#But he’s also still in his coach everyone but Jamie era at that point and he’s gonna have to not be before they get out | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

jamietwat · 1 year ago

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Time loop fic set during season 2 when Jamie’s back around but Roy isn’t coaching yet where it takes Jamie and Roy an embarrassing amount of do-overs before they finally realize they’re both caught in it because for days Jamie goes over to Keeley’s place and antagonizes Roy in basically the exact same way because he thinks making the same stupid old man jokes all the time is funny anyway and any slight changes in conversation he just assumes is because he showed up at a different time or worded his own end of the conversation a little differently but Roy’s still basically saying the same grumpy old man shit anyway

And Roy makes basically the same retorts every time because he stands by it and he assumes Jamie shows up at slightly different times looking for Keeley as a butterfly effect of his morning with Keeley being different but that there’s no escaping him showing up to be a little bitch at some point

And like they both sometimes tell people but not the same people on the same version of the day so Keeley individually thinks that both of them are losing it on different versions of the day before eventually they both mention it

And then on like day 5 of the same day over and over Jamie doesn’t show up and Roy is irrationally angry about it but thinks it must be somehow connected to the fact that he was acting absolutely insane with Keeley trying to explain what’s happening while she thought he was fucking with her and somehow that made her brush off Jamie and him not show up or something?

And it takes Jamie showing up at 100 and just tearing Roy apart and going on about what a dick he is (which isn’t unusual but isn’t how this routine goes) and weirdly fixating on how he was excited to meet Roy but then he ended up just being an old washed up prick that never even gave him a chance because Jamie figures he can just show up, yell at Roy for all the reasons he’s so fixated on being a little asshole with a grudge against Roy in particular to get it out of his system, and then never have to deal with any consequences of Roy finding out about the whole embarrassing having been a big fan and expecting it to be so cool to play on a team with him just to immediately get offended that Roy didn’t give a shit about him and his bullshit and so Jamie ended up hating him thing

But instead Roy just scowls at him and is like “that’s not what you’re supposed to say” and Jamie’s like “…what.” And Roy’s like I’ve done this day like ten times already and either I make Keeley think I’m certifiable first thing in the morning and you don’t show up or else you show up looking for her and then make the same completely uncreative old man jokes at me and Jamie’s like what the fuck I’ve been doing this same day over and over and you’ve been making the same shitty jokes that weren’t funny the first time over and over again

And Keeley’s just sitting there watching this like “Are you two fucking with me? I can’t believe you two got along long enough to plan whatever the fuck this is.” And honestly, the fact that she couldn’t imagine them ever getting along to plan this stupid joke and agree on it is the main reason she actually starts to believe them that time in an okay either I’ve completely lost it or you two are stuck in a time loop kind of way and when she starts going on about how every time loop movie there’s like a moral the person has to learn and maybe they’re both caught in it because they’re supposed to learn how to get along and be friends and Roy’s supposed to take Ted’s offer and that’s how Jamie finds out about the Ted trying to convince Roy to coach thing

But they’re both like fuck no absolutely not, that’s not it and I’d rather be stuck in this stupid fucking loop forever than voluntarily spend time with him let alone get along (as if Jamie hasn’t shown up to annoy him practically every version of the day and Roy hasn’t just been sitting there waiting for him every time) and then they actively avoid each other for like a week’s worth of versions of the same day before they start considering that Keeley might have been on to something but it still takes three more days of pointedly not seeking the other out and waiting for the other to give in first before they run into each other at Ted’s place anyway and finally start actually swapping information they’ve picked up from their loops and what they’ve tried changing to try to get out and discussing ways to try to get out of it while Ted’s just sitting there cracking jokes and making annoyingly similar to what Keeley said comments about how in time loop and body switch things it’s always that you have to learn to see things from another perspective and be nicer to someone you don’t usually see eye to eye with before you can get out (Ted doesn’t actually believe they’re stuck in a time loop though, he’s just going well weird hypothetical but I’ll play along if this almost certainly made up scenario is what it takes for them to have an actual conversation with each other)

#Roy’s going to be PISSED when he shows up agreeing to coach and start right then one of the versions of the day insisting he’s only doing #it to get out of the day or rule it out as the answer and instead he LOVES IT and then wakes up on the same fucking day anyway #So he not only has to admit that he actually wants to coach and other people were right but he’s also right fucking back again anyway #But he’s also still in his coach everyone but Jamie era at that point and he’s gonna have to not be before they get out #I have more thoughts but I am tired #Jamie not showing up actually had nothing to do with anything Roy or Keeley did he was just trying doing other shit #Might eventually write this as like a pair of fics in a series one from Roy’s pov and one from Jamie’s pov where their versions of the same #days get posted in the same chapters of each #This is another thing for the pile of things I might turn into something eventually #Ted Lasso #Jamie Tartt #Roy Kent #RoyJamie #Keeley Jones #Roy x Keeley x Jamie #Mine

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chainofclovers · 3 years ago

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Ted Lasso 2x11 thoughts

For an episode that ends with a journalist Ted trusts but has (understandably) recently lied to warning Ted that he’s publishing an article about his panic attacks, it was fitting that this episode seemed entirely about what all of these characters choose to tell each other. And after most of a season of television that Jason Sudeikis has described as the season in which the characters go into their little caves to deal with things on their own, it turns out they are finally able to tell each other quite a lot.

Which is good because, um, wow, a lot is going to happen in the season finale of this show!

Thoughts on the things people tell each other behind the cut!

Roy and Keeley. I absolutely loved the moment during their photoshoot in which they bring up a lot of complicated emotional things and are clearly gutted (“gutted”? Who am I? A GBBO contestant who forgot to turn the oven on?) by what they’ve heard. We already know that Keeley and Roy are great at the kinds of moments they have before the shoot begins, in which Roy builds Keeley up and tells her she’s fucking amazing. From nearly the beginning of their relationship, they’ve supported each other and been each other’s biggest fans. But their relationship has gone on long enough that they’ve progressed from tentative arguments about space and individual needs into really needing to figure out what they mean to each other and how big their feelings are and what that means in relation to everything else. Watching these two confess about the uncomfortable kiss with Nate, the unexpectedly long conversation with Phoebe’s teacher, and—most painfully—the revelation that Jamie still loves Keeley didn’t feel like watching two people who are about to break up. (Although I could see them potentially needing space from each other to get clarity.) It felt like watching two people realize just how much they’d lose if they lost each other, which is an understandably scary feeling even—or especially—when you’re deeply in love but not entirely sure what the future holds. Not entirely sure what you’re capable of when you’ve never felt serious about someone in quite this way, and are realizing you have to take intentional actions to choose that relationship every single day. I’m excited to learn whether Roy and Keeley decide they need to solidify their relationship more (not necessarily an engagement, but maybe moving in together or making sure they’re both comfortable referring to the other as partner and telling people they’re in a committed relationship) or if things go in a different direction for a while.

Sharon and Ted. I’ve had this feeling of “Wow, Ted is going to feel so intense about how honest he’s been with Sharon and is going to end up getting really attached and transfer a lot of emotions onto the connection they have and that is stressful no matter how beneficial it has been for him to finally get therapy!” for a while now. And Sharon’s departure really brought that out and it was indeed stressful. But the amount of growth that’s happened for both of these characters is really stunningly and beautifully conveyed in this episode. Ted is genuinely angry she left without saying goodbye, and he doesn’t bury it some place deep inside him where it will fester for the next thirty years. He expresses his anger. (I also noticed he sweared—mildly—in front of her again, which is really a big tell for how much he has let his carefully-constructed persona relax around her.) He reads her letter even though he said he wasn’t going to, and he’s moved. I don’t think Ted has the words for his connection to Sharon beyond “we had a breakthrough,” but Sharon gets it, and is able to firmly assert a professional boundary by articulating her side of that breakthrough as an experience that has made her a better therapist. And is still able to offer Ted a different kind of closure by suggesting they go out before her train leaves. No matter how you feel about a patient/football manager seeing their therapist/team psychologist colleague socially, I appreciated this story because IMO it didn’t cross big lines but instead was about one final moment in this arc in which both Ted and Sharon saw each other clearly and modeled what it is to give someone what they need and to expect honesty and communication from them. I liked that Ted ends up being the one saying goodbye. (The mustache in the exclamation points!) I like that whether or not Sharon returns in any capacity (Sarah Niles is so wonderful that I hope she does, but I’m not sure), the goodbye these characters forge for themselves here is neither abandonment nor a new, more complicated invitation. It’s the end of a meaningful era, and although the work of healing is the work of a lifetime, it’s very beautiful to have this milestone.

Ted and Rebecca. So, maybe it’s just me, but it kinda feels like these two have a few li’l life things to catch up on?! (HAHHHHHaSdafgsdasdf!) I really adored their interactions in this episode. I maintain that Biscuits With The Boss has been happening this whole time (even when Ted’s apartment was in shambles, there’s biscuit evidence, and I feel like we’ve been seeing the biscuit boxes in Rebecca’s office pretty regularly too), even if it might have been more of a drive-by biscuit drop-off/feelings avoidance ritual. It was really lovely to see Ted on more even footing in Rebecca’s office, joking around until she tells him to shut up, just like the old days. And GOSH—for their 1x9 interaction in Ted’s office to be paralleled in this episode and for Ted to explicitly make note of the parallel in a way Rebecca hears and sees and understands?! MY HEART. In both of Rebecca’s confessions, she is not bringing good news but it is good and meaningful that she chooses to share with Ted. In both situations, Ted takes the moment in stride and offers acceptance equivalent to the gravity of what she has to confess. And in both situations, he’s not some kind of otherworldly saint, able to accept Rebecca no matter what because he’s unaffected by what she shares. He is affected. When he tells her about Sam, you can see a variety of emotions on his face. Rebecca is upset and Ted is calm, and even if I might have liked for him to try to talk about the risk the affair poses to the power dynamics on the team or any number of factors, I also really liked that he just accepts where she is, and—most importantly—does not offer her advice beyond examining herself and taking her own advice. A massive part of being in a relationship with another person (a close relationship of any nature) is figuring out how to support that person without necessarily having to be happy about every single thing they do. It’s so important that Ted connects what she’s just told him about Sam back to what she told him last season about her plot with the club. These both feel like truth bombs to him, and he is at least safe enough to make that clear. These are both things that impact him, things that shape how he sees her and maybe even how he sees himself. He cares about her and is capable of taking in this information; he has room for it. But it’s not something he takes lightly, and neither does she. See you next year.

Tumblr user chainofclovers and the TV show Ted Lasso. My brain is going wild thinking about all the ways the next “truth bomb” conversation could go in 3x11 or whatever. Maybe they go full consistent parallel and Rebecca confesses something else, this time about her and Ted or some other big future thing that impacts him as much or more as the other confessions have. (The same but different.) Maybe the tables turn and Ted has something to confess to her. While the 1x9 conversation ended in an embrace and the 2x11 conversation ended with a bit more physical distance (understandable given the current state of their relationship and the nature of the discussion), the verbal ending of both conversations involved voices moving into a sexier lower register while zooming in to talk specifically about their connection to each other, so I have to assume there will be some consistencies in s3 even if the circumstances will be completely different. I don’t really know where I’m going with this and I obviously will go insane if I sustain this level of anticipatory energy until Fall 2022 but I have a feeling my brain and heart are going to try!

Sam and Rebecca. I know there’s been a lot of criticism about whether this show is being at all realistic about the power dynamics and inevitable professional issues this relationship would create. On some level, I agree; I like that pretty much everyone who knows about the affair has been kind so far, but you can be kind and still ask someone to contend with reality. But I also think that in nearly every plot point on this show, the narrative is driven by how people feel about their circumstances first and foremost. (It’s why the whiteboard in the coaching office and the football commentators tell us more about how the actual football season is going from a points perspective than anyone else.) This episode reminded me how few people know about Sam and Rebecca, and how much their time together so far has been time spent in bed. The private sphere. I thought this episode really expertly brought the public sphere into it, not—thank goodness—through a humiliating exposure or harsh judgment but through an opportunity for Sam that illustrates not only all his potential to do great things but how much Rebecca’s professional position and personal feelings are in conflict with that. Could stand in the way of that. I don’t have a strong gut feeling about where this will go, but I do think Sam’s face in his final scene of this episode is telling. He started the episode wanting to see Rebecca (his most recent text to her was about wanting to connect), and Edwin’s arrival from Ghana really exploded his sense of what is possible for his life. If he’d arrived home to Rebecca sitting on his stoop prior to meeting Edwin, he’d have been delighted. Now he’s conflicted, and whatever decision he makes, he has to reckon with the reality that he cannot have everything he wants. No matter what. And Rebecca—she has taken Ted’s advice and is attempting to be honest about the fact that she can’t control Sam’s decisions but hopes he doesn’t go, and even saying that much feels so inappropriate. And I’m not sure how much she realizes about the inappropriateness of the position she’s putting him in, although maybe she’s getting there considering she exits the scene very quickly. I’ve honestly loved Rebecca’s arc this season. I think it’s realistic that she got obsessed with the intimacy she thought she could find in her phone. I think it’s realistic that her professional and personal ambitions are inappropriately linked. (They certainly were for Rupert. It’s been years since she’s known anything different; even if she’s done some significant recovery work to move on from her abusive marriage and figure out her own priorities, she’s got a long way to go.) I know there are people who will read this interaction between Rebecca and Sam as a totally un-self-aware thing on the part of “the show” or “the writers” but what I saw is two people who enjoyed being in bed together and now have to deal with the reality that they’re in two different places in their lives and that one has great professional power over the other. If that wasn’t in the show, I wouldn’t be able to see it or feel so strongly about it.

Edwin and Sam. I really enjoyed all the complexities of this interaction. Edwin is promising a future for Sam that doesn’t quite exist yet, though he has the financial means to make it happen. He offers this by constructing for Sam a Nigerian—and Ghanaian—experience unlike anything he’s found in London. Sam is amazed that this experience is here, and Edwin’s response is to explain to him that the experience is not here. Not really. The experience in Africa. Sam has of course connected to the other Nigerian players on the team, but this is something else entirely. I’m really curious if Sam is going to end up feeling that what Edwin has to offer is real or not. That sense of home and connection? So real. And so right that he would want to experience that homecoming and would want to be part of building that experience for others. But at the end of the day, he went to a museum full of actors and a pop-up restaurant full of “friends,” and is that constructed authenticity as a stand-in for a real homecoming more or less real than the home he’s building in Richmond? (With other players who stand in solidarity with him, and with well-meaning white coaches who say dumb stuff sometimes, and an a probably-doomed love interest, and a feeling that he should put chicken instead of goat in the jollof, and the ability to stand out as an incredible player on a rising team.)

Nate and everyone. But also Nate and no one. Nate’s story is so painful and I’m so anxious for next week’s episode. For a long time I’ve felt that a lot of Nate’s loyalties are with Richmond, and a lot of his ambitions are around having given so much to this place without getting a lot back, and having a strong feeling that he’s the answer to Richmond’s future. But now I’m not so sure; his ambitions have transferred into asking everyone he knows (except Ted, of course), if they want to be “the boss.” But Nate is all tactics and no communication. When he wants to suggest a new play to Ted, he hasn’t yet learned to read Ted’s language to learn that Ted is eager to hear what he has to say. And while Ted has been really unfortunately distracted about Nate and dismissive of him this season, he clearly respects Nate’s approach to football and was appreciative of the play. Nate just can’t hear that. The suit is such a great metaphor of all the things Nate is in too much pain to be able to hear clearly. Everyone digs at him for wearing the suit Ted bought him (including Will, who’s got to get little cuts in where he can, because he’s got to be sick of the way Nate treats him), but when he gets fed up his solution isn’t to go out on his own and find more clothes he likes; he asks Keeley to help him. And then crosses a major line with her...and no matter how kind she was about it, she was clearly not okay. Everything is going to blow up, and I’m so curious as to whether Nate will end up aligning himself with Rupert in some way or if he’s going to end up screwed over by Rupert and in turn try to screw over his colleagues even worse than he’s already done. Or try desperately to make amends even though it could be too late for some. Either way, I’m fully prepared to feel devastated. (And there’s no way I’m giving up on this character. If he’s able to learn, I truly believe he could end up seeking forgiveness and forging a happier existence for himself. Someday. Like in season 3 or something.)

Ted and Trent. Trent deciding to reveal his source to Ted is a huge deal, and I’m torn between so many emotions about this exposé. I’m glad it’s a Trent Crimm piece and not an Ernie Loundes piece. I’m glad that Trent made the decision to warn Ted and let him know that Nate is his source. I fear—but also hope—that this exposure will set off a chain reaction of Ted learning about some of the things he’s missed while suffering through a really bad bout with his dad-grief and panic disorder. The things Ted doesn’t know would devastate him. I wonder if Ted will want to figure out a way to make Nate feel heard and reconcile with him, and I wonder how that will be complicated if/when he realizes Nate has severely bullied Will, gets more details on how he mistreated Colin, etc. I wonder if Rebecca, whom Nate called a “shrew” right before she announced his promotion, will be in the position of having to ask Ted to fire him, or overriding Ted and doing it herself. So many questions! I have a feeling it’ll go in some wild yet very human-scaled, emotionally-nuanced direction, and I’ll be like “Oh my GOD!” but also like “Oh, of course.”

This VERY SERIOUS AND EMOTIONAL REVIEW has a major flaw, which is that none of the above conversations include mention of the absolute love letter to N*SYNC. Ted passionately explains how things should go while dancing ridiculously! Will turns on the music and starts gyrating! Roy nods supportively! Beard shouts the choreography like the Broadway choreographer of teaching grown men who play football how to dance like a boy band. Everyone is so incredibly proud when they nail it. I love them.

I cannot believe next week is the end. For now. I’m kind of looking forward to letting everything settle during the hiatus, but I’ve really loved the ride.

#ted lasso #ted lasso s2 spoilers #ted lasso 2x11 #meta by me #ALL THE FEELINGS!!!!#a lesbian watches ted lasso

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junker-town · 5 years ago

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New evidence confirms former Pitt coach Kevin Stallings was the worst cheater ever

Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images

The disastrous Stallings era at Pitt suddenly looks even worse after Thursday’s punishments from the NCAA.

On March 27, 2016, as he was being roundly criticized for making what seemed like a reach of a hire that would have made Stretch Armstrong blush, this is what former Pittsburgh athletic director Scott Barnes had to say about new men’s basketball head coach Kevin Stallings:

“Coach Stallings and I share the same vision for Pitt — playing in the Final Four. Kevin has a successful track record recruiting the ACC footprint and beyond, and is one of the best coaches in the country at building an offense around his talent. He plays a fun, up-tempo style that players love and fans will enjoy. Kevin runs his program with impeccable character and has a high care factor and connection with his student-athletes. He is a Power 5 conference coach whose experience and success will be immediate assets for our program.”

Barnes left for Oregon State nine months later, meaning he had to watch from the other side of the country as his proclamation proved to be one of the least accurate statements ever issued by an athletic director. I say “one of” instead of “the” only because of the “he is a Power 5 conference coach” declaration. If nothing else, Stallings was at least, quite literally, that.

Stallings, who arrived at Pitt after appearing to be on his way out at Vanderbilt, lasted just two seasons with the Panthers. His relationship with his current players and his ability to bring in exciting new blood proved to be equally abysmal. Pitt went 24-41 overall in its two seasons under Stallings and was just 4-32 in ACC play. In 2017-18, the Panthers were a perfectly imperfect 0-19 in conference games, and drew their lowest home attendance numbers since 1981-82.

2017-18 Pitt Panther basketball pic.twitter.com/MnatxOTJGE

— Mike Rutherford (@CardChronicle) February 11, 2018

All of this would have been embarrassing enough for Pitt fans had Stallings been carrying himself with dignity and making moves on the recruiting trail that indicated better days were on the horizon. Neither of those things were happening.

After infamously being caught on camera threatening to kill one of his own players at Vanderbilt, Stallings drew heat for this moment near the end of his first season with Pitt:

youtube

In year two, there was him getting into it with a heckler during a blowout loss to Louisville where he could easily be heard saying “at least we didn’t pay our guy $100,000” multiple times. Stallings would defend his comments both immediately after the game and when he was asked about them later that week.

Didn’t hear it when it happened, but sure enough my camera mic picked up Pitt coach Kevin Stallings $100k comment pic.twitter.com/66XU7f03hk

— John Lewis WDRB (@JohnWDRB) January 3, 2018

Perhaps most embarrassingly, the heckler in question later revealed themselves to be a Pittsburgh fan.

The salt in the gaping wound in all of this was the fact that Stallings was only hired because previous head coach Jamie Dixon had left for TCU after believing he was going to be forced out at Pitt. Dixon, who is about as uncontroversial figure as there is in major college basketball coaching, had taken the Panthers to the NCAA tournament 11 times in 13 seasons and won three Big East championships.

Still, Pitt fans and some within the athletic department were upset over the fact Dixon had guided the Panthers past the tournament’s opening weekend just three times over those 13 seasons, and had never gotten them to a Final Four. For a Power 5 conference program not known as a perennial college basketball powerhouse, that’s a concern worth forcing a coach out over if you have a can’t miss coaching savant waiting and ready to sign on the dotted line the moment your head coaching position opens up. It isn’t if you have no apparent plan to fill the vacancy and have even the slightest chance of settling for a controversial figure who was about to be fired by a Power 5 program with less history than yours.

For all these reasons, it wasn’t difficult even before Thursday to make the case that Stallings was the worst major conference coaching hire of college basketball’s last several decades. What we found out Thursday lends significant credence to the assertion that Stallings might be the worst major conference coaching hire in the history of college basketball.

On Thursday, the NCAA dished out punishments to both Pitt’s football and men’s basketball programs for rules violations that occurred under the watch of Stallings and current Panthers football head coach Pat Narduzzi.

On the basketball side of things, the violations are fairly minor on the surface — Stallings allowed three non-coaching staff members to assist in practices, and the program produced personalized recruiting videos to play for 12 different recruits on their respective visits. Where the program, and Stallings, really got into trouble was in their efforts to cover all this up.

After Stallings became aware of the fact new Pitt athletic director Heather Lyke and several other members of the compliance department became suspicious that non-coaching members of his staff were being used as additional assistant coaches, he set up an alert system to ensure he wouldn’t be caught redhanded during practices. A student manager would stand outside the doors of Pitt’s practice gym and send a text to another manager if an athletics administrator was coming in to observe practice. The inside student manager would then sound a buzzer, at which point all non-coaching members of the Pitt staff would exit the practice floor.

If that weren’t enough, the NCAA also discovered Stallings had ordered the deletion of tons of practice video footage that showed non-coaching staff members acting in the role of assistant coaches. The NCAA then used computer forensics experts to recover this footage, which showed exactly what everyone expected it would.

The result of all this is three years probation for Pitt, a minor fine, and a three-year show cause penalty assessed to Stallings. So if you’re the fan of a program hoping to hire a man whose last act was losing all 19 of his conference games despite cheating (albeit in a relatively minor fashion), this just isn’t your day.

For Pitt fans, and really everyone else, this is the one of the strongest pieces of evidence (and likely the final one) in the argument that Stallings was the worst major college basketball hire of our lifetime. For the fans of programs with a head coach who has been just OK, it’s a nice reminder that if you’re going to move on that guy, you had better have a set plan in place for the morning after.

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badacts · 8 years ago

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order

a pro-era companion fic to corvus, vulpes, lupus for @thepalmtoptiger, featuring the ny rebels

They’re having drinks at the local bar after practice when everyone’s phone beeps with a message at the same time.

“It’s Jamie,” Shearer says, first to wrestle his out of his pocket. “Meeting tomorrow before morning practice. God, as if we don’t have to be there early enough.”

“It’ll be a new signing,” Pierce says. His raccoon daemon is shelling and eating peanuts off of the table with her little dextrous hands, and it’s mesmerising to watch. “I bet you.”

Anita scoffs. “That’s not even a challenge, of course it’ll be about a signing. We should be betting on who it actually is.”

“Jeremy Knox,” Shearer says immediately.

“He just got signed to New Orleans, you groupie,” Cooper says. “Don’t you people read the news?”

To be fair, she has insider knowledge – she was Jeremy’s captain at USC and handed over the reins to him when she graduated, and she’s kept in touch since. Jeremy would love to be in New York, but the Rebels don’t need a backliner and he won’t go anywhere without Moreau. Give it another year, maybe.

“It’ll be an offensive player, right? Seeing as Soo is out for the season,” Anita muses. “What strikers do we know are looking to move?”

“Unless we know them personally, I don’t know we’re going to know that,” Pierce points out.

“Just pick the ones having the worst season,” Cooper says, earning a laugh from around the table. “Whitehall will be looking for a new team after the last few weeks. The Senators are bombing.”

“Piper Jackson from Washington? I heard a rumour she might be looking to move,” Anita offers.

“Fuck, I hope so,” Shearer says. “Ten bucks that it’s Brockmann though.”

They all groan. The striker for the Eagles is a great player, but he’s also a complete dickhead. The Rebels already have enough asshole personalities on their offensive line without adding another.

“Well, I’m saying Piper,” Cooper suggests. “Dreams are free, right?”

“Yeah, but bets aren’t,” Orion mutters from her lap. She strokes his wiry-coated back.

“I’ll put my ten on Carmody from the Jackdaws,” Anita says, her smile turning smug when the rest of them boo because they didn’t think of Carmody first. The guy’s wife and kids are in New York and he’s in Florida – it makes perfect sense.

“Damn it, girl,” Pierce says. “I’ll go for Whitehall, then. I can’t think of anyone else.”

“I hope you’re right, for his sake,” Cooper jokes, taking another sip of her beer.

“It’s Neil Josten,” Minyard says. It’s the first thing he’s said all night since he ordered a whiskey rocks at the bar. If it were in any way possible to forget he was there – not to mention his enormous hyena daemon, who is lying under Minyard’s chair – Cooper would have done so.

“No way,” Pierce says. “His team is finals material. There’s no way he’ll be planning on leaving after a year.”

“You used to play with him,” Shearer says. He’s a couple of glasses of wine in, and his lizard daemon has slumped over his shoulder absorbing his body heat. “He has a fox daemon, right? That must have been weird. I mean, your team was called the Foxes.”

“It’s super on-theme, you can give him that,” Anita says. “Is that your bet, Andrew?”

Minyard raises his glass to her in a salute. From the under the table there’s a chuff like laughter. Cooper draws her feet up in surprise – she’s not nervy by nature, but she’s seen her teeth. She bets the others do the same.

“Guess we’ll find out tomorrow,” she says to cover it. She doubts it works.

Of course, it’s Neil Josten.

“You had insider knowledge, didn’t you,” Cooper hisses at Minyard out of the corner of her mouth. “That’s cheating.”

He looks at her blandly. “I told you who it was.”

He doesn’t bother to lower his voice, which means that everyone turns to look at him. This includes Neil Josten, who is standing at the front of the room with his very beautiful silver fox daemon across his shoulders like a stole, and with the general manager and Jamie, their head coach beside him. Jamie frowns his be professional face at Cooper, but Josten smiles a little bit when he sees who has spoken.

Cooper obligingly shuts up, because those people are in charge of her job. She instead surveys their newest player, as of the beginning of next season. Josten is short and slim, but Cooper has seen video of him playing – she knows that he’s fast. She also knows that he’s trained under Kevin Day, and that in his first season after graduating from college he’s help to take his middling-ranked team to the top of the table in the north-western conference.

He doesn’t look like much. Looks can be deceiving, though.

“Josten’s going to join us for practice today,” Jamie tacks on at the end, gruffer than their general manager. “Coop, make sure he knows where he’s going.”

Cooper is in charge of wrangling the rookies, because she’s good at it – patient, but not too patient, and good-humoured. Their captain Castle is very good at what he does, but he’s no good with the newbies – that’s why she’s chief babysitter, and also why she’s vice-captain. She waves to acknowledge the direction and to show Josten who Jamie means, and gets another small smile in response.

“Unless you want to?” she asks Minyard, as the quiet breaks and Josten starts to make his way across the room to them through the milling Rebels. “You guys are friends, right?”

Minyard stares at her. “No.”

“I’m going to take that as a no to my first question, not my second,” she says, nonplussed, right before Josten arrives at their side.

His daemon jumps from his shoulder to the floor and bounds forwards to greet Minyard’s, so they touch noses. The fox’s tail is wagging, and her mouth is open in a grin.

“Hey,” Josten says directly to Minyard.

“Hello, Neil,” Minyard replies. It’s impossible to tell what he’s thinking. Cooper isn’t good enough at deciphering him yet - she’s only vaguely sure he doesn’t hate her.

“Hi,” Cooper says, because she’ll be waiting all day if she waits for Minyard to introduce her. “I’m Kristen Cooper.”

“I know. I watched you in your game against the Titans last week. That save in the last five against O’Sullivan was great,” Josten says. He sounds exactly like he does in interviews – the ones where he doesn’t start riots, that is. Smooth and professional, serious but with a touch of a smile.

“Thanks,” she replies. “Come on, I’ll show you around a little and then leave you to the tender care of Minyard here in the changing rooms.”

“Tender care,” says an unfamiliar voice. “Have they met you?”

It takes Cooper a moment to realise that it’s Josten’s daemon speaking. She blinks. Not only is she loud enough for Cooper to clearly hear, but she seems to be talking directly to Minyard.

“This is Sin,” Josten tells Cooper, a little bit rueful. “Excuse her.”

Sin seems to ignore that. Cooper has never seen another daemon like her. She can just about taste Orion’s uncertainty where he’s sitting on his haunches by her feet, his ears pricked.

“Bet he can score on Andrew today,” she says, quieter but still audible, this time only to Minyard’s daemon. The hyena huffs in response.

“Come see the court,” Cooper says, because there’s not really much else to say.

Josten joins the Rebels during pre-season practice, looking less ruffled than anyone who has just upended his life to move to the other side of the country has a right to. Cooper has been in New York for several years, and she hasn’t forgotten the fortnight-long panic of moving from LA yet.

He’s – he’s good. Good enough to make Minyard push himself, and that is interesting to watch. He’s also stubborn enough that he knocked Wilson – the Rebel’s most annoying striker – onto his ass when he said something that Josten won’t relay.

“He’s as crazy as his daemon,” Orion says when they’re back in the apartment, Cooper flopped face down on the couch. He jumps onto her lower back and curls up there, like a little fox terrier hot water bottle. She sighs.

“Point conceded,” she agrees after a moment. “Hey, do you reckon he and Minyard are actually friends? I can’t tell if it’s just a familiarity thing or not.”

“Amaranth talks to Sin,” Orion replies. “She doesn’t really do that with the rest of us.”

“Amaranth. I didn’t realise that was her name. She talks to you, right?”

“Yes,” Orion says, patiently. They’ve had this conversation before, back when Cooper was wondering whether Andrew hated her.

“I swear Josten was talking to her the other day. Amaranth, I mean.”

“Probably. They do that.”

“What, really? Like, a lot? You didn’t say.” Cooper had thought she’d been witnessing some kind of one-off event.

“You didn’t ask,” he points out, because he’s kind of an ass sometimes.

“Maybe Sin has desensitised him to talking to other daemons. She talks to everyone.”

“Or maybe they’re friends.”

“Hm,” Cooper says, non-committal. “Maybe.”

“Andrew says you’re the person to talk to about drills.” Josten plunks his drink – it’s soda – down on the table, and then sits. Sin springs up onto the table top, investigating the sticky patches on it with her whiskery muzzle. Orion watches her do it, ears pricked.

“Did he say that? Wow, I think I just got the warm fuzzies,” she replies.

Josten looks at her strangely, and then says, “I have some ideas for drills to add to the repertoire for the strikers. For aim, mostly.”

Cooper sits back in her seat. “I could ask what’s wrong with our current drill sets, but you know it’s a Saturday night, right? We can talk about this on Monday.”

“Now you sound like Andrew,” Josten says. He looks a little bit dismayed.

“Smart man,” Cooper says. “Go. Get drunk. Pretend to be a normal twenty-something for a little bit.”

“I don’t drink.”

“Of course you don’t. Let me guess, you drink juice that’s green, too.”

Josten makes a face. “No. I don’t see the point. Juices are mostly sugar, and even with kale-”

“Neil has an issue with sugar,” Minyard says. Cooper jumps, jostling Orion on her lap and making him yelp – Minyard just appeared from nowhere.

Josten turns to look at him, some amusement on his face. “Should I tell her-”

“Be quiet,” Minyard replies. Amaranth is standing at his side, and Sin jumps down to her, skirting close to Minyard’s feet as she does so. She’s in easy reach, but she doesn’t look even vaguely frightened to be so close to him.

“I should have just said that,” Cooper tells Josten. She turns to Minyard. “Hey, take him away. I’m not talking shop, it’s the weekend.”

Minyard looks at Josten and jerks his head in the direction of the bar. Josten slides straight out of his seat, leaving his completely full soda on the table like he’s forgotten all about it. Cooper doesn’t have the heart to point that out as she watches him follow Minyard and their daemons across the floor.

“They’re definitely friends,” she whispers to Orion. He hums back.

Josten has a bad track record for injuries, so it’s not surprising someone tries to break his face open in his first game for the Rebels.

His track record still isn’t as bad as his attitude, though – that’s the only reason Cooper can imagine explaining why he goes after the backliner who is twice his size after they already made him bleed. Attitude, and adrenaline.

The fight basically embroils the whole team other than the goalies. Cooper is the one who ends up with Josten, the back of his jersey held fast in her hand. He’s a livewire in her grip, practically steaming with exertion. He’s also dripping blood on the floor.

“Pinch your nose,” she tells him as she carts him across the court to the door. He got a yellow card, but he’s going off for blood if she has to physically carry him to the medical room.

“I’m fine,” he replies. His nose is stuffed up and he still sounds angry.

“Excuse me, I’m your vice-captain. Do it, you little shit,” she says.

Unexpectedly, he laughs. “Are you allowed to call me that?”

“Josten, you were schooled by Dan Wilds. I’ve met her, I know it’s not the first time you’ve been called that,” she replies. They’re at the door, which is being held open. “Yo, Minyard. Take him to the doc.”

Wilson jogs past to take the empty striker position as Cooper shoves Josten through. He seems to stumble on the threshold, wavering as he lifts a hand to his face.

Sin, who is at his feet, says, “Neil. Neil!” Minyard steps forward to balance him at the same time as Cooper. Neither of them are as fast as Amaranth.

She’s massive, especially next to Josten’s diminutive height. He puts a hand on her broad back, fingers curling into her coat, and somehow doesn’t fall over.

They all end up crushed in the doorway together. Cooper feels vaguely panicked – they shouldn’t be doing that – but she swallows it in the face of the fact that the rest of them seem completely unbothered.

“I’m alright,” Josten says, dazedly.

“Shut up,” Minyard replies, taking Josten’s hand off of Amaranth’s back and hooking it over his own shoulders. “Cooper, get back on the court.”

“Five years,” Neil says. They’re using first names now, because this is Andrew and Neil’s apartment. Their shared apartment. “Five years?”

Andrew stares back at him and doesn’t reply. Neil seems to take this as confirmation. He continues rubbing the underside of Amaranth’s chin, slow and easy.

“Five years,” Sin agrees, stalking across the back of the couch behind Neil and Amaranth. She jumps across to the desk where Andrew is perched, sticking her head out of the window where he’s hanging his hand and cigarette out in the night air. Her tail brushes against him thoughtlessly.

Cooper has Orion cuddled safely in her lap, and she’s rubbing the sows-ear softness of his belly. She can’t imagine having someone close enough to be like that with. Somehow, she wants it anyway. She says, “That’s surreal.”

“Really?” Neil asks. He grins. It’s very sharp.

“Not really,” she admits.

#the foxhole court #andreil #hdm au #outsider pov #corvus vulpes lupus #order #genus #my fic #amaranth #sin

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mancitynoise · 4 years ago

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It was one of the great Champions League final performances – 28th May 2011, Barcelona produced near-perfect football to beat Manchester United 3-1 at Wembley, giving Pep Guardiola his second European Cup in just three years of senior football management.

Given the manner of Guardiola’s side’s victories over Man Utd in both 2009 and 2011, you would have counted on the Catalan coach adding plenty more Champions League titles to his collection in years to come.

And yet, the competition has become a real curse for Guardiola since that day, with his Manchester City side knocked out once again in a surprise defeat to Lyon on Saturday night.

At this point, you have to wonder if such a fine manager is getting something badly wrong on the European stage, with his record at City particularly poor despite such strong domestic form, owing to huge transfer spending on some of the very finest footballers in the world.

Here’s a look through Guardiola’s Champions League exits since he last won the trophy as we analyse what exactly has gone wrong for him at this level…

2011/12 – Barcelona vs Chelsea

A hugely frustrating tie for Pep’s Barcelona, particularly in the second leg. Lionel Messi had one of his best seasons but ultimately Barca missed out on La Liga and under-achieved in the Champions League. After losing 1-0 at Stamford Bridge in the first leg of this semi-final, Barcelona were dominant at home, going 2-0 up and enjoying 72% of the possession.

However, their finishing was not what it could have been, with Lionel Messi hitting the post and then the bar from the penalty spot. Having gone 2-0 up against what was, on paper, a pretty weak Chelsea side managed by Roberto Di Matteo (whatever happened to him?), Barcelona should have had enough in them to get past the Blues, only for their all-out attack to be punished on the break by *that* Fernando Torres goal that silenced the Nou Camp.

Chelsea went on to win the competition in pretty bizarre circumstances that year, so perhaps we can put this defeat down to just being ‘one of those things’.

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A domestic trophy-winning machine, a hugely intelligent tactical thinker, a man with a squad that would be the envy of almost every other manager at his disposal, and yet he’s looking no closer to delivering the big prize that he’ll have been hired to bring.

How much longer before City have to conclude their quest for European glory might have to been a change in the dugout?

The post Bad luck, or over-thinking? How Pep Guardiola lost his touch in the Champions League after latest Man City setback appeared first on CaughtOffside.

#CaughtOffside #Blog

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writingguide003-blog · 6 years ago

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Premier League 2018-19 season review: our writers best and worst

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Premier League 2018-19 season review: our writers best and worst

The best players, greatest games and standout signings plus those that didnt work out, and what needs to change

Best player

Ed Aarons: Virgil van Dijk. Raheem Sterling runs him close but in terms of impact and influence, the big Dutchman has been peerless.

Nick Ames: A confession: at the time Liverpool paid 75m for Van Dijk this writer having been present to cover all of his exceptionally rare rickets at Southampton considered them barmy. Instead, he has almost single-handedly given Jrgen Klopp the ability to build from a solid base, transforming the teams prospects. No centre-back has had this profound an influence in years.

Simon Burnton: Bernardo Silva has been an absolute joy a wonderful combination of technique, tenacity and enthusiasm, and important both creatively and defensively.

Paul Doyle: Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The two are inseparable. Got that, Unai Emery?

Dominic Fifield: Van Dijk. The Dutchman has transformed Liverpools backline, with a once-porous rearguard now the stingiest in the division. The 75m they paid for his services feels like a bargain.

Ben Fisher: Sergio Agero. He seemingly gets better every year. A consistent class act: sage, strong, ruthless and reliable. Manchester Citys trusty talisman weighed in with 21 goals, becoming only the second player to score 20 Premier League goals in five consecutive seasons Thierry Henry being the other. It was fitting Agero kickstarted the final-day victory dance at Brighton.

Barry Glendenning: Bernardo Silva has been the stand-out player in a squad full of extraordinarily gifted footballers at Manchester City.

Andy Hunter: Van Dijk. Transformed Liverpool the moment he arrived at Anfield. The leader of the best defence in the Premier League, and his ever-present appearance record shows his fitness is as consistent as his form.

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David Hytner: Sterling. The Manchester City winger has brought the numbers and the silverware but he has also impressed hugely as a leader.

Jamie Jackson: Bernardo Silva. The Portuguese brings his own wow factor to Manchester City, with an ability to play wide or centrally, a schemers vision, mesmeric dribbling, and a shoot-on-sight instinct.

Stuart James: Van Dijk. Voted for him for the Football Writers award hes not just an outstanding defender but a leader, too. His influence on that Liverpool defence is there for all to see. Id put Bernardo Silva right up there, too; the guy can do a bit of everything who wouldnt want a player like that? Plus, obviously Raheem Sterling has been superb.

Bernardo Silva: The standout player in Manchester Citys exceptionally gifted squad. Photograph: Matt McNulty/Man City via Getty Images

Amy Lawrence: Sterling and Van Dijk stood out from an impressive crowd by demonstrating immense talent with an inspiring personality. Only a fool would not applaud how Sterling has grown so much in all-round influence this season.

Sachin Nakrani: Sterling. Could have easily given this award to Virgil van Dijk but Sterling gets it for not only being excellent on the pitch for Manchester City, but off it too with his important stands against racism.

Barney Ronay: Sterling. From a rough edge to Citys best player at key times. Best of all made everyone even those not used to doing it think a little.

Rob Smyth: Andy Robertson. An elemental force whose ascent from Hull to a World XI gives hope to drifters everywhere. For all his infectious and uniquely Scottish zest for sporting confrontation, he is cold and clinical in the final third.

Danny Taylor: Trent Alexander-Arnold. A tangent, perhaps, from the usual Sterling/Van Dijk debate, but what a player 20 years old, part of the best defence in the league and 13 assists, a record for a defender in the Premier League era.

Louise Taylor: Eden Hazard. Virgil van Dijk was more consistent but, on his day, Hazards creative talent enchanted like very few others. He possesses not just the vision and technique others lack, but the bravery to normalise the audacious. Andy Robertson pushed those two close though; he has been brilliant at left-back.

Best manager

EA: Jrgen Klopp. The number of late victories Liverpool have managed is astounding and its largely down to the belief instilled by their manager.

NA: We are spoiled as never before. The best is Pep Guardiola; his teams response to a brilliant Liverpool side confirms that. But Mauricio Pochettinos ability to keep Tottenham this competitive is a thing of wonder; he is a class act off the field too. For a left-field shout, Sean Dyche restoring Burnley to their indomitable old ways was a fantastic achievement.

SB: With no real insurgent minnow this year, it has to be one of the ludicrously amazing top two. Liverpools 22-point improvement on last season wins it for Klopp.

PD: Ralph Hasenhttl. The difference between Southampton before and after his arrival was astonishing and damning on his predecessors.

DF: Klopp. The title may just have eluded him, but Liverpool lost only once all season and the chasm to Manchester City closed from 25 points to just one. That in itself is a remarkable achievement, given the champions standards hardly dipped.

BF: Pep Guardiola is still the champ. But to steer Tottenham into the top four and a Champions League final in the manner Mauricio Pochettino has done also deserves acclaim, while Maurizio Sarri has done a better job at Chelsea than has been painted.

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BG: Guardiola, for consistently taking great players and making them even better. For all his employers bottomless reserves of cash, it is a feat few managers can pull off with such monotonous regularity.

AH: Guardiola. Back-to-back league titles, the second one achieved with a 14-game winning streak, and the possibility of a historic domestic treble. It serves as a reminder that, when it comes to winners, the Manchester City manager has no peers in the Premier League.

DH: Guardiola, because he has led Manchester City to the brink of a domestic clean sweep. His genius even extends to getting away with wearing that sweater.

SJ: Guardiola. Hard not to give it to the manager who ends up winning the league, especially when its difficult to pick out anyone who massively overachieved elsewhere. Nuno Esprito Santo, who did an excellent job at Wolves in their first season back in the top flight, certainly merits a mention.

Six votes apiece for Jrgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters

JJ: Pep Guardiola. His pursuit of excellence is a privilege to watch up close, and next season it will be fascinating to see just what he makes his team produce.

AL: Klopp. The continuing rise in standards he has engineered, the love and respect that comes so naturally from his players, the brilliant charisma. He and his work just shines on.

SN: Klopp. Took on the financial might of Manchester City and almost won. He couldnt have done much more, and in the process the German displayed a level of tactical maturity and charismatic inspiration that could yet take Liverpool to Champions League glory.

BR: Mauricio Pochettino. Took a small, tired squad to fourth place. Improved his players. Created Moussa Sissoko 2.0.

RS: Klopp. Pound for pound, nobody got more from their squad than he does. He deserves better than to be a serial runner-up.

DT: Nuno. Phil Neville was silly to describe Wolves as the best promoted side the Premier League had ever seen ignoring the third-placed finishes of Newcastle (1994) and Forest (1995) but seventh is still a fine performance.

LT: Mauricio Pochettino. To paraphrase Bob Dylan, money doesnt so much talk as swear, and hes had a lot less of the stuff than his principal rivals. Also, Spurs play attractive football and Pochettino is ever ready to give young British players a chance. Rafa Bentez also merits an honourable mention. Under a lesser coach, Newcastle would surely have been relegated.

Best goal

EA: Andros Townsend v Man City. It was always going to take something special to beat City on their own patch and Townsends volley from 30 yards was a strike as sweet as you will see.

NA: Many of Manchester Citys games albeit masterclasses in control and precision fail to stir the soul. But Vincent Kompanys winner against Leicester was a genuine leap-from-the-sofa moment for a neutral; a reminder that even a team drilled as forensically as this can produce a startling, season-altering bolt from the blue.

SB: Even out of context, Kompanys winner against Leicester was phenomenal, but given his status at his club and the goals timing in the title race, it cant be bettered.

PD: Since Mateusz Klichs goal for Leeds against Aston Villa in April was not in the Premier League, its got to be Fabian Schrs rocket for Newcastle against Burnley. That shot was the truth.

DF: Townsends stupendous volley from distance at the Etihad Stadium, which rocked Manchester City back on their heels in a game they thought they would win at a canter. It has been playing on a permanent loop in my house ever since.

Vincent Kompanys goal against Leicester: A genuine leap-from-the-sofa moment. Photograph: Jason Cairnduff/Action Images via Reuters

BF: Cardiffs Junior Hoilett v Wolves. A sumptuous first-time strike from the edge of the box, destined for the top corner from the moment it left his boot. Daniel Sturridge deserves a mention for taking things into his own hands after stepping off the bench at Stamford Bridge.

BG: Youll see few strikes sweeter than the incredible 35-yard volley Townsend sent fizzing past Ederson at the speed of light to help Crystal Palace to a most unlikely win.

AH: Kompany v Leicester. Townsends volley required better technique but could not match the City captains strike in terms of importance or general astonishment.

DH: Townsends title-race pigeon-scatterer at Manchester City. What. A. Hit. Also loved how Pep described the Palace winger as having scored from his apartment.

SJ: Townsend against Manchester City. Not even a debate about it. Yes, Kompanys goal against Leicester was a superb strike and it was hugely significant, too, but its not about any wider context. Townsend showed incredible technique to connect with that dropping ball so sweetly, his body position and timing absolutely perfect. The gasps from the home crowd said it all.

JJ: Kompany v Leicester. His net-busting strike in the penultimate league game all but killed Liverpools hopes of a City slip-up.

AL: Sorely tempted by Aaron Ramsey at Fulham as the team goal, or Townsend as the solo strike, but Vincent Kompany, for the moment of salvation and dramatic importance, edges it.

Andros Townsend scores at Manchester City: The gasps from the home crowd said it all. Photograph: Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images

SN: Eden Hazard v West Ham. The Belgians first goal of Chelseas 2-0 win in April was a turbo-charged, dazzling dribble through the heart of bewildered opponents that showed just why Real Madrid are so keen to land him.

BR: Kompanys flukey long-ranger. For obvious reasons. And because it was so un-City Pep will probably fine him now.

RS: Hazard v West Ham. Many great goals could conceivably be fluked on Hackney Marshes. Hazards blur of skill, speed and balance could only have been scored by a handful of players in the world.

DT: Kompany. If you had to list the key moments of Citys title defence, this would be Exhibit A. The captain, 25 yards out, with various teammates shouting for him not to shoot.

LT: Has to be Kompany. Not just a wonder goal, but imbued with immense title race significance. Those who implored him to pass will surely never be allowed to forget it.

Best match

EA: Liverpool 2-1 Tottenham. The March meeting at Anfield between the two Champions League finalists had everything: high quality, emotion and comical last-minute drama as an own goal from Toby Alderweireld kept Liverpools title hopes alive.

NA: It did not feel like a season of classics but, looking back, the margins on which Manchester City v Liverpool were contested proved utterly crucial. At the time it felt like a wild, knife-edge kind of night, as City clawed their way back into the title race. It was a worthy, achingly tense shoot-out between the two best sides.

SB: If the best matches are those that end with at least half the participants having entirely lost control of themselves and their emotions, my vote goes to Liverpool 1-0 Everton, and Divock Origis extraordinary late winner.

PD: Wolves 4-3 Leicester.

DF: Manchester City 2-3 Crystal Palace. The only time the champions dropped points at home, and a game illuminated by that stunning volley from Townsend. Palace tend to be thrashed at the Etihad Stadium, but the look of bemused joy on an Roy Hodgsons face at the final whistle summed up their afternoon.

BF: Wolves 4-3 Leicester. A preposterous game in which both teams forgot how to defend, culminating in five second-half goals and Nuno being sent off after running on to the pitch to join a celebratory pile-on.

BG: Wolves beat Leicester by the odd goal of seven in a thrilling encounter at Molineux, which ended with Nuno burying himself in a pile of players after Diogo Jotas late, late winner. The Wolves manager was fined 8,000 for his over-exuberance, which he almost certainly considers money extremely well spent.

Wolves 4-3 win over Leicester was one of the seasons finest. Photograph: Michael Regan/Getty Images

AH: Manchester City 2-1 Liverpool. The Etihad press box offered a privileged position to appreciate the unrelenting pace and quality of Januarys encounter between the finest sides in the country. Both teams left everything on the pitch and John Stones goal-line clearance by 11mm encapsulated the fine margins between the two.

DH: City 2-1 Liverpool. For the nerve-shredding tension, the 11.7mm and the feeling that we were watching the title decider.

SJ: City 2-1 Liverpool. Incredible intensity off the scale when compared with other Premier League games. Showed why those two clubs finished so far ahead of the other members of the big six, never mind the rest of the league.

JJ: Manchester City 6-0 Chelsea. Did this really happen this season? Despite all the action that followed, this trouncing of Marizio Sarris side in February lingers for the way the visitors were shredded.

AL: Best I was at: Lucas Torreira ripping off his shirt and screaming at Arsenals comeback win over Tottenham. On TV, so many thrilling Liverpool games and crazed late wins to choose from, but the City v Liverpool title cruncher was something else a season-defining example of high-tempo intensity.

SN: Arsenal 4-2 Tottenham. Six goals, one sending-off and a touchline ruck made this a north London derby to remember. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyangs second goal was particular magnificent.

BR: Liverpool 4-3 Crystal Palace. Classic Premier League romp.

RS: Man City 2-1 Liverpool. European quality at British speed, a game of stratospheric class and importance, fine margins and controversy.

DT: Maybe this was what the season lacked: an absolute classic. I will go for Manchester City 2-1 Liverpool but the Champions League has provided the better games by some distance.

LT: Newcastle 2-3 Liverpool. Decided by Divock Origis 86th-minute header it emphasised Liverpools never-say-die mentality, but could easily have been won by Bentezs much-improved team.

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Premier League 2018-19: the highs and lows of the season video review

Best signing

EA: He may not have come cheap at 67m but Alissons performances in goal have helped transform a leaky Liverpool backline into one of the hardest defences to breach in Europe.

NA: Ral Jimnez joined Wolves on loan after a hit-and-miss spell at Benfica. Few could have expected that he had 13 Premier League goals in him, but Nuno and his backers have barely missed a beat in the last two years and the Mexico international proved another inspired choice. His permanent arrival, which will be made official on 1 July for a 30m fee, looks good value.

SB: For just 5m Joo Moutinho, Wolves little bundle of extreme awesomeness, has massively over-delivered.

PD: Yves Bissouma. Feet of a dancer, mind of an inventor, spirit of a hero.

DF: Ral Jimnez. Wolves always had the look of a side who would be at home at the higher level, but they needed to add a goalscorer to lead the line, and struck gold with Jimnez.

BF: Bournemouths recruitment has been hit-and-miss since promotion in 2015 but in David Brooks, they have unearthed another gem. The 21-year-old winger hit the ground running, thriving on the biggest stage after only a handful of starts with Sheffield United. Then there are Diogo Jota and Ral Jimnez, Wolves dynamite double act.

BG: Brooks was outstanding in an up-and-down season for Bournemouth. Weve seen enough to suggest he could be outstanding at this level, said Eddie Howe of the 20-year-old in July. Ten months on, the rest of us have seen it too.

AH: Alisson. Klopp was genuinely bouncing with excitement after a pre-season friendly at Blackburn in July as Liverpool had just sealed the signing of his only choice to replace Loris Karius. A club-record 21 clean sheets in the Premier League and several match-defining saves justified the excitement.

James Maddison has impressed after joining Leicester from Norwich last summer. Photograph: Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images

DH: Alisson has made a massive difference for Liverpool but Ive really enjoyed watching James Maddison at Leicester. Lovely balance, and always looking to open up opposing teams.

SJ: Moutinho. Signed from Monaco for 5m last summer, the 32-year-old has been brilliant for Wolves and a joy to watch alongside Rben Neves, his protg. He famously turned up without any laces in his boots on his first day at training. I found it unbelievable, Conor Coady said. It was like he had slippers on.

JJ: Maddison. The Leicester No 10 is only 22 but plays with a maturity and intelligence that suggests he may soon be blooded for England.

AL: Alisson. Cost a fortune for a goalkeeper but proved himself to be absolutely worth it.

SN: Brooks. Proved there is real value to be had in the lower leagues. Has impressed with his skill and composure from a wide-right position and under the guidance of Howe he could develop into a genuine star.

BR: Maddison. Unusual to see a young creative player allowed to come from the Football League and succeed. Tripled in value.

RS: Alisson. Completed the transition started by Van Dijk. Between them they have turned Liverpools defence from a circus into Fort Knox.

DT: Salomn Rondn. His 15 goals, on loan from West Brom, earned him Newcastles player-of-the-season award and played a major part in keeping the team away from relegation danger.

LT: Rondn. Bentez fought all sorts of political battles to transplant the centre-forward from the Hawthorns to St James Park and Rondn has repaid the compliment by ensuring Newcastle stayed up.

Worst flop

EA: All of Fulhams summer signings. More than 100m splurged on 12 players, and they went down on 2 April. They would have been better served sticking with those who achieved promotion, as illustrated by the late revival under Scott Parker.

NA: Andr-Frank Zambo Anguissa arrived at Fulham for 30m with the reputation of an commanding deep midfielder with the potential to dominate games. Instead, he struggled terribly. In fairness, Fulhams troubles cannot be laid solely at his door. Rather, he is the embodiment of a summer in which they flagrantly disregarded the tenets that had earned them promotion. The lessons from the embarrassment that followed should resonate.

SB: Insert name of Manchester United player here.

PD: The flops by Matto Guendouzi, Granit Xhaka and Shkodran Mustafi which resulted in Arsenal having three players booked for simulation in one match at home to Huddersfield, no less.

DF: Most of Fulhams summer signings. There was so much goodwill for them on their return to the top flight, and the 100m outlay to beef up Slavisa Jokanovics squad appeared ambitious and exciting. From the toils of Fabri to Jean Michal Seri, Zambo Anguissa to Alfie Mawson, few justified their fees. The whole campaign felt like a missed opportunity.

BF: At 50m, Fred. Like a fish out of water, has played more like Fred the Red at times. Out of his depth in Uniteds midfield.

Fred concedes a penalty against Arsenal. The 50m midfielder was a big disappointment in his first season at Old Trafford. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

BG: Alexis Snchez, whose ongoing failure to deliver at United while on wages that must cause seething resentment among his teammates make him a contender for one of the worst signings in football history.

AH: Ed Woodward. Might well be the man for a smart commercial deal but possesses a reverse Midas touch when it comes to football. Mauricio Pochettino or Ole Gunnar Solskjr for manager? Only one man would opt for the latter and, unfortunately for United, its the one who runs their club.

DH: There was time admittedly, a while back at Arsenal when I thought Snchez was the best player in England; a celebration of furious desire and efficiency. It is incredible to see how he has lost his way.

SJ: Always some confusion as to whether this category is confined to players signed this season. If so, Fulhams Zambo Anguissa and Brightons Alireza Jahanbakhsh are right up there. If not, Snchez and Mustafi are in the mix too. And then of course, theres Fred.

JJ: Fred. The Brazilian midfielder was a serious disappointment for Manchester United, unable to dominate games.

AL: Denis Surez. When you lose two defenders and a striker to season-ending injuries, why not splurge the best part of 4m on a loan fee and wages for a down-in-the-dumps floaty midfielder capable of playing a total of 67 Premier League minutes?

SN: Manchester United. Sacked another manager. Hired his replacement on the back of a goal he scored 20 years ago. Played lots of terrible football. Lost lots of games. Signed Fred for 52m. Finished sixth.

BR: Zambo Anguissa. Fulhams marquee 30m signing. Defensive midfielder in (or more often out of) a team that has conceded 72 goals.

RS: Fred. Struggled to get a game in the worst United midfield for decades.

DT: Manchester United, again. Another plodding season when, barring a couple of deceptive months, they have fulfilled their new role as Manchesters second team with barely even an argument.

LT: Paul Pogba. Yes, he is gifted but he doesnt make that talent count nearly often enough, or provide sufficient on-field leadership. An underachiever who likes to blame those around him, Pogba appears, albeit from a distance, a right diva. Small wonder Roy Keane is unimpressed.

Biggest gripe

EA: More than a gripe, but it has to be the return of racism. After all the progress that had been made from the dark days of the 1970s and 80s, countless incidents this season at all levels of the game have illustrated that the battle is far from over.

NA: Cut out the pre-match light shows that have crept in over the last couple of seasons. In some hapless cases they have even been put on in harsh daylight. The exhortations from PA announcers to take your seats for the spectacle might as well be direct instructions for supporters to surrender any inclination to whip up an atmosphere of their own. Will clubs ever get bored of infantilising their fans?

SB: The willingness of referees to award free-kicks for feigned or deliberately manufactured contact, particularly in defensive positions.

PD: Strategic fouls that abort attacks. These should be punished with penalties, no matter where they occur on the pitch.

DF: Just like last year, the constant chopping and changing of kick-off times, from Friday night football to five-past-the-hour kick-offs. Maybe I am an old fogey struggling to keep up with changing times, but I find it utterly confusing.

BF: Meaningless statistics, such as a promoted teams Premier League record despite not having played in the top flight for years. And clubs excruciating exclusive interviews with their own employees.

BG: The ongoing contempt with which subscription TV channels in the UK treat match-going and armchair fans. The former are often forced to travel long distances to facilitate lunchtime or Monday night kick-offs, while the latter must shell out exorbitant monthly subscriptions to watch European football, in a year when four English teams have reached finals.

http://www.theguardian.com/us

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andrewuttaro · 6 years ago

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New Look Sabres: GM 21 - PIT - Statement Win

It was late in the calendar year of 2015 when Pittsburgh Penguins fans were bemoaning the impending end of an era. With regular injuries from Sidney Crosby and only two failed Eastern Conference Final appearances since the Cup team of 2009 fans were speculating the core was to be broken up soon. Evgeni Malkin was certainly going to be torn from Crosby and what was to be a dynasty team would languish in the shadows of the era of Western Domination. Then another coaching change, the new GM Jim Rutherford pulling off some fancy moves and what do you know: two Cups in three years for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Now, after perhaps the best two year run of playoffs in the salary cap era, they were eliminated by their sworn rivals the Washington Capitals in the third year and now have but a single win in the month of November. In another season the Buffalo Sabres coming to town might just represent the perfect opportunity for the Championship pedigree Pens to get back on winning ways. Not this season: the visiting Buffalo Sabres arrived in Pittsburgh tonight on a five game winning streak having collected the most points in their opening twenty games since before the organization was synonymous with tanking. The Sabres for once, came into this matchup as the team looking to capitalize on a struggling opponent. This game didn’t feature wonder-boy turned wonder-man Sidney Crosby but it did feature a Sabres goalie in Carter Hutton who had proven to be a Penguin-killer in his past places of work. This game lived up to the bizarro role reversal affair longtime watchers of these two teams thought it could be.

The Penguins looked fragile in the first period. While they got several good breakaways the Sabres dominated the possession game. This was so much the case that Olli Maatta high sticked Zemgus Girgensons right in the Cop mustache to send the Sabres on their first powerplay. However, Derek Brassard capitalized on one of those breakaways and got the home team on the board first at 8:46 of the first. While the Sabres didn’t exactly lock down their own zone any better after that goal, it was the visitors who struck back at 11:43 by way of Tage Thompson. Yes that Tage Thompson; about time, right? He scored that goal we kept seeing in the preseason, that nice slapshot from his towering stature and it was tied 1-1. The first period also featured a tribute and a fight. Conor Sheary, to the chagrin of some of his Pittsburgh detractors got a video tribute for his service on two Cup teams there. Jake McCabe got into a proper old fashion hockey fight with Riley Sheahan after McCabe boarded Zach Aston-Reese and Rob Ray gave the broadcast a good little lesson on how to fight from 1993. What else happened? Oh yeah, new arrival Tanner Pearson appeared on the top line with Malkin and Phil Kessel in this game and assisted on a Kessel goal to get the Pens ahead 2-1 going into the first intermission. Phil Kessel, in spite of how everyone has been blamed him for this season’s struggles, really has blossomed in these two years in Pittsburgh. Man, I enjoyed hating the Kessel Leafs.

Things got whacky in the second period. After a noticeably less little-bitch-looking Jake Guentzel got the Pens their third goal of the game Phil Housley and the Sabres challenged for goaltender interference. It was a weak challenge but worth it I suppose. As of the writing of this post the Second period reads as only having two penalties, both called against the Sabres for a five-on-three they killed. I mention it because there very easily could’ve been four times that many penalties in this period. You name the Sabres forward and they were probably tripped in this game. I’ll refrain from addressing the blue line tackle that one Penguin executed like it’s the NFL. There’s something chippy about games against Pittsburgh and the Sabres being good only makes it better. The Kessel line struck again, this time by a sausy rebound goal by Tanner Pearson. Hutton, who once again was doing all the work in this game, was badly screened on that goal. The outrage was short lived when two minutes later Marco Scandella took a puck off the angle and fell to the ice. On his way down his stick swooped around and nailed Malkin in the neck. It looked like a decapitation and while you’ll never pin intent, that high sticking penalty looks murderous. I won’t defend Marco Scandella on that one but what an odd game for the referees in this game. At one point Jamie Oleksiak nearly got a refs’ skate to the temple. Nonetheless Pittsburgh was getting rolling. The Sabres, however, scored next, this time it was Zach Bogosian. It was a shot from the point you love to see from the defenseman, especially the snake-bitten ones. Later on in the period at 18:12, Casey Nelson got credit for a goal Conor Sheary redirect right in front and Buffalo went into the final frame trailing only 4-3.

This is the type of game every period gets its own paragraph. Gee, these Pittsburgh nights. The final frame was a chase. The Penguins were chasing not fucking losing again and the Sabres were chasing their proverbial cocaine and that sweet sweet comeback high. The missed two powerplay opportunities for it because of course they did. Buffalo took over as the period went on through and you could feel the pressure for that equalizer coming as the entertainment value went up. Then Casey Mittelstadt roofed one over Casey DeSmith’s shoulder and Buffalo went ballistic. There was a roar you could feel in your bones if you love this Sabres team. 4-4 tie game. The Sabres largely controlled play and made DeSmith look bad on a few opportunities to end it regulation. Then OT came and as we heard that word echo in RJ’s voice in our heads we saw the Sabres give up some rough opportunities in the extra frame. Then Jack Eichel caught a pass from a falling Ristolainen and the Captain took this baby home five hole and the puck just trickled across the line in the cheekiest fashion imaginable. Jack lost his shit and so did I. Buffalo Sabres win in Pittsburgh for the first time since April 2013 and take it 5-4 in OT.

Six straight wins for the first time since the turn of the decade. I hadn’t had my first kiss yet in January 2010 and now I have two college degrees and a wife! It felt like this team was due for a stinker and I was one of many predicting it! As if some of the games in this win streak weren’t stinkers! It is so very awesome to have our Sabres cold takes be proven wrong in a positive way for once in my adult life! Some side notes: Marco Scandella did not return to this game after his little sequence. This may sound cold but I think I speak for many Sabres fans when I say I cannot wait for the Lawrence Pilut era to begin in Buffalo! Rasmus Dahlin showed off with his and dekes in this game and Zach Bogosian looked lost even in a game he scored in. These guys still can’t score on the powerplay to save their lives and get outshot like a street fighter E-Sports championship but they’re winning games!

I want to leave you with what winning these games means: if the Sabres win on Wednesday at home against Philadelphia (I’ll be there losing my voice along with everyone else that sees what this winning streak against these opponents means) they will have a seven game winning streak for the first time since… wait for it… the 2006-2007 season. Gasps. Yeah. I said this game could be a statement win. They didn’t hang a lopsided boxscore on Pittsburgh but they won a game they trailed against a team that plays good hockey even when they are stinking up the place. The last time the Sabres were as good as this win streak denotes they won the Division. If they win on Wednesday, they’re going to be playing dress up as the best Sabres team to ever lace up their skates. I like literally can’t even right now (That’s how we talked when the Sabres last won this consistently). Like this statement win, comment on it and share this with your friends. This team isn’t only just fun again; their good again. Book it.

Thanks for reading.

P.S. The Penguins organization handles off-ice tragedy like the class of the league. I really believe they showed every organization how to be there for your community after something awful like what occurred last month.

#buffalo sabres #hockey #blog #nhl #pittsburgh penguins

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thrashermaxey · 6 years ago

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Ramblings: Bubble Keeper Week Cap League; Heiskanen and Honka; Iginla; Zucker – July 27

Bubble Keeper Week is continuing here at Dobber Hockey and I’ve been very heartened to see the Dobber community come out and talk fantasy hockey. This is typically a time of year where most people have football, baseball, and barbecues on the mind, and it goes to show the passion you, as a community, has for the game we all love.

A couple days ago I mentioned one keeper league I have that follows a cap structure. We keep 18 and the scoring is as follows for skaters: goals, assists, shots, special-teams points, hits, blocks, takeaways, face-off wins. We start three centres, three of each wing, four defencemen, three utility, and two goalies. We haven’t had our rookie draft yet.

This is my roster (missing are goalies Jonathan Quick, Aaron Dell, and Darcy Kuemper) and they are last year’s salaries, which means someone’s contract information like Boone Jenner’s is incorrect:

These are the guys I know I’m keeping for sure: Nico Hischier, Jake Guentzel, Chris Kreider, Yanni Gourde, Ivan Provorov, Shea Theodore, Nazem Kadri, Brett Ritchie, Brad Marchand, Boone Jenner, Vladimir Tarasenko, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Jonathan Quick, and Aaron Dell. That makes 14.

A couple guys I’m waiting on are Josh Morrissey and to an extent Ondrej Kase. Both are RFAs without their new contracts as of yet.

Some guys I’m unsure of: Pavel Zacha, Evgenii Dadonov, and Justin Faulk.

I have always been a fan of Zacha and think he’s due to breakout this year so, considering his cheap salary, I will probably keep him.

Dadonov I really don’t know what to do with. He provides little in peripherals and could lose his power-play spot to Mike Hoffman. If he’s basically a nothing in half the categories, is he worth $4-million in this league setup?

Finally, I thought Faulk would be in a new destination by now. The addition of Dougie Hamilton is going to ruin hopes of a bounce back for Faulk in a Carolina uniform. It’s a matter of whether we get 2016-17 Faulk or 2017-18 Faulk. I just don’t know yet.

What does the Dobber community think on each of Zacha, Dadonov, and Faulk in this format?

We are down to a one-handed number of days as the 2018-19 Dobber Hockey fantasy guide is set to release in five days. Be sure to grab your copy early so you can absorb all the fantasy goodness contained within and take advantage of the updates that will occur as we progress to the end of the off season. Just head to the Dobber Shop and pre-order yours now!

Sean Shapiro of The Athletic had an interview recently with new Stars head coach Jim Montgomery. I encourage those with subscriptions to read it but there were a few interesting takeaways:

It sounds like we can expect the trio of Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, and Alex Radulov to skate together infrequently at five-on-five. I assume Radulov is the guy moved down. Reading between the lines, does that mean Valeri Nichushkin gets a shot on the top line?

Montgomery specifically talks about wanting to play a “puck-possession game” which probably bodes well for their skill players.

Montgomery also specifically gushes over Miro Heiskanen’s ability to generate offence from the defensive zone, so maybe they let him make mistakes while trying to create offence through the neutral zone.

The new coach also discusses Julius Honka’s ability to create clean entries, which is something he will be emphasizing. Those who’ve waited for Honka to finally be a staple of this blue line, it looks like it may happen.

There is a lot more to the interview, specifically talking about Stephen Johns, Radek Faksa, Devin Shore, and Jason Spezza. I really do encourage people to read it. This interview is more enlightening than the vast majority of interviews from coaches.

Something I’ve just been thinking about for this year is Jeff Carter’s value. He lost two-thirds of his 2017-18 due to injury but still managed 13 goals and 22 points in 27 games. That’s pretty good.

My big issue is that he’s going into his age-34 season. The list of centres with 25-goal, 30-assist seasons at the age or older over the last five seasons is as follows: Pavel Datysuk (2014-15). That’s it. That’s the whole list. In fact, Datsyuk is the only centre in the last decade to have a season with at least 25 goals and 30 assists at the age of 34 or older. We know of aging curves in hockey. We know that shots and shooting percentage fall off in the late 20s and get worse. There was also an article recently from Ryan Stimson at The Athletic showing that playmaking skills can sustain themselves much more than shooting later into a career. Carter is a shooter.

He’ll still get 17-18 minutes a night centering the second line and on the top power-play unit. With Ilya Kovalchuk in town, do some of his shots on the PP disappear?

This will largely be a question of ADP. He was often drafted inside the top-75 last year. Even if he’s still just inside the top-100, it might be worth passing on him. Once I finish projections, I’ll have a better idea of where to grab him. This might be a situation where I’d rather be a year early jumping off the boat than a year late.

A couple days ago, the Calgary Flames announced that Jarome Iginla would be having a retirement ceremony in Calgary at the end of the month. So ends a career that began as a draft pick of the Dallas Stars and ends as one of the most prolific wingers to step on NHL ice.

In the history of the NHL, there have been 17 players to manage both 600 goals and 600 assists in their career. Only two aren’t Hall of Famers and those two are Iginla and Jaromir Jagr. That’s why I had to laugh when I saw some people on social media, just after the announcement was made, ask whether Iginla was a Hall of Famer. I know they’re just trying to spark some sort of discussion (need those engagement numbers) but the thought to the contrary is an absurd one.

Let’s dig a little more into Iginla’s career (all from Hockey Reference’s Play Index):

From 1998-1999 through 2014-15, a span of 16 seasons, Iginla managed 25 goals in 15 of those seasons, only missing in the lockout-shortened 2013 campaign. Marian Hossa had the next-most 25-goal seasons with 12.

In the 10 seasons from 2001-02 through 2011-12, the prime production years of his career, he had 806 points in 800 games. Only Joe Thornton had more points in those seasons (899).

Since the turn of the century, Iginla has 12 seasons with at least 30 goals and 30 assists. No one else has more than eight.

No matter how it’s cut or sliced, Iginla is one of the top wingers to skate in the modern era of the NHL. That doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of his impact on the game when you consider his impact on others:

Jarome Iginla is the reason I even picked up a stick in the first place. At a young age there weren’t too many players with a similar background to me. I’ve idolized him my entire life and wish I could have stepped on the ice with him. Best of luck Iggy!

— Tyrell Goulbourne (@Tgillz12) July 25, 2018

When someone leaves the game of hockey, be it retirement from the playing or management side, there are always platitudes that are offered. Every single person is the Classiest Person Ever in hockey. Every single person is a Hall Of Fame Individual. Et cetera. Et cetera. These aren’t platitudes when it comes to Iginla. From fellow players, to fans, to coaches, to just regular people on the street, he treated everyone with respect, and assumed the role of a true leader.

We will see another player like Iginla; there are too many talented players across the world for it not to happen. I’m not sure we’ll see another player with his on- and off-ice qualities again, though.

I have gotten a couple questions on Jason Zucker – which is kind of surprising given I’ve probably written more about him than any other player over the last few months – so I wanted to go through his breakout season piece by piece.

Zucker’s 2017-18 was a career year, cracking 60 points for the first time. In fact, he cracked 50 points for the first time, finishing with 33 goals and 31 assists. He also played a full 82-game season for the first time, while averaging 16:58 TOI per game, also a career-best.

We may look at his 14.9 percent shooting and just assume, considering he shot 12.1 percent over the previous five seasons, that it’ll come down. Here’s the thing: his 11.5 percent shooting at five-on-five in 2017-18 was actually lower than both his 2016-17 season (12.6 percent) and his 2014-15 season (15.3 percent). His aggregate shooting percentage from 2012-2016 at five-on-five was 11.4 percent, right in line with his 2017-18 season. He scored 20 goals at five-on-five, as he did the year before. In other words, he didn’t get lucky at five-on-five.

The difference came on the power play. For his career, Zucker had three PP goals in 248 games before last season. He was finally given regular minutes and popped seven. Minnesota split their time between two units so it’s not as if he had monster top-unit minutes like guys in Washington, Boston, or San Jose. Even though he was given regular power-play minutes, looking in a league-wide context, he still had fewer minutes on the man advantage than guys like Alex Tuch, Alex Kerfoot, Max Domi, Nick Schmaltz, and Adam Henrique.

Zucker shot 21.9 percent on the power play, which explains his bump in overall shooting percentage. That may seem high, and it’s certainly above average, but among forwards with 170-plus minutes on the man advantage last year, that mark wasn’t even inside the top-20.

The one concern is that this was the third straight season with a declining shot attempt rate at five-on-five. Though his actual shot on goal rate went up, his shot attempt rate went down. That’s probably an aberration and if he doesn’t start shooting more, his overall shot totals will decline unless he sees more ice time. If his ice time and shot rates don’t change, don’t be surprised if he drops 20 or so shots off his totals, which would result in a few fewer goals.

His individual points percentage last year was 68.8 percent, a three-year high, but not far off his 2016-17 season (65.3 percent) and lower than his 2014-15 season (74.3 percent). Again, it just seems about normal for him.

All told, despite it being the best production season of his career, not too much of his 2017-18 season was out of line with what he had done in his career, and most of the changes can be explained in a change in usage. Maybe he doesn’t improve next year, or even declines a little, but barring a really unlucky year, there should be too much of a change. He can still push for 30 goals and 60 points.

from All About Sports https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-rambling/ramblings-bubble-keeper-week-cap-league-heiskanen-and-honka-iginla-zucker-july-27/

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junker-town · 6 years ago

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WKU’s re-rebuild has a pretty good chance ... eventually

The Mike Sanford era in Bowling Green ended as soon as it began, but Tyson Helton doesn’t inherit a destitute two-deep.

Bill C’s annual preview series of every FBS team in college football continues. Catch up here!

You have to give Mike Sanford this: he wasn’t coaching like he was about to lose his job. WKU’s now-former head coach redshirted quite a few of the more highly-touted members of his 2018 recruiting class last season, and after a rugged (to put it as kindly as possible) midseason stretch, his Hilltoppers played two of their best game of the year in their final two games.

In the end, a few things conspired against Sanford. They were too much to overcome.

For starters, Jeff Brohm set the bar crazy-high. WKU went 23-5 in 2015-16 before Brohm left. The Hilltoppers peaked at 19th in S&P+ in 2016. Expectations were reaching an impossible level.

Sanford just didn’t coach well enough. I mean, it’s relevant, yeah? He seemed to make a lot of “change for change’s sake” moves in his first year, and while 2017 regression was guaranteed, WKU did more than just regress. The Hilltoppers fell from 19th to 88th in S&P+ and from 11 wins to six. They then fell to 113th and 3-9 in 2018. It was fair to expect more than that.

You could argue the burden of proof for firing someone after just two years is stark enough that Sanford probably should have gotten a third, especially when you’re not exactly flush with football money and Sanford is owed a $1.2 million buyout.

But fire him, WKU did, and it’s hard to object too much. I mean, this chart tells a story:

Now it’s Tyson Helton’s turn in a post-Brohm universe.

Helton’s is five years older than Sanford, but his résumé reads pretty similar. Sanford had three years of offensive coordinator experience, two at the power conference level; Helton has three as well, with one at a P5 school. In 2010, they were both G5 position coaches, in 2014 they were both starting their first OC gigs.

The main difference, as it were: Helton was an OC at Western Kentucky for the first two years of Brohm’s tenure, until he joined his brother Clay at USC in 2016. He has WKU-specific experience, and from the glory days, no less.

He inherits more than one might imagine from a program that collapsed so suddenly. The 2018 WKU squad played a freshman and sophomore at quarterback, a freshman running back, a lot of sophomores in the receiving corps, a mostly sophomore offensive line, freshmen and sophomores on the defensive line, and mostly sophomores in the secondary. The Hilltoppers are 14th in returning production at the moment, and there’s at least some semblance of upside among the returning producers, too.

Still, there’s a hefty climb back up from 113th. We’ll see if Helton’s two previous years in Bowling Green give him insight that Sanford lacked.

Offense

Helton isn’t the only coach returning to WKU. Offensive coordinator Bryan Ellis was a quality control coach, then position coach, under Brohm before joining Helton at USC in 2017. His first key duty will be picking out the right QB.

He’s got a couple of interesting options, partly because of Drew Eckels’ injury issues. Eckels began 2018 as the starter, but he only made it through three games, leaving Sanford to cycle between sophomore Steven Duncan and freshman Davis Shanley. Shanley was solid in a tight loss to Louisville but got hurt the next week. Duncan, suspended to start the season, looked decent against Marshall, then Shanley returned and struggled. Then Duncan, then Shanley, etc.

By the end, Shanley had better efficiency numbers (plus-1 percent marginal efficiency to minus-4 percent, 68 percent completion rate to 58), and Duncan had made both more big plays and more mistakes. That Shanley was steadier and younger suggests his odds of winning the job are solid, but both guys have to hold off redshirt freshman Kevaris Thomas as well. A mid- to high-three star prospect, Thomas was the jewel of Sanford’s 2018 recruiting class. He’s also enormous (6’4, 250), which is fun.

Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Steven Duncan

Considering the spectacular instability at quarterback, you have to grade the skill corps’ production on a curve. But the production of two players in particular was pretty good even without a curve.

Running back Joshua Samuel found a nice rhythm in his freshman season, rushing for 233 yards in his first six games (5.0 per carry) and 408 in his next six (5.6). The RB room is crowded with youngsters — sophomores Jakairi Moses (injured for all of 2018), Gino Appleberry Jr., and Garland LaFrance will vie for the backup role — but Samuel stood out.

Around the time Samuel figured things out, so did Jacquez Sloan. After a slow start, the 5’9 junior-to-be caught 23 balls for 378 yards (16.4 per catch) over a five-game stretch before injuring his knee. (Are you catching on that injuries were a bit of an issue?)

Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports

Jacquez Sloan

Upside was questionable outside of Sloan; the two leading returnees in the receiving corps are Lucky Jackson and Quin Jernighan, who combined for just 10.9 yards per catch and a 42 percent success rate. But Sloan’s a play-maker, and Helton loaded up on receivers in his first recruiting class, inking four three-star WRs — including high-three-star Manny Allen, a one-time Nebraska commit who listed a USC offer — and a three-star TE.

The good news is two-fold. First, a run of bad injuries luck can also create pretty good depth of experience down the line, and a lot of guys are returning from injury. Second, the only seniors I mentioned above are Jackson and Jernighan. Samuel, Sloan, and the QB of choice will all be scheduled to return in 2020.

More good news: the line was the offense’s statistical bright spot last year — WKU was 46th in stuff rate (run stops at or behind the line) and 83rd in sack rate (not great, but better than most of the team’s stats) — and returns everyone, including second-team all-conference tackle Miles Pate. Pate and left tackle Parker Howell are seniors, but once again, most of the key contributors should return for 2020.

In just two years, WKU sunk from ninth to 120th in Off. S&P+. I’d be surprised if the Toppers weren’t back into at least the top 75 within the next couple of years. That’s something, right?

Defense

WKU’s high points have been mostly offense-driven. In 12 FBS seasons, the Hilltoppers have topped 80th in Def. S&P+ only twice: 69th in 2012 (Willie Taggart’s second bowl run at WKU) and 46th in 2016. By 2018, they were back to 83rd — far better than the O, but not particularly good.

The continuity isn’t quite as strong on this side of the ball, but it’s not bad. WKU has to replace contributors in linebackers Ben Holt and Masai Whyte, safety Drell Greene, and cornerback DeAndre Farris, but almost literally everyone else returns. That includes:

Nickel back Ta’Corian Darden, the havoc leader with four tackles for loss and 14 passes defensed

Safety Devon Key (three TFLs, nine PDs)

Ends DeAngelo Malone (nine TFLs, six sacks, two passes defensed, two forced fumbles) and Juwuan Jones (six TFLs, five sacks)

Tackle Jaylon George (six TFLs, three sacks)

Linebacker Eli Brown, who managed to make 10.5 run stuffs among his 20 tackles as a backup.

Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports

DeAngelo Malone (10)

The pass defense was maybe the best thing WKU had. The Hilltoppers were a decent 65th in Passing S&P+ and 59th on passing downs thanks to a solid pass rush and a secondary that limited opponents to a 57 percent completion rate (34th). It was a convincing enough performance that Helton elected to retain coordinator Clayton White in the same role.

There are quite a few safeties in the pipeline, including Darden, one of C-USA’s best. Plus, the next two CBs on last year’s list (Dionté Ruffin, Roger Cray) are both back, and mid-three-star JUCO Trae Meadows could carve out a niche. And thanks to the play of the starters, Sanford didn’t have to dip into his well of five three-star freshmen, all of whom kept their redshirts. (Helton signed three more three-star DBs for this class as well.) Competition in the back of the defense should be pretty strong.

The run defense was a problem last year, and that’s where most of this year’s losses could be felt. Holt was easily the most disruptive run defender on the team, and losing tackles Evan Sayner and Julien Lewis could lead to iffy depth there if youngsters or JUCO transfer Marcus Bragg don’t step up.

Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports

Ta’Corian Darden (15)

A Kentucky transfer, Brown could be key with both Holt and Whyte gone. He hinted at massive play-making potential in a backup role, but that must grow alongside more snaps. He’s basically the only linebacker with any experience, though three-star redshirt freshmen Mario Wright and Trey Urquhart await opportunities.

Special Teams

Sanford certainly didn’t help his cause in special teams. In two years, WKU fell from 43rd to 83rd to 122nd in Special Teams S&P+. Considering four of 2018’s losses came by a touchdown or less, merely having decent special teams could have saved Sanford’s job. Kicker Ryan Nuss went a combined 1-for-4 on FGs, for instance, in three-point losses against Maine and Louisville.

In Garland LaFrance, Helton does inherit a potentially excellent return man, but finding some competition for Alex Rinella might be good. Rinella averaged just 37.5 yards per punt and ranked 125th in punt efficiency, and he’s the incumbent in the kickoffs and place-kicking department (he took over for the 3-for-7 Nuss midseason), as well.

2019 outlook

2019 Schedule & Projection Factors

Date Opponent Proj. S&P+ Rk Proj. Margin Win Probability 31-Aug Gardner-Webb NR 33.3 97% 7-Sep at Appalachian State 31 -21.6 11% 14-Sep Massachusetts 125 13.8 79% 21-Sep at Clemson 3 -41.0 1% 28-Sep Florida Atlantic 79 -4.8 39% 12-Oct at Florida International 88 -7.8 33% 19-Oct at Western Kentucky 101 -2.5 44% 26-Oct North Texas 84 -4.1 41% 2-Nov Middle Tennessee 104 3.2 57% 9-Nov at UTEP 130 17.4 84% 23-Nov Marshall 77 -4.9 39% 30-Nov at Old Dominion 119 6.5 65%

Projected S&P+ Rk 101 Proj. Off. / Def. Rk 114 / 81 Projected wins 5.9 Five-Year S&P+ Rk 0.5 (71) 2- and 5-Year Recruiting Rk 90 2018 TO Margin / Adj. TO Margin* 2 / -0.5 2018 TO Luck/Game +1.0 Returning Production (Off. / Def.) 76% (81%, 72%) 2018 Second-order wins (difference) 4.2 (-1.2)

Thanks to returning production and a doable schedule, there’s no ruling out a solid debut for Helton. S&P+ projects the Hilltoppers to improve to 101st overall, and that’s enough to garner a 6-6 projected record. The schedule features six opponents projected 100th or worse and only two projected higher than 77th.

Getting back to six wins after such a swift collapse would be a lovely shot in the arm. Still, I can’t help but think about 2020 when I’m looking at this team’s likely two-deep. The Hilltoppers will lose only a small handful of key seniors (Pate and Howell on offense, Darden, George, and Brown on defense), and the odds are good that a few of the many three-star WR/DB signees from 2018 and 2019 will find roles this fall. WKU should have both team speed and experience a year from now.

I could make the case that buying Sanford out after two years was too much of a short-term decision for a program that needs to think in the long-term, especially since WKU replaced Sanford with someone with a résumé facsimile. But there’s upside here, even if Helton gets to take advantage of it instead.

Team preview stats

All 2019 preview data to date.

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thrashermaxey · 7 years ago

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Early Norris Contenders (2017-18)

Sure, it’s a bit early to be thinking about who will take home the hardware at season’s end with so many games to go. Especially regarding the Norris Trophy for the league’s top defender which Erik Karlsson is always one hot streak from running away with in a landslide victory. Alas, he’s yet not in the running and the contention pool for the Norris is larger than just him and Brent Burns (who’s also not deserving at this time). In fact, of the following names only one listed has won the award before. As we’ve seen in some recent years the trophy has seemingly gone to the defender who scores the most points, but such should not be the case in my opinion. Nonetheless the following are deserving of a nod either because of great two-way play or because of elite offensive contributions from the back end.

Drew Doughty

The muse for my proudest fantasy squad name, “Doughty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap”, Doughty is compiling an absolutely stupendous season thus far on a resurgent Los Angeles Kings squad. Arguably the most valuable fantasy defender in the game today, he is murdering it across the board for owners. To start he is on pace for an absurd plus-42 by the end of the year; wow. Couple that with the projected 11 goals, 46 assists, 223 shots, 134 hits, 109 blocks, 48 PIM, and we indeed have the uncontested most valuable defender on our hands. Did I mention he averages 27:03 minutes per game? A startling realization regarding his 57-point pace is that he only starts his shifts in the offensive zone 48.7% of the time. For any player, let alone a defenseman, to be able to put up that type of offense when you are primarily deployed to protect your own end speaks to why Doughty went second overall in 2008. If a guy named Steven Stamkos wasn’t in his draft class, he would’ve went first overall no question.

Doughty is currently holding down the highest PDO of his career at 1020 with a healthy 52.83 CF%. In a nutshell, things are more than likely going his and the Kings’ way when he is on the ice, which is quite often. He is a candidate for a bump in goal scoring production as his overall shooting percentage is only 4.9%, 0.6% lower than the average over the past five seasons including this one. Although it is not a tremendous variance it’s one that could translate potentially to 15 goals by the end of the campaign if statistical correction ensues. Not to beat a dead horse but you really cannot find anything in Doughty’s stat line that comes up as a red flag. If he continues to be the defensive stalwart we’ve all been accustomed to and posts a 50-point season he should be unanimously voted to take home the hardware at the awards ceremony.

Alex Pietrangelo

Does everyone still want to hype up Colton Parayko or are all finally on board the correct defenseman train? Pietrangelo has crossed the 45-point threshold three times in the four seasons prior to 2017-18 and I still feel he is grossly undervalued. The overhype on the uber young was never more apparent than the past couple of seasons when Parayko was being talked up beyond belief after Kevin Shattenkirk’s departure from St. Louis. To the point where Pietrangelo almost seemed like an outcast, he must’ve been insulted as he went on to open the season with four goals and eight assists in the first ten games played. There is no question in the Mike Yeo era that this is Pietrangelo’s blueline. Currently on pace for a 16-goal, 56-point season, he’s bringing real value to fantasy owners and has put his name in the hat for Norris contention.

If you are not able to watch the Blues often you probably are not aware of just how much this guy does for his team at both ends of the ice. Not once has his CF% dropped below 50% in his career speaking to his ability to help drive play when he is on the ice and one aspect to take notice of under Yeo is that his offensive zone starting percentage has bumped up by eight percent from 2016-17. Though he’ll never attain Karlsson level offense because of all he is entrusted with defensively, Pietrangelo is a basic lock for 45-points every season while in his prime. Those of you who invested in him in drafts sure are wise and can just set and forget him each and every night he is in play. Although his offense and the team’s in general has dried up as of late, when it comes to Norris talk he must be in the mix because of the complete package he brings to the table.

Tyson Barrie

Tyson Barrie serves as the ultimate example of a player to target in a draft following a down year. Like many players I have covered in recent weeks it would seem that one lowly season is enough to discount a player so far down the board that it's arguably criminal. Though his chances at claiming a Norris trophy are essentially null and void at this point due to his broken hand I am still giving him his due as this article is based off performances to this point in time and Barrie was an absolute force prior to going down. On pace for 64 points in 80 games played prior to this unfortunate injury leading the league in offensive production from the blue line, nobody was talking about him seemingly at all. A lot of people might look at the minus four he currently holds but that’s a plus-30 improvement from the minus-34 he finished last season at. Let the record show that by no means is Barrie a defensive stalworth but at day’s end what you have is an elite puck mover, elite point producer, and an average defender. All in all that is quite the package that no coach would ever gripe about.

What’s most impressive about his production is the fact he does not line up with any fantasy relevant defenders on his own squad that you could claim he ciphers points off of. Despite the lack of elite talent at his side he still manages to manifest a pts/60 rate of 2.2 from the blue line! That would be highly impressive even for a forward in the game today. No question Barrie is an offensively oriented player starting 57.87% of his shifts in the offensive zone and even though his CF% leaves something to be desired at 47.82, he was boasting a healthy PDO of 1021 which is in line with 2014-15 when he had a 53-point season. His even strength shooting percentage is a tad high for him at 10.94% but overall shooting is only at 4.8%, meaning he could’ve stood to see an increase in goal scoring with some statistical regression towards the mean. Prior to 2016-17’s disaster, Barrie was routinely potting 12 or 13 goals per season, so this would’ve been highly plausible. Because of the duration of time he will be out with injury compiling 60 points is unforeseeable but if he can reclaim his scoring touch immediately upon return he may still cross the 45-point threshold. Someone so vital to his team generating offense was more than deserving of consideration for the Norris being that he was scoring at the rate he was as a defender.

John Klingberg

Although I am in the school of thought that the Norris should be handed to the defender who brings the best two-way approach to the game, as I stated earlier there is no hiding the fact that the voting process in recent years seems to favor the defender who generates offense like a top-six forward. Much like Barrie who nobody is going to confuse for a shutdown defender, Klingberg is producing offensively at a profound rate for the Dallas Stars. Not to say Klingberg is horrendous defensively but if you saw Dmitry Orlov savagely embarrass his life the other week you know he is not the pinnacle of shutdown capability. Only but once so far this season has Klingberg gone three games without scoring a point, four times without scoring in two games. That is some solid consistency if you ask me and speaks to him being a key cog in the offense.

Nonetheless, Klingberg has established himself as an assist factory with 178 total going back to 2014-15 including the current campaign. Sure, the fact he is setting up the likes of Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn have certainly helped him achieve this gaudy assist total, but the man can put it in their wheelhouse no question. Despite him being assist heavy for points his overall shooting percentage this season is six percent lower than 2016-17 which means he could very likely see a goal scoring surge here in the coming weeks to further bolster his value. Thanks to his defensive minded partner Esa Lindell, Klingberg can always be rest assured to play his game which is offense so you as the fantasy owner most likely need not worry about serious point scoring droughts. Being on pace for a near 70-point season makes him a must for Norris consideration.

John Carlson

It only took until a contract year for 2014-15 John Carlson to reemerge but alas he’s back and better than ever. Carlson’s importance to this blue line is unquestionable for if you remove his name from the equation this is a pretty meager defensive corps nowadays in the District of Columbia. Currently on pace for a six goal, 58-point campaign, he is certainly a benefactor of feeding Alexander Ovechkin in his wheelhouse time and time again. Although goals are few and far between for Carlson with three on the season so far, it’s not because he has been afraid to shoot with 107 put on net. That translates to a 228-shot pace by the end of the campaign and with a 2.8% overall shooting percentage one has to expect that statistical regression towards the mean should occur providing him with a goal scoring bump in due time.

Carlson is averaging nearly four minutes a game on the powerplay which helps to offset the fact that he only starts shifts in the offensive zone 48.07% of the time.His pts/60 at this point is right in line with his career best 2014-15 season and he’s averaging almost four more minutes a game this year than the season prior. With the Capitals youth injection on the blue in Christian Djoos and Madison Bowey, Carlson is relied upon to lead the way. As the uncontested top option on their blue line with his primary man advantage deployment, barring injury he should have no issue crossing the 50-point barrier for the second time in his career. There’s no arguing this blue line is devoid of high end talent beyond him and Dmitry Orlov. As Brooks Orpik fades ever faster out of his prime, Carlson has to carry the load big time especially since Djoos and Bowey are just getting their feet wet in their initial campaigns. Should he go down to injury the Capitals would have a serious problem on their hands replacing his contributions all around. His ability to produce all the while shouldering immense pressure in a fading contention window warrants him receiving Norris consideration.

from All About Sports http://www.dobberhockey.com/hockey-home/frozen-pool-forensics/early-norris-contenders-2017-18/

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thrashermaxey · 7 years ago

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Ramblings: Jarry Can Ignite Your Team (Nov 28)

Matt Murray was knocked awkwardly into his post by Jakub Voracek and was forced from the game. Tristan Jarry, one of the league’s top goaltending prospects, took over and notched a win. The extent of Murray’s injury remains to be seen, but Jarry makes an excellent waiver wire pickup regardless. That’s because the Penguins next set of games is a back-to-back Friday/Saturday. You guarantee yourself one start out of Jarry and the potential to have the Penguins’ starter for the foreseeable future. There’s a lot of upside in getting out in front of this move.

I dumped Brian Elliott, who was on the losing end of last night’s game, to pickup Jarry. I could afford to take a swing with my third goaltending slot. In other leagues I’ve got Roberto Luongo as my #3, so I am less inclined to make the move. However, I am considering dumping my least effective skater and rolling with four on the chance that this is a long-term deal. What’s holding me back is that these are smaller leagues where goalies are marginalized, so the upside of landing the Penguins’ starter isn’t the same.

Of course, Jarry should be owned in all keeper leagues, especially if you are a Murray owner. There’s nothing better than having an insurance policy like Jarry for situations exactly like this.

Jake Guentzel has the horseshoe back up his rear end with five goals in the past four games. Those four have come without Evgeni Malkin, thus Guentzel has jumped onto the top power play unit, which certainly helps. He had the game-tying goal bounce in off his torso, which certainly feels like dumb luck, but the truth is that Guentzel is feisty and skilled as all hell. He battles to get into knife-fighting range and can burry pucks once there. Yes, you get some lucky bounces going to the net-front, but the skill is in consistently getting there. He’s going to be a high percentage shooter for a long time.

Also awesome in close, that Sidney Crosby fellow:

{source} <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sidney Crosby being Sidney Crosby <a href="https://t.co/Tmk2D8znQi">pic.twitter.com/Tmk2D8znQi</a></p>— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) <a href="https://twitter.com/penguins/status/935344130535972866?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2017</a></blockquote>

He has nine points in the last four games.

One significant reason I felt comfortable dumping Elliott, the Flyers have lost eight in a row! Granted, five of those losses have come in overtime or shootout, but they have blown some serious leads in getting to this point. This team appears headed towards a coaching change, which often has a positive impact, but there’s room for this situation to continue spiralling further.

I’m not putting last night on Elliott either. He stopped 47 of 52 in the loss. He was hung out to dry on far too many chances. This is just a bad spot where I cannot trust Elliott the fantasy option to not get caved in.

Alex DeBrincat rang off a hat-trick – dare I say a Cat-Trick? – last night. That brings him to 10 goals on the season, one behind Brock Boeser and Clayton Keller for the rookie lead. He’s good, but he’s also producing beyond what I’d expect given his deployment. DeBrincat is only skating 14:10 per game, with secondary PP time. He has almost no exposure to Patrick Kane. His shooting percentage has run up to 23.8%.

Were DeBrincat deployed as Nick Schmaltz is currently – 17:02 per game, with top unit PP time and exposure to Kane at evens and on the PP – I would be much more intrigued. DeBrincat has more points (17) than Schmaltz (14), but it’s Schmaltz who has more relevance. Schmaltz, by the way, had a three-point night and has nine points in the last six games.

Kane, not off to the same kind of start as some of the league’s superstars, has points in seven straight games and is on pace for 89 points. He’s just fine.

Both Ryan Miller and John Gibson got run through the ringer by the Blackhawks combining for seven goals allowed on 35 shots. Gibson has dragged the Ducks to relevance, but the Rickard Rakell injury might be a bridge too far.

The fact that they squeezed three goals out of this group of forwards is truly impressive:

#1 24.8% GRANT,DEREK – PERRY,COREY – RITCHIE,NICK

#2 22.9% COGLIANO,ANDREW – SILFVERBERG,JAKOB – WAGNER,CHRIS

#3 16.5% ROY,KEVIN – SHAW,LOGAN – VERMETTE,ANTOINE

#4 11.5% KOSSILA,KALLE – LIAMBAS,MIKE – RASMUSSEN,DENNIS

I suppose Nick Ritchie is interesting here, with his “top line” deployment. He’s been up over 17 minutes in each of the past two games and has points in each of those contests.

Carey Price has been outstanding since returning from injury having stopped 73 of 74 shots. Mind you, his outings have been against the 23rd and 31st ranked offenses, with power plays so dreadful (30th and 31st) that they couldn’t take advantage of Montreal’s porous penalty kill, but let’s not throw too much shade.

If you are in the market for a short-term boost, Jeff Petry has been filling in on the top PP unit for Shea Weber. He has PPP in each of the past two games. Of course, Weber’s status is merely day-to-day, so this could be spoiled at any moment. Perhaps Petry can only be used as a nice Daily Fantasy option if Weber continues to miss time.

The top PP unit for Columbus last night:

Pierre-Luc Dubois – Boone Jenner – Oliver Bjorkstrand – Sonny Milano – Zach Werenski

I’m not sure it even matters who they use. In an era where power plays are slowly getting more effective each year, the Blue Jackets are single-handedly keeping the league average blow 20% effectiveness. It is almost impressive how moribund they are in this phase of the game.

We should be more excited about Jenner getting his gig in the net-front back, or youngsters like Milano, Dubois and Bjorkstrand getting a chance. But if the Panthers’ second PP unit is like the Night’s Watch, then the Blue Jackets’ PP is like the King of Qarth: there’s nothing there.

Marcus Johansson did not play last night, but is evidently close to making his return:

{source}<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Johansson (concussion) cleared to play. Won't play tonight. Will practice this week and travel with Devils to Colorado/Arizona/Columbus.</p>— Andrew Gross (@AGrossRecord) <a href="https://twitter.com/AGrossRecord/status/935188749151096833?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 27, 2017</a></blockquote>

The Devils don’t play again until Friday, which is when I’d expect to see Johansson make his return. He is a lock for top-six minutes, and some good power play time as well. Available in two-thirds of all Yahoo leagues, he might make a nice pickup for this weekend’s action and beyond.

Some interesting line combos for the Panthers with Evgenii Dadonov now out of the lineup due to a shoulder injury:

#1 19.8% BARKOV,ALEKSANDER – HUBERDEAU,JONATHAN – MALGIN,DENIS

#2 17.5% BJUGSTAD,NICK – MCGINN,JAMIE – TROCHECK,VINCENT

#3 14.2% HAAPALA,HENRIK – HUNT,DRYDEN – MCCANN,JARED

#4 11.3% HALEY,MICHEAL – MACKENZIE,DEREK – SCEVIOUR,COLTON

Denis Malgin flashed some skill last season and is most interesting after a run of 14 points in 13 games at the AHL level. Now with exposure to Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau, Malgin is in a spot to succeed. This is more of a deep league option until he proves otherwise, but I am intrigued.

Also interesting is Henrik Haapala who is skating top power play time in Dadonov’s stead. Haapala has one point and one SOG through three games, and has been floating in around the 14:30 mark for ice time. Again, this is more of a deep cut than a must-have.

It certainly doesn’t help any of these options that Barkov and Huberdeau have gone dark the past couple of weeks. The top duo has combined for just eight points in the past eight games. This is no cause for alarm, but there’s no point in grabbing players with exposure to stars if said stars aren’t carrying the wood.

Aaron Ekblad is fading from relevance. The shot volume is still there, but he has been bumped to PP2 by Keith Yandle. PP2 on the Panthers is like getting exiled North of the Wall. Ekblad is scoreless in seven straight and has just one point in the last 13 games. At this stage, if I had Ekblad in any leagues I’d be shopping for a new defenseman.

Dustin Byfuglien has now gone nine straight games without a point and is still waiting to score his first goal of the season. I have much fewer concerns with Byfuglien than I do with Ekblad. Foremost, Byfuglien is hanging onto his top PP role. Indeed, Byfuglien has been fine in this phase of the game, with six PPP in 22 games (on pace for 22 PPP.) This is predominantly an IPP issue. The Jets have scored on 11.3% of the shots with Byfuglien on the ice, but he has points on just 27% of those goals. My concern is that Byfuglien has missed out on the scoring while the scoring was good.

On the plus side, the Jets have the horses to continue driving high shooting percentages (though not consistently at 11.3%) so the impact of regression will be minimal. Instead, Byfuglien should get back on track once he finally scores a goal. He’s a perennial 10+ goal option. At career average shooting, Byfuglien should have four goals by now, and if he did no one would be asking questions. You can never assume that regression will overcome a string of bad luck, but if we assume Byfuglien shoots his usual 7.2% the rest of the way, he’ll finish with 11 goals. That should be enough to get him another 50-point season.

In light of Steve Mason’s placement on the IR, the Jets recalled Eric Comrie to serve as backup. Comrie is the prospect everyone would be talking about if it weren’t for Connor Hellebuyck. Through his first couple of pro seasons Comrie’s numbers have left something to be desired, but he has been outstanding with a 0.927 save percentage in 13 AHL games this season.

Even after a win, Hellebuyck’s numbers have slipped a bit lately. A goalie controversy is unlikely, but Comrie is capable if the door is cracked open for him.