nfreeman

Great thread. I think every photo posted has been excellent.

For the record, I am and have always been an independent. I voted for Clinton and for Gore. At present, I usually vote Republican, mostly because I think the Democrats are completely out to lunch on the key issues of the day. As for how Trump ended up as the nominee: I really think people are sick of being lied to and are thoroughly disgusted by the political class generally (and this is also, IMHO, why Sanders, who is a complete space cadet, has gotten as much support as he has). They know the economy is in terrible shape, homes, college, etc. have become prohibitively expensive, there are fewer jobs, zillions of dollars in debt, the world has become increasingly dangerous, and all they get from their politicians is a steady stream of BS. So I don't think it's so much a statement of support for Trump/Sanders as it is a rejection of Washington status quo. It's a real shame. I think there were at least a half-dozen serious grownups in the running on the Republican side that would've made for good presidents -- and none of them made it very far (i.e. Cruz was not one of them). I will not be at all surprised if Trump wins, but if he does I think there is a high risk of it turning into a major debacle. And if Hillary wins I think we'll just get more of the same terrible domestic and international policy we've had for the last 8 years. If you're inclined to think a great nation is crumbling much like ancient Rome did, there's much to support your view.

But this didn't really happen with Beric Dondarrion, did it? He came back pretty much the same, albeit still bearing the physical wounds of whatever killed him pre-resurrection. Melisandre has a number of strong qualities, but she's not an Old Gods kinda gal. I think the father-trying-to-have-him-killed, girlfriend-betrayal, champion-getting-head-smushed, fleeing-into-exile series of events did make Tyrion a bit sadder and darker. As for Jon Snow, I think there might be a bit of the "kill the boy so the man can rule" coming, but that's just a guess.

What is this based on? Here's the official description: I would interpret that as not "who had the best season" but rather as "who is the best player out of all players in their first NHL season." And that is McD. I agree with this. And this. Good post. Keep 'em coming!

Indeed. Plenty of wise and kind-hearted folks here, but I don't think we're a bunch of rock stars. Good man.

"Cynicism" is not the same as "paranoid and delusional." Good to see you sir! I don't think anyone really wishes anyone any real injury -- just a bit of over-the-top venting, I'm guessing. My 2 cents: the Leafs are at long last building a real team. I will not be a-tall surprised if they get Stamkos. And I kinda hope they do, if the Sabres don't get him. I want the Sabres and Toronto both to be really good for a long time and have one epic battle after another, in both the regular season and the playoffs.

I don't see how anyone over 14 years old can possibly think the NHL fixed the lottery.

Interesting. So the Sabres have over a 19% chance of making a big move up. That's higher than I had thought. Keep hope alive!

Just asking -- what 3rd line usage would enable Zemgus to surpass Larsson?

You are probably right. But still: - Seabrook is significantly better than the other defensemen you mentioned. - It's reasonable to expect him to continue to play at a very high level for the next 2 seasons, and at a pretty solid level for the 2 seasons after that. Thereafter? He could keep going at a reasonably good level, or he could easily fall off the table. - Leadership, playoff experience, locker-room credibility, etc., etc. - If the Sabres want to make a serious playoff run, say, the season after next -- Seabrook would contribute more than any other defenseman likely to be available this summer.

Submitted for your consideration: Brent Seabrook, RHD, 6'3", 220 lbs. Age -- he turned 31 last week; he's played 11 full NHL seasons Contract -- next season is the first year of an EIGHT-year extension with a cap hit of $6.9MM per year. Full NMC. Stats -- 49 pts in 81 games last year; just under 23 min per game in ice time. Chicago has major cap probems and is going to need to take major steps this summer. Still, I don't think they would unload Seabrook yet -- he's too integral to their core, and he has an NMC. For discussion purposes, though -- would you take on that contract? And would you give up, say, Zemgus, McCabe and #9 overall in this year's draft for him?

It was a great night. I think everyone who's even a little interested should see him once.

Did anyone notice that Mr. Fancystats claimed that there were only 2.71 goals per game this year?

Awesome. I'm in. I will of course need complete editorial control. And 4 limos for my entourage.

I think WC has it right here -- i.e. Corsi (and its derivatives) are more accurate metrics than plus/minus because the sample size is much larger.

The Caps have unleashed their secret weapon, Mike Weber, so they will put the Pens away in 5.

For comic relief, I kinda liked the scene where Danerys was hauled before the Khal, who muses about the first sight of a beautiful naked woman being the best thing in the world, at which point his homies kept coming up with other things that were better, resulting in him finally, and exasperatedly, stating that seeing the naked woman was top-5.

I wasn't referring to her death -- just to the likely end of her highly compelling scenes of disrobing. If you don't like it, you don't like it. Related question: was it you that was surprised that I didn't like "Boardwalk Empire?" If so, there's a grave and gathering credibility issue here. And FFS, the show has dragons, giants and resurrections -- are we really going to try to nitpick all of the "unrealistic" items that present themselves?

I don't agree at all. I saw a kid in his first NHL season play a tough game in the d-zone while flashing quite a bit of offensive ability. Was he given, due to lack of alternatives, a bigger role than would've been ideal? Yes, of course, and I'd like to see them add one or two guys so that he's in the 3rd pairing next season at about 16 min or so per game. But IMHO McCabe is a legit NHL defenseman with all the tools to be a good top-4 guy. More broadly, for both Bogo and McCabe, I think you are not sufficiently considering the "get up to speed" factor for guys in a new situation -- new coach, system, teammates, league (for McCabe), etc. Bogo missed all of camp and the first month of the season. That is a major hurdle to overcome. By the 2nd half of the season he added a lot of value. My bottom line is that Risto isn't as good yet as we want him to be, and that Gorges isn't a top-pairing defender. There also isn't an obvious solution coming onto the market this summer. So we'll need to hope that Risto and McCabe develop, that Bogo is healthy and more comfortable to start the season next year, that the Sabres can get good 3rd-pairing play out of Pysyk, Franson and/or Nelson, and that GMTM can add a better defenseman in FA than he's been able to add in either of the past 2 summers (or that a good one pops loose on the trade market due to cap issues and that GMTM wins the auction).

Melisandre is going to be tough to replace. Presumably Edd will return with Tormund, a giant or 2 and some others, and they will take Ser Aliser apart? And maybe Melisandre's necklace will revive Jon Snow?

I wasn't there, but evidently Bruce Springsteen opened his concert last night with Purple Rain, and told the audience that whenever he saw Prince perform, he always left the show feeling humbled.

I pulled the trigger today on tickets to take the family to see Bruce Springsteen on Monday night. Pretty psyched.

That is a pretty good theory.

I don't really agree with this, but it's pretty well-written and I found it interesting: http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2016/04/18/better_call_saul_is_better_than_breaking_bad.html

Holy mackerel. That was incredible. I knew he could play the guitar but that was some high octane Jimi Hendrix rocking right there.