#Moose Carlson

[eisforeidolon]

Question: Enjoy your whiskey?

Jared: Uh, not yet. Thank you for asking. Canadian Club? Yeah, I've had it before, thank you so much it was exciting. She gifted us a, like, seven gallon bottle of Canadian Club yesterday. We have not tried it just yet, but I think I remember what it tastes like -

Jensen: [whispers into mic] I drank it last night.

Jared: [fake outrage] You what?!

Question: That is why he didn't sing last night, y'all. Sorry.

Jensen: Yeah, I was in the business end of a Canadian - [Jared makes A Face] bottle of whiskey.

Jared: You paused at the wrong time!

Jensen: I did.

Jared: You said, I was at the business end of a Canadian ... [rushed and emphatic] bottle of whiskey!

Jensen: [???]

Jared: Grammar is important! Yes, of course.

Question: My question is, it's more for Jensen, but feel free to answer, Jared. Of all the music that has been released that you've been a part of, Radio Company, any collabs you've done? Do you have a favorite song of yours?

Jared: That's yours.

Jensen: Favorite song of mine?

Question: That you sang, Louden Swain, Jason Manns, Radio Company, just Steve Carlson -

Jensen: Oh, oh, oh. Uh ... I dunno.

Audience member: Angeles!

Jensen: Yeah, I like Angeles because I think that was probably the first time that I, like put myself out there [Jared nods] in that way, which was, y'know, a little scary, but I had some good, I had some good encouragement from some good friends to do so. So I'd say that one kind of holds a special place for me.

Jared: I remember that day vividly.

Jensen: When we - on set?

Jared: I remember that day vividly.

Jensen: 'Cause I did that on set.

Jared: On set, same place we did our, uh, voice over, the sound truck.

Jensen: Don Painchaud who was our sound mixer on set for all 15 seasons had a soundproof truck that we would go and do our voice over recordings while we were filming. So we'd be on set and hen we'd take a break and then he and I would hop in there and do voice over work for an episode that we had previously filmed. And I had asked him, I was like, hey - he is also an avid collector of like vintage microphones. And I said, hey I got a buddy coming up here, we're looking to lay down some vocal tracks for a song. Could we do that in the truck? And he's like, oh, yes! And he's like I'm gonna go home this weekend and I'm gonna get a couple of my mics like [mic names] or whatever, some fancy, like vintage vocal recording mic. And he brought it in and he set it up and we actually did it while we were - while I was filming. And so yeah.

Jared: Do you remember who filmed behind the scenes inside the truck?

Jensen: You.

Jared: Yep!

Jensen: [laughs] Yeah, there's some shots from the -

Jared: Inside of it.

Jensen: music video where, yeah, Jared's actually got the camera and he's like [mimes panning a camera] doing this, gettin Steve and I.

Jared: And the inside of a sound truck that's basically the back of a U-Haul, with all the little -

Jensen: Like not much bigger than this drum set. You can't fit a whole lot of things in there.

Jared: And also, if you go like this [inhales], it picks it up. It picks up everything.

Jensen: You have to be completely silent.

Jared: So I'm trying to do cool shit, but my keys are jangling in my pocket and he's like gotta go again. And I'm like sorry, like throwing keys down.

Jensen: Yeah, Jared is effectively a moose in a china shop.

Jared: I would not get hired as a ninja. Though I like to pretend I would be. [Jensen laughs] That was a great day, yeah. Thank you for your question and thank you for the Canadian Club -

Jensen: It was delicious.

Jared: I hope that there's some left that I can try.

[bookgeekgrrl]

My media this week (23-29 Apr 2023)

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

🥰👂‍Something Wild & Wonderful (Anita Kelly, author; Mark Sanderlin, narrator) - really enjoyable contemp romance about 2 guys who meet hiking the PCT - great MCs, great supporting characters

😍Backhoe (Zenaidamacrouras1) - 123K, no-powers modern AU with a smol Steve & beefy Bucky - absolutely incredible fic where Steve's an art grad student/activist & goes to protest a pipeline in Appalachia, which is going to be built across Bucky's family land - this fic was fantastic! Great (& authentic) sense of place & community, well-developed OCs (Bucky's sisters) - it's a meet-cute followed by all the work an actual relationship takes, very real & genuine with the emotions & hurdles that come up.

🥰Gravity's Got Nothing on You (zosofi) - 86K, sterek au, fake dating, frenemies-to-lovers with the encouragement(?) of some magic wolf figurines - it's probably been 8 years since I read this and it's as delightful as I remember - they're both so emotionally constipated it's hilarious

💖💖 +143K of shorter fic so shout out to these I really loved 💖💖

All I'm Saying, Pretty Baby series (IrisLanding) - Stranger Things: steddie, 21K - "Steve and Eddie stumble into a series of dirty talking sexual adventures that may actually lead somewhere."

turn down the lights, turn down the bed (rockinhamburger) - Ted Lasso: Trent/Ted, 25K - Trent, drunk & thirsty af & bemoaning his life, accidentally texts Ted instead of his bestie. Some really good dicking, angst & emotions ensue.

Love Runs Wild (DevilDoll) - TW: sterek, 9K - a fucking forever fave classic from the "Neckz 'n Throats" universe

Thursday Nights with Bucky Barnes (Ellessey) - MCU: stucky, 4K - short but super duper meet cute with grumpy Steve and NOT the normal laundromat guy

Not In The Answer But The Question (aimmyarrowshigh) - MCU: shrunkyclunks, 27K - reread this fantastic shrunkyclunks with cap!steve (who's busy not processing his trauma) meeting queer disabled jewish deli owner bucky. So fucking good. Plus it will make you crave BEC bagels (which I 100% ordered from our local place this AM)

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

Dirty Laundry - s2, e11

Um, Actually - s1, e5; s6, e2-6,8-12, s8, e3-4

Shrinking - s1, e1

Schmigadoon! - s2, e5

The Brokenwood Mysteries - s9, e3

Ted Lasso - s3, e7 [x2]

🎧 PODCASTS 🎧

Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me! - Weird Al Yankovic

Into It - Roy Wood Jr. Is Ready for Late Night

Switched on Pop - Who killed the key change in pop music?

⭐Desert Island Discs - Dara Ó Briain, comedian and television presenter

99% Invisible #534 - For Amusement Only (Free Replay)

⭐Vibe Check - You About to Lose Yo’ Job

Pop Culture Happy Hour - Harry Belafonte

ICYMI Plus - We’ve Learned Nothing From West Elm Caleb

Decoder Ring Plus - The Artist Who Was Both Loved and Disdained

Ologies with Alie Ward - Delphinology Part 2 (DOLPHINS) with Justin Gregg

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - The Last Wild Apple Groves

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Telling Time through the Trees with the Places Team

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Caring for Canids

Shedunnit - Bonus: What is "Cosy"?

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Moose Boulder

Into It - Are We Into Ed Sheeran's Lawsuit, Tucker Carlson's Firing, and Timothée Chalamet?

Endless Thread - The Birds and the Bugs

Sidedoor - Bill Nye the Sidedoor Guy

You're Dead To Me - The Rise of the Tudors

⭐Hit Parade Plus - The Bridge: Video Pilled Suburbia’s Child

ICYMI Plus - Should We All Be Pirating More?

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

Presenting Paul McCartney

Presenting Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

Instru-Metal

Emily King

Presenting Dio

Presenting Iron Maiden

Alestorm

synthwave radio [Lofi Girl]

Presenting Alice Cooper

Presenting Rush

The Look Of Love - The Very Best Of ABC [ABC]

[theyoungturks]

McCarthy Hands Tucker Carlson 40,000+ Hrs Of Jan. 6 Footage. George Santos Admits He Thought He’d ‘Get Away With’ Lies. Bernie Sanders Visits NYC On Book Tour. Arab Version Of Rachel Dolezal Gets Called Out By Mother. Polish Woman Claims To Be Missing Girl Madeleine McCann. Horror Version Of Winnie The Pooh Hits Theaters. Massive Moose Kicks Anchorage Woman In The Head. 230221__WL by The Young Turks

[theofficefantasyfootball]

WEEK 6 - Wrap Up

What a Week for NYC

What a crazy week for the New York Football Teams....Jets and Giants. With the Jets upsetting the Eagles and the Giants coming so close to taking down the Bills at home....I just kept thinking about this Fred Armisen bit about New York accents and had to post. Nothing more to say - just think he's funny. Welcome to week 6 wrap up!

MALIK MY BALLS vs MOOSES ON THE LOOSES

Sorry Mitch. Sorry that I didn't bet you a bottle of Tequila on this match up. Sorry I took away your precious High Point money. Sorry your kicker only can put up 6 points. Sorry you dropped Achane and that he also got hurt and that Mostert is now starting and that he put up 36 points. Sorry that you seem to be having an amazing season but yet you are tied with me at 4-2. Sorry that you lost...actually sorry, not sorry. Fun week Mitch. Sorry.

TREE HUGGERS vs TRADE WITH ME

OMG...he's 6-0. Scott Krippayne is 6-0. With a modest week of 96 points and without getting a full game out of his precious CMC - Scott Krippayne was matched up against Brett Rutledge who with Ekeler still to play is down 42 points going into monday night - so yes, I am callling it. Brett who was riding high on his 1 game winning streak just could not get it together with disappointing performances from everyone except the Lions Defense. Scott, who didn't have a great week saw amazing numbers from Thiielen, a TD from CMC before he went out and a good outing from Dalton Schultz. Nice win Scott...will you ever lose? Next up for Scott...Cliff Young.

BOOMER SOONER vs LANAKILA

The thing with Cliff is - if you give him a little taste of winning - he wants it all the time. He is now on a 4 game winning streak, and like Krippayne, this wasn't a high scoring week for Cliff either...but he put up enough to beat Stu Jones. Stu's best player - Stefon Diggs only put up 15 points...and he needed 6.05 more to win the match up. So basically had Diggs scored a TD things would have been different. In fact, Stu would have won, I would have won a bet or two, and some needed money...and Cliff would be a loser. Thanks Stu and Stefon. Nice win Cliff - keep it up and we may have a back to back champion on our hands (hope i didn't just jinx ya).

BACKDOOR BANDITS vs HOWARD

Yes, this GIF is because Rob Howard plays the banjo. Most weekends that's what I hear from my house...banjo music from his porch. Sometimes he has an entire polka band out there. It's a really special place to live. This week Rob beat Kyle. Rob put up 124 points so he almost won high point but I had a little bit better of a week so i snag the dough. Rather than talking about what Rob did right let's spend a moment focusing on what Kyle did wrong. He just doesn't have a very good team this year. And those players that you would think would be great like Metcalf, Lamar and Etienne...well, when only one of them put up significant points - you don't win much. So Ron moves on to 4-2 and Kyle to 1-5. Nice win Rob. I am ready for Octoberfests to be over so you are not on the road and the neighborhood can hear you play again.

MR. AWESOME vs TuPADRE

Usually one of my favorite match ups of the year. Gully vs Gabe. Best Friends going at it. At this week Gabe took the stick to Gully and knocked him out early. Gully had a good week from Tua with 28 points, Derek Henry in London managed to give him 17, and Ravens Defense in London gave him 15 but Gabe just had the magic of Tyreek (27), Hall (15), Pitts (10), Waddle (11), Kicker Carlson (13) and Eagles D (10)....and who know what tonight holds with Dak...he may put up 37 and steal my $20 from me. Nice win Gabe. I am sure your friendship will carry on but you should feel better than Andy and Son.

LONG LEFT BALLERS vs FUNK GUY

Why do I feel like we are in the same place every week with Funk Guy. More times than not - it comes down to Monday night...there's a bit of hope but then it ends badly. Tonight we go in with Dana leading 80 to Bebo's 76. Dana with Cowboys defense still to play and Bebo with Keenan Allen and CeeDee Lamb. Dallas defense is always good...they are always putting pressure and getting sacks but tonight the Charges did find a way to score. In fact, the first score of the night was a Keenan Allen TD. So, when the game ended...Bebo won...Dana lost. Bebo moves to 5-1 and Dana to 1-5. Heartbreaking week for Dana - first with his Giants and now with himself.

SURVIVOR

The Final Four Continue. It was a close call for Gully but everyone moves on.

CHEERLEADER OF THE WEEK

Brianna was born in Stuart, FL and now lives in Fort Lauderdale. She was rated by Women Fitness as the most beautiful cheerleader...and as far as I am concerned who would know if that is true, more than other women. I am trusting it. Brianna for the win.

[timomaraus]

April 25, 2023

CNN Two Utah homes slide off cliff, prompting evacuation (Editor's Note: Those folks were really fortunate to be able to evacuate after their homes fell off the cliff. A lot of people would have been hurt in something like that.)

BBC Top ultrarunner disqualified for using a car in race (Editor's Note: A lot of people could be competitive under those conditions. In fact, there's an entire endurance race for them. It's called the 24 Hours of Le Mans.)

CNN Florida condo resident speaks out after evacuation order (Editor's Note: Boy, those Utah homes really slid a long way.)

CNN Hear late night hosts' reaction to Carlson and Lemon's exit from cable news (Editor's Note: He's not a late night host, but occasional Headline Blog correspondent Bill Devereaux suggests it was actually just a prisoner exchange between the networks.)

CNN Alaskan moose can't get enough popcorn (Editor's Note: This is why you never invite a moose to a double feature.)

CNN SpaceX Starship's explosion is not the failure it appears to be, experts say (Editor's Note: That's right. It's a positive result--if they're planning to go into the fireworks business.)

CNN Why state lawmakers around the country keep citing junk science (Editor's Note: Well, there are a lot of issues with junk. And the hope is that science can solve them.)

CNN Huge Titanic plan used in 1912 inquiry into ship's sinking sells for $243,000 (Editor's Note: Was is a huge plan, or a titanic plan? C'mon, CNN, make up your mind.)

CNN Disney cancels some fire effects at shows worldwide after dragon incident at Disneyland (Editor's Note: Even with the best trainers, it can be difficult to get consistent performance out of dragons.)

Washington Post 'People are tired of seeing old White men being presidents' (Editor's Note: Hate to tell you, but they've all been White men, save one. And the median age on inauguration is over 55. Biden is 80 now. Trump is 76. Not seeing much of a change in the trend...)

Washington Post Watch the moment a hybrid solar eclipse reaches totality (Editor's Note: It really only lasted for a moment, before it had to be plugged in to recharge.)

[rackhamfairy]

Tucker Carlson can go fuck a moose

Tucker and his followers are going to invade Canada. WTF is wrong with these people?

[antiqueanimals]

Ken Carlson (b.1937), Slashear - Portrait of an Old Fighter

[fromthe-point]

The Manitoba Moose Hockey Club announced today the team has agreed to terms with goaltender Adam Carlson on a one-year contract.

Carlson, 25, spent the 2018-19 season with the ECHL’s Rapid City Rush, where he posted a 21-17-6 record with a 2.91 goals-against average, 0.916 save percentage and four shutouts.  The Edina, Minn product tied for the ECHL lead in shutouts and finished third in the league with 1,382 saves.   He was also named the CCM/ECHL Goaltender of the week for the period ending March 10, 2019. ��Carlson has appeared in 84 career ECHL games with a 36-30-12 record, supported by a 2.85 goals-against average, 0.909 save percentage and six shutouts.  The three-year pro appeared in six AHL games with the Hershey Bears in 2017-18, while posting a 2-3-0 record, 2.85 goals-against average and 0.903 save percentage.

Carlson was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Washington Capitals in 2016.

[fandomismyspirit]

Jared with Steve Carlson at the grand opening of Stereotype in Austin

📷 stevecarlson

[dismantledreggie]

Muses

My list of OC and fandom muses. FC’s are also listed! Please note that ALL characters I play are 18+. I will not RP as a minor and I will not RP with minors. Thank you and welcome to my blog! 

OC’s

Stella Blackwell (Olivia Holt or Jennifer Lawrence FC)

Dario Spinelli (Dave Franco FC)

Anthony Marshall (Jonathan Groff FC)

Murphy Boyd (Cody Christian FC)

Carson Pickens (Danai Gurira FC)

Chad Boyd (Brant Daugherty FC)

Derion Barnes (Daveed Diggs FC)

Annabelle Lehr (Tori Kelly FC)

Evelyn St. Regis (Samantha Barks FC)

Mallory Boyd (Megan Fox or Julia Voth FC)

Nathan McCall (Michael Arden FC)

FANDOMS

SCREAM (Movie/TV Franchise)

Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox FC, open to others)

Dewey Riley (David Arquette FC, open to others)

Kirby Reed (Hayden Panettiere FC)

Chad Meeks-Martin (Mason Gooding FC)

Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy FC, open to others)

Brooke Maddox (Carlson Young FC

Kieran Wilcox (Amadeus Serafini FC)

Eli Hudson (Sean Grandillo FC)

**This is all pending on if the legacy characters are being played currently or in the past. If it is the past, I would probably be more inclined to use a younger/more current FC at the age we decide to play them if it is a redo plot.**

RIVERDALE

Archie Andrews (KJ Apa FC)

Reggie Mantle (Charles Melton FC)

Toni Topaz (Vanessa Morgan FC)

Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch FC)

Moose Mason (Cody Kearsley FC)

ONE TREE HILL

Peyton Sawyer (Hilarie Burton-Morgan FC)

Chris Keller (FC up in the air)

Julian Baker (Austin Nichols FC)

ALL AMERICAN

Jordan Baker (Michael Evans Behling FC)

Spencer James (Daniel Ezra FC)

Asher Adams (Cody Christian FC)

Coop “Tamia Cooper” (Bre-Z FC)

Patience Robinson (Chelsea Tavares FC)

THE HUNGER GAMES

Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence FC, also open to others)

Finnick Odair (Sam Claflin FC, also open to others)

Joanna Mason (Jenna Malone FC, open to others)

GLEE

Santana Lopez (Christian Serratos FC)

Sebastian Smythe (Grant Gustin FC)

Ryder Lynn (FC up in the air)

Jesse St. James (Jonathan Groff FC)

Rachel Berry (Gal Gadot FC)

Elliott Gilbert (Adam Lambert FC)

Dani Harper (Demi Lovato FC)

THE WALKING DEAD

Michonne (Danai Gurira FC)

Rick (Andrew Lincoln FC)

Andrea (Elizabeth Mitchell FC)

Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan FC)

Lucille  (Hilarie Burton FC)

FIRST KILL

Juliette Fairmont (Sarah Catherine Hook FC)

Calliope Burns (Imani Lewis FC)

PRETTY LITTLE LIARS

Alison DiLaurentis (Sasha Pieterse FC)

Spencer Hastings (Troian Bellisario FC)

Mona Vanderwaal (Janel Parish FC)

Emily Fields (Shay Mitchell FC)

[antlerqueer]

Hi Megan <3 Do you have any suggestions for an older brother and sister for India Eisley? Thanks!! 🦌 (closest to moose emoji i could find)

Sure! Here are some options, I've included a nonbinary option as well:

Casey Cott (1992)

Kaya Scodelario (1992)

Ben Hardy (1991)

Connor Leslie (1991)

Danielle MacDonald (1991)

Jenny Boyd (1991)

Carlson Young (1990)

Eline Powell (1990)

Elizabeth Debicki (1990)

Aly Michalka (1989)

Keegan Allen (1989)

Ursula Corbero (1989)

Allison Williams (1988)

Cody Fern (1988)

Nico Tortorella (1988)

Nicola Coughlan (1987)

Alexandra Daddario (1986)

Derek Theler (1986)

Nolan Gerard Funk (1986)

Brant Daugherty (1985)

Aaron Tveit (1983)

Krysten Ritter (1991)

[csykora]

Much love in my heart for Kuzy, obviously, but do you have an opinion about why someone who is so good at stick handling seems to take so many careless stick-related penalties (slashing, hooking, tripping, etc.)? I read in the Washington Post today that Tom Wilson was the only Cap with more penalties than Kuzy this season :(. Obviously I don't expect you to know everything that goes on in his head; I'm just wondering if you have a guess as to why this seems to happen so often.

In the immortal words of McKeen’s 2010 Draft Guide,

“he is ornery and does not hesitate to stick the opposition as he plays with sandpaper and grit.”

If it’s not immediately clear, they thought that was a great thing. Because the value of penalties in hockey is some complex and loaded silliness.

Thanks for pointing this out, it was interesting to look into. I’m going to look at the situation first, and then come back around to why I think it is this way.

My answer is also going to be entirely positive, so anyone who is suddenly horrified for tonight: be calm.

Kuznetsov came in third in penalty minutes for the regular season, behind Tom Wilson and Brooks Orpik. Kuz is also third in the playoffs at 12, led by Wilson (16) and Oshie (17) as of Game 2.

If we look at their running totals, he’s still behind Orpik (who has also added 4). So I don’t know where the idea of him being second comes from. (What’s up, Washington Post?)

Because of how much more attention I think Kuznetsov draws in the playoffs and also because I think using running totals is rather Improper, I’m going to look at the regular season and the playoffs separately, and use these numbers.

No one is taking Tom’s bloody crown here. But what else does 48 mean in context?

Well, it’s barely more than Bäckström, and nobody is talking about careless can’t-control-himself Nick.

I mean that completely gently, just that we should all remember to put a single statistic in context and examine our eye tests—why is it that Kuznetsov’s mistakes catch our eye? Is it about the type of plays and penalties? Our expectations for him, or our expectations for other guys? Why do we notice them sometimes and not other times?

He’s held steady between mid 20s-mid 40s in PIMs his entire career. He was consistent at 30-40 PIMs with Traktor (the KHL plays 60 game seasons), dropping to 24 his first full season with Washington and then stabilizing at 30-40s again. It’s slowly risen over the years with Washington, but so has his time on ice (and the amount of attention he gets, which I’ll come back to.) While 48 is his career high, it’s only one penalty more than he took last season, and it isn’t wildly outside his normal range. So his game hasn’t changed.

It’s the rest of the team.

Last season Kuznetsov took 46 penalty minutes but came in 7th on the team. Wilson took 133, and after him Orlov, Ovechkin, Williams, Winnik, and Orpik fell in with 51-48. He was 8th the year before that.

You know who I blame for Kuznetsov coming in 3ʳᵈ this year?

Tom Wilson.

Specifically, Top Line Tom.

(Also a bunch of trades.)

I was looking at other players to put Kuznetsov in context, and saw something I didn’t think I would. We’re going to take an apparent detour because we need to check this out.

Ovechkin has been a PIM leader his entire career. For the last few years he’s held steady in the 50s, always taking a spot ahead of Kuznetsov. This year Ovi dropped to 32. That’s from 25 individual penalties to 16 penalties, none of them majors.

His hits are down from 216 to 139. That’s from 2.6 hits per game to 1.7 hits per game. He managed to cram in 120 during the shortened lockout season. 172 as a rookie. He’s a solid 200+ hitter, and he’s down to 139?

I’ve thought this watching games all season, but I’m a grump and I was sure the statistics wouldn’t back my eye-test up, actually. But here it is, so here’s what I think. Ovi is focused on playing high-flying technical hockey now that he has a right wing who can clear space for him and his center.

Ovechkin wanted to make a point of coming back faster this year, so he would be playing a little more like this regardless, but he would be fighting for it. He’s spent the last few years trying to shove the other team off him and his center and use that space at the same time. Wilson is making it possible for him to focus.

I don’t mean that Wilson is “taking the penalties Ovi otherwise would be.” I think Wilson’s penalties are still almost entirely a hangover. I mean that in his dreams, Ovechkin wants a right wing who’s both stunningly fast, to counterbalance Ovi and his center as they set up, and strong enough to force the other team to pay attention to him instead of them. (Ovi also likes it when they punch people, but no one ever said Ovechkin has great taste in men.)

That’s pretty hard to find (sorry, can you all hear me grinding my teeth?), but under the habits, Wilson is a bizarre rare mix of talents, and he’s not only started to use them for Ovi and Kuznetsov, I think he’s allowing Ovi to meaningfully change his own game.

So Ovi’s making fewer hits and taking fewer penalties.

And they’ve traded Williams, Winnik, Chimera, and the ~50 PIM guys.

They also dropped the collective weight of the D-core on Orlov’s fabulous shoulders, and he took a deep breath, looked the problem right in the eye, and committed. He’s gone from 19 to 23 minutes of ice time a night, but dropped from 51 to 22 penalty minutes. We wanna talk about penalty minutes as an evaluation of play, lord have mercy, let’s talk more about Orlov’s.  

So that all explains to me how Kuznetsov took just one more penalty this year than last year, but suddenly he looks worse, in comparison to teammates who are taking fewer penalties.  

I’m still pretty sure “taking 48 penalty minutes” wasn’t part of Kuznetsov’s thesis on penalty killing.

It’s a really average penalty time compared to other players, but he isn’t. So would I like him to be in the box less? Yes. (Nicky too.)

Would I like him to slash less? The first answer is yes because I don’t like slashing much—but before that I want to know what’s leading to him doing it, and I want that to happen less.

People always do things for reasons. I don’t know what all their reasons are, and if I did I might not agree that that was a great reason to do that, but I kind of think it’s wrong to say that someone ‘just does’ things, that they’re unreasonable, inexplicable, “stupid and dumb” or “crazy,” that their thoughts are so unworthy of understanding that they’re not even real. I don’t know what he’s thinking, I might not like it, but I’m going to respect that he’s thinking something.

This is what we’re gonna call my working theory of his mind.

So here’s where I start to look at Kuznetsov’s role.

This is the year Kuznetsov is an NHL star, right? He’s not only on the top line, other teams’ commentators are calling it the Kuznetsov line about as often as the Ovechkin line now. Other teams’ fans not only know who he is, they know their team will have to know to plan around him.

I think in regular season games in the past, teams have been able to get away, or thought they would be able to get away, with just shutting down the shooters he always passed to. Now it’s impossible to predict whether he’ll pass or shoot, and his good passes are going to Ovechkin, who is great at catching passes.

He’s also always lit up in the playoffs. (Every year this is when the media start saying, “Oh! This guy might be a star!”) The format works for him: I think he likes getting so much time to test things out and pick another team apart, especially in overtime. The more time he has, the more chances add up. So you have to, have to, have to plan your playoff series around shutting him down.

The obvious way to shut a possession guy down is with physical play, but Kuznetsov makes that difficult. He is fast, and more than that he’s quick—he can react and reach top speed in very little space or time—and he’s very, very mobile. Most opponents never get close to him.

If you’re tied with John Carlson, you don’t smash much. (Contrast this with the heavy hitters, Oshie, Orlov, Ovechkin, Smith-Pelly, Orpik, Wilson—between 124 and 250 hits.)

Kuznetsov was hit 65 times this season.

(I’m not sure if the good folks at morehockeystats were including the 3 times Wilson’s destroyed him.)

For comparison at the same position, Bäckström has taken 103 hits and Eller was hit 156 times this season. I expected Kuznetsov’s hit count to be lower, but 65 is pretty wild.

What this suggests to me is

he’s effective as heck at avoiding hits.

65 is only a couple times more than people laid hits on Ovechkin, and people do not want to hit Ovechkin. It’s like hitting an opossum with your car instead of hitting a moose—I’m not advocating either, but one would fuck up the possum, and the other will wreck you.

But Kuznetsov was also awarded 23 penalties against the other team. Bäckström only drew 18. What are those penalties for, if he’s not getting hit so much?

Well, you can’t hope to catch him, so what do you do?

You use your handy hooking stick.

I tried to take these all last game. It wasn’t scientific, but it was a lot of photos. You can see from his posture Cirelli knows he won’t be able to pass or keep up with Kuznetsov, so he’s throwing himself forward off his feet to get a little closer. He has enough control to make try to make that a strict stick check, but how easy would it be for someone to hook or slash instead?

And the same goes the other way. Kuznetsov doesn’t want to let opponents close to him, so if he wants to reach them, he’s reaching out with his stick.

(I wrote a whole extra essay on his particular style of stickhandling in here, but then realized it wasn’t germane and all the quotes I found for evidence were bad porn dialogue.)

In his mind, I think he does stuff

to stop people tripping and slashing him

because he can

Here’s why I don’t like getting to the end of the season and lumping all penalties into a big bad pile.

Right now I can still remember when Letang slashed Kuznetsov twice in Game 2, injuring his hand, and Kuznetsov slashed back and took a penalty.

I had no problem in the world with that*. If I were any of his teammates or his coach, I would be screaming at him from the bench to get that guy off him one way or another. The ideal course of action is for Kuz to not respond risking a penalty and for Letang to not slash him a third time. But Letang is not going to not slash him again, and Kuznetsov’s hands are worth a heck of a lot more than 2 minutes, at least in most game situations. If we’re thinking strategically, yeah, we can eat that penalty.

He also takes penalties for doing some wild stuff. I’ve mislead a little, because Kuznetsov loves to get up close—on his terms. He can and will, as Joe B. puts it, “skate between their legs.” (I miss Joe B.) When he’s chasing an opponent he’ll rush up from behind and then instead of laying a hit he’ll keep skating with them, placing his feet in between theirs. This is not something most people do, because it is a terrible idea, but he thinks he can do it, so he does.

Often he really does skate or stickhandle around them with tripping them. But when he doesn’t get it quite right, it looks blatantly bad, because no one else would think they can get under someone else’s feet and somehow not trip them.

“What do you mean, I tripped him?”

“You stuck your foot between his feet, and then he fell down.”

“Well, he’s probably a terrible skater, no?”

By the end of the season, I don’t know how many penalties he took for slashing in (in his mind) self-defense, and how many times he stuck his stick or his foot between somebody else’s skates because he could (or thought he could), and how many times because he was annoyed and wanted to smack someone. I know there’s some of each in the mix.

I don’t like all of them. I’m also not worked about them as a whole, and I’d encourage anyone who is to look past the scary #3 in the rankings to the context. (And I realize I probably just said that to a Washington Post sports writer somewhere. Uh.)

Numbers and figures from NHL.com, Corsica, Fox Sports, Elite Prospects, and MoreHockeyStats.

*this is a lie, I was displeased with them both, because I don’t want anyone slashing anyone.

Note: I don’t feel like reading any “ugh, of course Orpik would be in there!” on this post today. I agree it’s part of the emergency math that needs to be done about his place on the team, but if you didn’t already know his numbers, please save it.

[theofficefantasyfootball]

WEEK 4 - Wrap UP

WILL YOU MARRY ME?

This weeks funny video is replaced by a celebration of Cliff Young who asked Jasa (aka - Yasa) to marry him this weekend and she actually said YES!  In this cynical world that we live in - there isn’t a lot of happiness to report - so we need to take a moment and celebrate Lanakila on locking down his future.  Cliff, I know you are older than me but I have been married a lot longer than you and the best advice I can give is - prenup, separate bathrooms, don’t ever buy a car without her “permission” and maybe don’t suggest a threesome until year 5.  Good luck my friend...in your marriage not fantasy football.  

MAHOMES ALONE vs BACKDOOR BANDITS

The backdoor bandit tried to steal my momentum.  With his 41 points on defense and his talented team of Devonte Adams, Cee Dee Lamb and George Kittle...but those three combined only put up just over 11 points...so, when that happens and your team has Mahomes and Hill each putting up 41...it’s an automatic win.  Thanks for the fun weekend Kyle.  While you were roaming the countryside of the United Kingdom I was here in the good ole USA - doing the work and getting another win.  It did look like another high point win this week  until Cliff stole it right out from under me.  Oh well, it’s just money right?  LONG LIVE MAHOMES!

BOOMER SOONER vs FUNK GUY

What the hell is going on with Funk Guy?  3 losses in a row?  I’ll tell you what’s going on.  First off, the guy doesn’t show up to the draft.  Also, he’s coaching his kids little league team and obviously doesn’t have the capacity to do more than that.  His head and his heart is not in it this year - that’s my take. Meanwhile Stu - who had a bad week last week when he faced me...bounced back to normal in week 4 to grab the win and move to 3-1.  Special shout out to Kyler Murray and King Henry who helped Stu grab that third win.  You better pray both of these guys stay healthy and happy!  Congrats on the win!

LANAKILA vs TREE HUGGERS

More “What’s Going On” happening in this match up.  Now I am smart enough to know that there has to be a winner and a loser in each match up but Cliff who has been barely getting by - who had every reason to be distracted this week (trying to propose and all) throws up another win and steals the high point on MNF ($20) also takes down Scott Krippayne who can’t seem to catch a break.  Aside from Wilson and Kamara his team just didn’t show up (side note he does have Waller still to play tonight) but even Waller can’t save him this week.  Cliff moves to 2-2 and Krippayne drops to a concerning 1-3 and will face the Backdoor Bandits next week who will not want to lose 2 in a row.

LONG LEFT BALLERS vs MOOSES ON THE LOOSES

Ok everyone.  It’s week 4 and Bebo is starting to look really look good.  The guy has yet to fall under 100 points.  He’s 3-1.  He has tons of bench points and most of his players are performing well.  Sure Montgomery is hurt but he has Edwards-Helaire that he can just move up to RB1 and then plenty of flex players to fill in for the needed points.  Bebo could be the sneaky player you need to keep an eye on this year.  Moose on the other hand is trying to re-build.  If you scanned the waiver transactions at all this week you saw that he made about 69 swaps this week.  Yes...69.  I said it.  But, in the end, all the swapping didn’t do any good...he still lost.  Great week Bebo.  Look at us!

TuPADRE vs MR AWESOME

Mr Awesome aka - the “taco boy” is back!  Well, at least that is what I wrote before the final game of the night took place.  All Gabe needed was 3 points from his kicker.  1 Field Goal...which his kicker, Carlson the past three weeks has put up 11, 17 & 13 points, So 1 little field goal, or 3 extra points should happen.  Right?  Nope!  Carlson missed a big field goal early in the 4th quarter which would have sealed it and Derek Carr just could never get them in a position to score all night...so because of that the mighty Andy Gullahorn takes down Mr Awesome by less than 1 point (.72 to be exact) Nice win Gully.  I don’t want you to think I didn’t want you to win...I don’t care who wins unless I am playing them...I just thought that Gabe would get the win based on the 3 point difference...that’s all.  Free tacos for everyone at Lady Bird this week.  Just tell the cashier - “Mr Awesome” and they will give you whatever you want for Free!  Thanks Gabe.

HOWARD vs TRADE WITH ME

Our 3 time champion Rob Howard has had a brutal past 2 fantasy weeks but this week he took a trip out west - to Colorado - to sit by a pond in the mountains, read books, play banjo and get himself right with the world.  And I must admit - It worked.  His win against Brett was effortless.  Sure there are a lot of “Qs” next to his players names after this week but he won!  He won by quite a bit too.  Brett is kicking himself for leaving Darnold on his bench right next to Chase Edmonds and right next to Latavius Murray - who put up a combined 66 points.  Oh, well Brett...it’s a long season and we’re only closing in on 1/3 done....you will be fine!  Nice Win Rob.  Congrats!

SURVIVOR

This weeks Survivor Athlete of the week is Russian Long Jumper Darya Klishina.  She took 9th at the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016 but took a bunch of first place records in her home country competitions starting in 2007.  

She sure is a bright spot in the week for those that took the Titans this week - we say goodbye to Dana, Commish and Brett.  

[davidpwilson2564]

Bloglet

Tuesday, July 27, 2021

A few of the Capitol police tell their stories.  It is harrowing. They were beaten, almost to death, by the MAGA mob.  (The Republicans, no surprise, are without comment and lying low.)  Assaulted, punched, the Black officer called the N word...  All four tell their stories.  

Getting in my steps.  Midtown.  So many places of business did not survive the pandemic.  Walking by the church that, six nights a week, was the site of “Tony and Tina’s Wedding.”  Tony and Tina got married at the church and then there was a procession to a hall nearby where they did the faux-reception.  Cute idea.  And further down the block, still called Restaurant Row, though many of the eateries are shuttered, is Joe Allen’s, also now closed.  Fascinating place with all of those Broadway posters on display.  Among them plays that failed.  “Moose Murders”...and the production of of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” featuring Mary Tyler Moore (!).  Big flop, that producer  David Merrick referred to it as “his Bay of PIgs.” 

Wednesday, July 28, 2021

On the Spectrum Classics channel “Variations on a Theme by Hindemith” by Walton.  Great piece.  Played it, I think, only once.  Many of the pieces I remember, this one among them, have become musical curiosities, taken out of the vault on rare occasions.  Note: Re Walton. Remembering when (Sir?) Hugh Ross came to Knoxville to conduct “Belshazzar’s Feast.”  (With the Vol Chorus...) Later,  I played for him a couple of times here in New York.  When he died he left a ton of music in care of Dino A.   Dino talked to me about going through it and trying to determine what was of value.  Dino and I peeked inside one of the crates but got no further than that.  The contents  were unusable.  This is the way of goes.  That which  was once  of value to someone has to be carted off to the warehouse.  

At last it is a bit cooler.  

No surprise here...the Right wing pundits are saying that the four policeman were just putting on a show.  

Thursday, July 29, 2021

Have lunch with Dan H and discuss possible (short) run of ABT at Koch Theater.  It would be nice but first they have to sell some tickets.

Due to threat of rain the Scarsdale concert is canceled.  Alan sends out an email and asks if we can do it tomorrow. 

More about the Capitol Building cops.  Fox has promoted the idea that all four were faking it. Snicker, snicker...”great performance” etc.   The reply: though this bunch (Laura Ingraham, Tucker Carlson, et al)  claim to be mere TV “entertainers” whenever they are  accused of bad behavior, a lot of people out there in mid-America listen to them and believe what they are saying. 

to be continued

[mitchbeck]

CHAIMOVICH: PLAYING ROSTERS UNVEILED FOR 2020 AHL ALL-STAR CLASSIC

PLAYING ROSTERS UNVEILED FOR 2020 AHL ALL-STAR CLASSIC BY: Jason Chaimovich, AHL SPRINGFIELD, MA. - The American Hockey League announced today the playing rosters for the 2020 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Ontario International Airport, to be held January 26-27 in Ontario, Calif. Each of the AHL’s four divisions will be represented by 12 players. Rosters were determined by committees of AHL coaches, and all 31 AHL teams are represented by at least one All-Star. The 2020 rosters feature 33 first-time AHL All-Stars and 12 former first- or second-round draft choices. In addition, 23 of the All-Stars named have also played in the National Hockey League already this season, including Drake Batherson of the Belleville Senators (Ottawa), Morgan Frost of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (Philadelphia), Gerald Mayhew of the Iowa Wild (Minnesota), Kailer Yamamoto of the Bakersfield Condors (Edmonton) and Rasmus Sandin of the Toronto Marlies (Toronto), who becomes the first AHL All-Star born in the 2000’s. Hartford Wolf Pack head coach Kris Knoblauch, Rochester Americans head coach Chris Taylor, Milwaukee Admirals head coach Karl Taylor and Tucson Roadrunners head coach Jay Varady will serve as coaches for the event. The 2020 AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Sunday, Jan. 26 (8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT) will pit the All-Stars from the two Eastern Conference divisions against those from the two Western Conference divisions in seven skills events. In the 2020 AHL All-Star Challenge on Monday, Jan. 27 (10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT), the four teams will participate in a 3-on-3, round-robin tournament featuring six games of 10 minutes each. The two teams with the best records at the end of the round-robin will face off for the championship, a six-minute, 3-on-3 game. Tickets for the 2020 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Ontario International Airport, which include admission to both the AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Sunday, Jan. 26, and the AHL All-Star Challenge on Monday, Jan. 27, are available now by visiting ontarioreign.com/allstar. The 2020 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Ontario International Airport will feature the top young talent in the American Hockey League: since 1995, more than 95 percent of All-Star Classic participants have gone on to compete in the National Hockey League, including Cam Atkinson, Patrice Bergeron, Jordan Binnington, Ben Bishop, John Carlson, Zdeno Chara, Logan Couture, Connor Hellebuyck, Braden Holtby, Tyler Johnson, Andreas Johnsson, Martin Jones, Jonathan Marchessault, Brandon Montour, William Nylander, Kyle Palmieri, Zach Parise, Mikko Rantanen, Tuukka Rask, Pekka Rinne, Dylan Strome, P.K. Subban and Mats Zuccarello. In operation since 1936, the American Hockey League serves as the top development league for the players, coaches, managers, executives, broadcasters and staff of all 31 National Hockey League teams. Nearly 90 percent of today’s NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and more than 100 honored members of the Hockey Hall of Fame spent time in the AHL in their careers. In 2018-19, over 7 million fans attended AHL regular-season and playoff games across North America.

Atlantic Division All-Stars F Andrew Agozzino, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (3rd appearance) D Sebastian Aho, Bridgeport Sound Tigers (2nd) D Jake Bean, Charlotte Checkers (1st) F Paul Carey, Providence Bruins (1st) G Chris Driedger, Springfield Thunderbirds (1st) F Morgan Frost, Lehigh Valley Phantoms (1st) D Joey Keane, Hartford Wolf Pack (1st) F Matt Moulson ("C"), Hershey Bears (1st) F Mike Sgarbossa, Hershey Bears (2nd) G Igor Shesterkin, Hartford Wolf Pack (1st) F Jack Studnicka, Providence Bruins (1st) F Owen Tippett, Springfield Thunderbirds (1st) Coach: Kris Knoblauch, Hartford Wolf Pack (1st)

North Division All-Stars F Rudolfs Balcers, Belleville Senators (2nd appearance) F Alex Barre-Boulet, Syracuse Crunch (1st) F Drake Batherson, Belleville Senators (2nd) F Reid Boucher, Utica Comets (3rd) F Nathan Gerbe, Cleveland Monsters (3rd) F Charles Hudon, Laval Rocket (2nd) G Jonas Johansson, Rochester Americans (1st) G Kasimir Kaskisuo, Toronto Marlies (1st) F Lawrence Pilut, Rochester Americans (1st) D Brogan Rafferty, Utica Comets (1st) D Rasmus Sandin, Toronto Marlies (1st) F Ben Street, Binghamton Devils (2nd) Coach: Chris Taylor, Rochester Americans (1st)

Central Division All-Stars D Alexandre Carrier, Milwaukee Admirals (2nd appearance) F Lucas Elvenes, Chicago Wolves (1st) F Matthew Ford ("C"), Grand Rapids Griffins (1st) F Jansen Harkins, Manitoba Moose (1st) G Connor Ingram, Milwaukee Admirals (2nd) G Kevin Lankinen, Rockford IceHogs (1st) F Joel L'Esperance, Texas Stars (2nd) F Gerald Mayhew, Iowa Wild (1st) D Brennan Menell, Iowa Wild (1st) D Derrick Pouliot, San Antonio Rampage (2nd) F Chris Terry, Grand Rapids Griffins (5th) F Yakov Trenin, Milwaukee Admirals (1st) Coach: Karl Taylor, Milwaukee Admirals (1st)

Pacific Division All-Stars F Joachim Blichfeld, San Jose Barracuda (1st appearance) D Kyle Capobianco, Tucson Roadrunners (3rd) D Kale Clague, Ontario Reign (1st) F Martin Frk, Ontario Reign (1st) F Glenn Gawdin, Stockton Heat (1st) F Lane Pederson, Tucson Roadrunners (1st) G Cal Petersen, Ontario Reign (2nd) F Matthew Phillips, Stockton Heat (1st) G Anthony Stolarz, San Diego Gulls (2nd) F T.J. Tynan, Colorado Eagles (3rd) D Chris Wideman, San Diego Gulls (2nd) F Kailer Yamamoto, Bakersfield Condors (1st) Coach: Jay Varady, Tucson Roadrunners (1st) Read the full article