The Republic of Sport

Nikolai

Nikolai's Comments

Posted Friday November 06, 2009, About: Columbus may not bail out Jackets

Columbus is too far north for the Poison Dwarf to spare them. I sense a relocation to New Orleans in the offing.

Posted Saturday October 31, 2009, About: NHL shuns stunned Gretzky

Well, given the relationship of the Rangers with the NHL, I'm sure they'd hop on board. I'm just dreaming again...

I'm waiting for the owners to shift the Poison Dwarf back to the Keebler Factory so we can get on with it. I'd watch the KHL, but I can't get live games...

Posted Friday October 23, 2009, About: Will Hockey Night In Canada dump Leafs?

Um...thanks?

Anyway, as someone who lived outside Ontario and Quebec for a while, I'd say its probably half-half for Leafs and Habs fans outside those provinces. The Habs fans are more easily seen since their team has the legacy and has at least been a contender at some point within the last 10 years.

Posted Saturday October 17, 2009, About: Anti-Semitic remark bans singer from Yankee Stadium

I'm Jewish and I don't care.

If this is the worst thing that happens to a Jew today, awesome.

Posted Tuesday September 15, 2009, About: Bills' McKelvin would 'bring it out again'

Did it have anything to do with having the hands team on? Where would McGee usually be in that situation?

In either case, I know it sucks for the Bills to have lost that one. I know moral victories don't count for much these days, but I think your Bills definitely looked good out there. Jackson was a beast out there and I, for one, am not looking forward to the rematch at Orchard Park.

Posted Tuesday September 15, 2009, About: Bills' McKelvin would 'bring it out again'

I think the game was evenly played by both sides; that is to say, sloppy.

But the Pats weren't lucky to win it. They were "lucky" to have the opportunity to win it. The Bears had a similar opportunity Sunday night and Cutler threw a pick. Brady punched his TDs in the endzone.

I might even take exception with the "luck" label. McKelvin made a mistake and the Pats took advantage of the opportunity. When one team screws the pooch, the other team isn't lucky, but they have been given an opportunity. Using the "luck" argument, one could say that the Bills were lucky that the Patriots weren't playing their best football, but that would be a stupid thing to say. Both teams had opportunities to win, and the Patriots were the ones to take advantage. That's a nod to the coaching disparity between the two teams.

Posted Tuesday September 15, 2009, About: Bills' McKelvin would 'bring it out again'

Plain and simple, the Pats missed Seymour last night. By taking away Owens and Evans, the Pats opened up the run game and the underneath for the Bills. The run game could have been greatly mitigated by Seymour and the Pats took a big hit losing Mayo.

McKelvin was probably right to take it out from the standpoint that it bleeds time off the clock, but it is obvious from the postgame comments that neither he nor Jauron supported the idea for that reason. The lack of situational awareness among Buffalo's coaching staff and players did them in big time during this game.

The Patriots weren't THAT bad last night, but neither were they playing well. Their "bend but don't break" defense was breaking a bit more than would be preferred, but give all the credit to Jackson for being a beast and taking everything the Patriots would give underneath and more. Brady had a 73% completion percentage and 378 yards passing. Not bad, but that stupid INT proved to be crucial. I wasn't a fan of all the dropped passes either. Darth Belichick is not pleased I think.

Buffalo played well, but it's a bit too late in Jauron's tenure to be pleased with moral victories. I saw in the comments section of the Buffalo papers that they're calling for his head already.

Posted Monday September 07, 2009, About: Why the Patriots traded Seymour

*expiring contract

Posted Monday September 07, 2009, About: Why the Patriots traded Seymour

I've no problem with it. I really liked Seymour, but switching to a 3-4 defense, his injury liability, his expired contract, and Wilfork's upcoming negotiations, I'm ok with it. But I've been "shocked" like this before with Lawyer Milloy and Ty Law, and seen things work out, so I can carry some optimism.

A lot is made of how many players the Pats have jettisoned or watched retire this year from last year's defense. But given that last year's defense was the team's achilles heel, I'm not upset at all to see things shaken up a bit. In short, the Seymour trade provides potential, for good or ill. We'll just have to hope it's the former. In Bill we trust or what not, but I'm taking a wait-and-see approach. Mayo said it best, "Ask me after Game 1".

Posted Friday July 31, 2009, About: Are Red Sox championships tainted?

Just a drive-by here, and I'm rather neutral in this debate (Sox-Yanks), but the chest-pounding by either side is asinine. Both teams are tainted in some way. It's an unfortunate byproduct of the Selig...er Steroid Era.

Since I was a kid, Ken Griffey Jr. has been my favorite player. If he tested positive, then I'd have to give up on baseball. It'd be nice to think there's at least one good player that didn't juice.

Posted Saturday July 25, 2009, About: Casino put Roethlisberger up in penthouse

I have no idea if he did it, but the idea that because she waited a year means she's lying is crap. Many rape victims don't ever report it, and many who do agonize over the decision because of the stigma that is attached to being a rape victim. That she waited isn't evidence of her lying.

I don't think people need to rush to condemn him either. This used to be a country of "innocent until proven guilty", except the sheep in this country allow the media to be their judge. People SHOULD let this thing play out before making judgments.

And this is from a Steelers-hating Pats fan.

Posted Monday July 20, 2009, About: Tortorella: Rangers should welcome Brashear

This feels like many offseasons before. There's been a lot of shaking up the roster, but it still doesn't seem like we've gotten a whole lot better. The Rangers almost always have at least one goon on the team, and it's been that way for a long, long time. I'm not surprised to see Brashear in New York, but I'm not all that impressed either.

At least if Gabby stays healthy, we'll have a scoring threat again.

Posted Friday July 10, 2009, About: Zherdev likely out in NY

$3 million/year for Kotalik?

I think we can now say the brilliance of the Gomez dumping has been fully mitigated.

Posted Tuesday July 07, 2009, About: Turco reveals reasons behind decline

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Turco have a history of dogging it in the offseason? I seem to remember his offseason conditioning being a problem in the past.

Posted Tuesday July 07, 2009, About: McNair's mom: Shooting was devil's work

Meh, it is what it is. Ascribing this deed to the devil is just a coping mechanism with religious veneer. That's how she copes for now, so big deal.

All this talk of the devil's divine and spiritual power makes me wonder if Chrstians are actually polytheists rather than the monotheists they claim to be. Oh well...there's some good Chrstians out there, so I don't hold their beliefs against them.

I feel sorry for his sons. They're really lose big in this whole thing when it comes down to it.

Posted Saturday July 04, 2009, About: How Rangers landed Gaborik

Haha. As long as he doesn't go Plaxico on us, I think we'll be ok.

Posted Saturday July 04, 2009, About: How Rangers landed Gaborik

I have to admit. I was pretty shocked about that. Too bad we can't dump Redden on some unsuspecting team, but I'll take that Gomez trade any day of the week.

Oh, and easy on Kaspar...I actually like the guy (if you can't tell <-------), even if his time in New York City proper was meh. The Islanders and Pens got his best playing days.

Posted Friday July 03, 2009, About: How Rangers landed Gaborik

I'm not all that disappointed with this signing...at least the Rangers are throwing this kind of money at top talent this time instead of second-tier talent. He's played in 76% of the possible games he could have played over his career. That's not great, but let's not overexaggerate the issue.

It's still the best big signing the Rangers have made in a long, long, time.

Posted Monday June 15, 2009, About: Red Wings want Hossa at right price

The Rangers will take him...in seven years.

Posted Sunday June 14, 2009, About: Lidstrom reveals playoff surgery

As for Lidstrom...well...damn

Posted Sunday June 14, 2009, About: Lidstrom reveals playoff surgery

Rubber match next year, methinks...

Pittsburgh played like a champion and you can't take that away from them. I was pulling for the Wings and predicted Wings in 6, but I have to tip my hat.

Malkin may have won the Conn Smythe, but Kennedy and Staal were great in this series.