in the off chance that the Jackets are actually in the running by that time.

Players such as Platt and Derrick Brassard deserve a chance to show their mettle at training camp, and there may even be others out there in the prospect camp such as generally unknown Kirill Starkov who could surprise the coaches and hockey operations staff.

Of course -- and this is something Blue Jackets' fans have a right to be concerned about after seeing what Doug MacLean did during his tenure -- the possibility of rushing a prospect too fast should be considered as well. Brassard, as some may recall, was injured pretty badly during last year's training camp, which resulted in his sitting out a fair amount of last season with his junior team. That could have stunted potential growth, and could also mean if he was brought up too fast, the team could just have another Gilbert Brule on their hands; tons of potential, but possibly and permanently hindered due to too much pressure too early.

2) The other option is to go in to the free agent market, which is what Howson and the Jackets appear to have already done. No later than a day after Svitov's defection was reported, Michael Arace mentioned in his blog that Michael Peca had been contacted by the Blue Jackets about the possibility of signing him on to the team for a year.

Given, Peca's been in negotiations with the New York Rangers for at least a couple of weeks now, and has practically been taken off the market by them if you believe most reports on how close Peca and the Rags are to finishing up a deal. But the truth is, it's been dragging on for quite a while, and Peca is still a UFA, whether or not they are 'close' to a deal.

Even though the Rangers are up near the ceiling when it comes to the league-wide salary cap (got to love being able to spend every single penny when you have the cash to), they could probably still throw Peca a little more than the Jackets may be willing to muster up. So this could all come down to a matter of Peca's personal preferences, or if he is willing to go to a team with a more chaotic year in store than a team pretty much favored to make the playoffs this season.

At the very least, he's saying the right words. As quoted from The Columbus Dispatch:

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"The most intriguing thing about Columbus -- if a scenario presented itself for me to sign there -- is there aren't many coaches I hold in higher regard as Ken Hitchcock," Peca said. "And I have a lot of respect for Scott Howson and the things he did in Edmonton that a lot of people don't know about.

"I think there's a lot of great hockey left in me. I think it'd be great to come in and contribute to a team like that."

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Aw, you big galoot. You're making us blush over here in C-Bus!

But in all seriousness, so long as the price is right, this might be the best option. Prospects such as Brassard are given time to better hone their skills over with the 'Cuse, while Peca brings a bevy of experience. Although he was injured for much of last season, he still has averaged just a fraction over 69 games played per season over the last 10 seasons, 2006-07 included. So for the most part, this old war horse can be considered reliable.

That, and with four Selke trophies between him and Sergei Fedorov, who knows? Maybe that'll help make our defense just about average overall, right?

Anyway, I am off to study now.

Lifestyles of the modestly well-off and vaguely notable.

2007-08-12T20:47:00.000-05:00

The move is officially over!

Your favorite Blue Jackets' blogger is now comfortably and happily settled in to his new stately residence, known as Chateau de Lune. Here, at this 3 1/2 star apartment at the magnificent Bradford at Easton, you'll find him wining and dining on the finest orange juice and chicken nuggets known to man, while reclining on his concrete patio (OH MY GOD I HAVE A PATIO!!).

First, let us take a stroll through the bedroom, where our swanky bachelor has made extra sure that his place of nighttime leisure is as comfortable as can be!

Nothing like a queen-sized bed to greet you as you walk in from Chateau de Lune's one hallway, complimented with a lavish nightstand, self-hung drapes, and miniature hockey sticks.

Our blogger, a bit of a pack rat, loves to keep memorabilia from his life, as can be seen by the numerous trinkets placed upon his book shelf, coupled with plaques, postcards, posters, and other things that also start with the letter 'p'!

What's this? Double allegience?! What a shocking discovery in the halls of Chateau de Lune! Nonetheless, Mr. Turner will never be able to give up the fact that the Devils own his soul after living much of his life in New Jersey, even if the Blue Jackets own his heart!

Ah yes, Chateau de Lune's base of operations, where Mr. Turner takes care of his daily classwork responsibilities, as well as surfs the Internet (also known as a "Series of Tubes") whenever he has free time. His family, lovers of the island of Nantucket off of the Massachusetts's mainland, made sure that even he had a piece of Nantucket memorabilia in his home that suited his love for hockey.

Besides the bedroom, how does Michael live in the lap of semi-luxury while in his living room? Let's take a look!

Nothing screams luxury quite like a beautiful (p)leather couch, filled to capacity with several pillows for maximum comfort. Side tables at either side ... and is that a plastic jar of animal crackers we see on the right? Looks like someone has a dirty secret even while he's been losing weight!

Here at Chateau de Lune, a flat-screen TV with PS2, X-Box, and a surround sound stereo system are what make this fine establishment all the rage for parties! Alas, without HDTV, Mr. Turner's hockey offerings are just not up to snuff.

This is where our courteous host of Chateau de Lune makes his various delicacies, ranging from spaghetti with meatballs to chocolate chip cookies, and even the occasional chicken parmesan! Unlike his previous living arrangements, this fine kitchen also has the added benefit of automatic dining ware and cutlery cleaning (a dishwasher!), meaning you won't be finding any spots on this man's plates or spoons!

And what Chateau would be complete without a beautiful dining room? With a trio of Target-bought chairs, bamboo and rubber plants for atmosphere, and hockey-related books alongside a few of the owner's own hockey sticks for a taste of Mr. Turner's personal passion, you'll be quite comfortable whenever you sit down to chow down!

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Now that my horrendous mockery of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, as well as playful ribbing of IPB Manor is out of the way, you now see what I've been busy with for much of July, getting ready for my move and taking care of a variety of other things. I only got settled in just this weekend, and Mr. Turner Sr. is currently here, so I won't be making any new updates until at least Wednesday, when he heads home and I have the rest of the week to myself before my classes start at Ohio Dominican next Monday.

If anyone has sent me an e-mail over the past couple of weeks inquiring as to link exchanges or asking for my opinion on this Blue Jackets' situation or that Blue Jackets' scenario (and I know I've seen them floating around my totally overpacked e-mail box), send again or just comment here. I'm awful at responding to such things whenever I'm in the middle of something as big as all of this.

Oh, and for a few more Chateau de Lune pictures, click here! The 'Lune' part is a reference to my online handle, by the way ... Chateau de Ohio just didn't sound right, and Chateau de Army sounded even worse.

Summer sweeps!

2007-08-04T20:35:00.001-05:00

With seemingly deft actions, Scott Howson has begun to quietly clean up the Blue Jackets' front office. In his wake, four scouts have either left or been asked to leave, as per this report by Aaron Portzline.

But that isn't the big story here. No, the big story -- as I found out first sometime yesterday when I saw this post by Sarah over at The Neutral Zone Trap --is that Assistant General Manager Jim Clark has been asked to relocate to Syracuse, where for the final year of his contract with the Blue Jackets he will run the Syracuse Crunch organization. After that, you can just as well assume that that is it for Clark's time with the Jackets.

Ultimately, this is for the best. Putting aside my like for Mr. Clark from a more personal perspective of having bumped in to him once or twice, there was always the nagging feelings out there -- not just my own, but from many Jackets' fans -- that Clark only got his position based off of his connections to Doug MacLean. Now don't take that the wrong way and assume I am saying that Clark doesn't know anything about hockey. If he didn't, he would have never even broke in to the National Hockey League in the first place as an executive.

But as I had stressed time and again, he all but followed MacLean from Detroit, to Florida, to Columbus. It smacked of cronie-ism, without any sort of legitimate rationale beyond friendly connections.

Still, despite my contentment with this move, I can't help but feel surprised that it happened so soon. As was mentioned, Clark only had one year left on his contract. Maybe there was pressure to move Clark out?

That question is rhetorical, by the way. Howson, in the article by Portzline, goes on to say that the new Assistant General Manager is someone who was going to be moving on very soon if he did not get new responsibilities, or a new challenge. Who is that person?

Meet Chris MacFarland. Head of the team's hockey operations since back in 2001, MacFarland has been around the team since the very beginning, first coming on to the scene sometime in 1999, a year prior to the 2000-2001 inaugural season.

Sadly, I lack a lot of information on Chris, leaving me to just go off of what I know from seeing him around. In my personal opinion? He's smart, and he knows what he's doing. He wouldn't be getting this promotion if he didn't, after all. He's a friendly guy, which makes sense since -- as his biography on the Blue Jackets' website states -- he handles so many things for the team already, which include volatile issues such as salary arbitration, and negotiations and communication with the league over the Collective Bargaining Agreement. If those were his responsibilities, I have no doubt that he's ready for a shot at Assistant GM.

I'm sure either Portzline or Michael Arace will have something more fulfilling on MacFarland sometime during the upcoming week. I'd like to hope so, since I am sure many people, including myself, are hoping for something a bit more in-depth concerning his time involved with the Jackets, how sources in the organization view him, and the like.

There's a party over here, so you might as well be here, etc. etc. etc.

2007-08-04T20:01:00.000-05:00

At least that's what David Vyborny seems to be thinking. Or he hopes a party's about to erupt in Columbus in the very near future.

Why do I assume that he has such a train of thought, you ask? Because Veebs has gone from standing firm on his decision to play out his contract (done after the 2007-2008 season), to agreeing to pursue a new long-term contract.

We could go on and on with rampant speculation about why Vyborny is deciding to stick around, but the fact of the matter is that the one remaining original Blue Jacket still playing for the CBJ is willingly coming forward to see if he could stick around longer. While Vyborny has never worn the 'C' for the Jackets, he still could be considered something of a team leader due to his seniority on the team.

But beyond his seniority, it's the fact that Vyborny is the team's best playmaker, completely unselfish with the puck (though any Jackets' fan will admit that sometimes we want to just strangle him for not shooting the puck!!). That's one reason why he is the franchise scoring leader.

As for that 'speculation' I mentioned before, my opinion is that he sees something happening within the organization that perhaps us, as fans, can't always see since we're not privy to behind-the-scenes details. But the changing of General Managers, coupled with a "slow and steady" approach to the team building process by Scott Howson -- partially by necessity and partially by Howson's own volition -- can only help to make the draw of staying on for something big all that more appealing to Veebs.

A new post will be coming a little bit later tonight, so sit tight, readers. While you're here, why not check out Skraut's newest Blue Jackets music video over in the media box to the right? I finally had time to put something new in there.