Drunkard

The money bar for first round pick compensation is relatively low so any RFA we'd theoretically sign for less than that amount would almost certainly be matched, which makes it all kind of a moot point.

Until we really know where we stand next season, I have no interest is giving up high draft picks to sign RFA's to offer sheets. I know the roster will be better, but we've finished in last place the past 2 seasons.

Looks the same to me. Only difference I see if they fixed his teeth and he got a hair cut.

All those religious folks praying for rain finally paid off, years and months later. The politicians should find a way to channel all the excess water to those sinners out in California.

It's supposed to be that way but it doesn't work that way in the end. The more power, money, and influence you get the more rules and laws become mere guidelines that people should follow but aren't required too. However you can argue it works the same whether you are a person or a corporation. Many of the investment banks made tens or hundreds of billions of dollars doing crooked and got either no punishment at all or the equivalent of a slap on the wrist where they paid some fines in the tens of millions of dollar and nobody lost their job or even had to admit wrongdoing. That would be like if you were able to rob a bank without using a gun (through wire fraud or computer hacking or something) and you got away with $60 million and without ever getting arrested you were able to cut a deal with the DA that you could keep the money, and not admit fault or plead guilty, you just had to pay a fine of a few hundred thousand dollars out of the $60 million you stole. It's crooked as hell but it happens. Hell, I think somewhere in this thread a rich kid got away with vehicular homicide or manslaughter because his lawyer was able to argue he had "affluenza" because growing up with rich parents taught him nothing but how to throw money at problems to make them disappear. The haves and the have nots definitely follow different rules in this country.

Needs gray armpits and a cape in the back.

I've got the same final 4 (Ducks, Hawks, Rangers and Lightning) but I have the Hawks beating the Rangers for the cup. Unfortunately I'm in something like 66,000 place overall so I don't think I'll be winning one of those 55 inch curved tvs, not that I was expecting to anyway. Oh well. I am tied for 7th in the Sabrespace league though.

A drastic increase is needed to the minimum wage but they could increase it gradually until it got to where it needed to be. Bump it up to 8 dollars now and increase it at 5 percent each year until it got to the desired level then adjust it with inflation like they do for social security checks. It won't eliminate poverty because nothing will but it will help a great number of people and reduce the strain on limited public assistance dollars over time.

That's all fine and dandy but your pie in the sky wish list and set of ideals regarding personal responsibility doesn't get anything accomplished and your system would leave way too many people to fall through the cracks into poverty and despair. I never said $40k should be the minimum, hell I only make around $32k and I have an MBA that I'm not really using, and I'm doing ok for the area I live in. I own a home, pay the mortgage, and have the ability to pay for the everyday comforts of groceries, tv, internet, and basic utilities, without having to worry about getting government assistance. Sure my car is 13 years old but I maintain it and by the time it eventually dies I should have the ability and credit score to finance a new one without shutting off my power or eating cat food. I don't take fancy vacations and I live within my means. Raising the minimum wage isn't about giving poor people the luxuries of the wealthy. It's about paying them enough money that when you work 40 hours a week that you can afford to buy the basics like food, rent, groceries, car insurance, and gas along with a few perks like cable and internet and the occasionally meal out of the house. If working 40 hours a week for minimum wage isn't enough to do that, then the system isn't working and something (like government assistance) is needed to fill the gaps. Requiring businesses to raise the minimum wage to levels where the government assistance is no longer offered just shifts the onus from the government to the business who is profiting off those workers. I live in a low cost of living area so I think the minimum wage here should be around 10 or 11 bucks an hour. For that a single person could probably eek out an existence without getting fed at the local soup kitchen. For a single mother with a couple of kids it wouldn't provide everything but it would probably be enough that the government could cut her assistance down by a decent percentage and she'd still be able to make ends meet.

So you prefer that the government supplement minimum wage workers with welfare, food stamps, and low income housing? Because it has to come from somewhere. Millions of new homeless and indigent people are going to be bad for property values.

My biggest issue with the conservative argument is that you can't have low wages and no government support system and they seem to want both. Too many people work minimum wage jobs or jobs that pay below or near the poverty line in general for people to think that it's only for teenagers, entry level people, or elderly who don't really have to work. If you've got a family trying to live/survive off of these low wages they are going to rely on government assistance to supplement those low wages in the form of welfare, food stamps, and low income housing. So you basically need to pick your poison. Would you prefer the government to supplement low income people through the form of government assistance or would you prefer that they require places like WalMart and fast food joints to pay high enough wages that the people working there no longer earn low enough to be eligible for government assistance? It has to be one, the other, or a combination of the two and no economic model can succeed overall for the vast majority of the population without it. Personally, I prefer the mixed system now but would prefer more of the onus to fall on the businesses who are profiting off of these low wages. I think the minimum wage should be set to put a full time worker above the poverty threshold and it should be raised annually to keep up with the CPI to adjust for inflation. It can be done over time in case the initial wage raise would be particular large (I don't know all the numbers off hand) but they should have to raise wages at double or triple the CPI until they reach the previously mentioned level of being above the poverty line.

Kelly was 3-0 against Marino in the playoffs. Marino couldn't beat Buffalo in the playoffs until Kelly retired.

With the Blackhawks win, I'm up to a tie for 8th place in the Sabrespace league. In the first round I went 4 for 4 in the East and 2 for 4 in the West. But in this second round my two horses in the West seem likely to advance (Chicago and Anaheim) where I'm not sure the Rangers will beat off the Capitals in Round 2. Tampa is looking good so far though.

Insurance jobs will contact you pretty much regardless of what your resume and work experience says. I worked in that field (along with financial advising) for a few years about a decade ago. They are always looking for insurance agents because there is extremely high turnover and the positions are all pretty much 100% commission based so they can hire 10 people every day and it doesn't matter because they only have to pay you if you sell somebody a policy and make them money.

Gionta isn't a 4th line grinder either. If he doesn't go in the top 6 (which I agree with) then he needs to be right winger on the 3rd line, not put on a line with grinders just so we can stick another left handed center out of position on the right wing. Hodgson has a chance at a top 9 role on the right wing but I think there's a chance he's bought out. I think either Eichel or Reinhart will be playing RW to start the season though in a top 6 role. possible/probable LW - Kane, Moulson, Foligno, Deslauriers, and possibly Larsson or Grigorenko possible/probable Centers - Girgensons, Eichel, Reinhart, Grigorenko, Larsson, McCormick (if healthy) possible/probable RW - Ennis (lefty C/W but he's been playing RW for a while now), Eichel, Reinhart, Gionta, possibly Kaleta (if resigned)

Yes, they can sign him to a bridge contract which would definitely be the smart move at this point since we don't really know what we have in him at this point or where he'll fit on the roster.

Grigorenko needs a spot in the top 9 whether it's a center or wing. 2nd or 3rd line and put with at least 1 veteran that can help shelter/cover for him on his line. I think he'll develop with a little more seasoning but I don't think his value is high enough that it's worth trading him so I'd prefer to keep him and see what he can do.

So we're gonna put our captain and the only true RW currently on our roster on the 4th line so we can put a bunch of left handed centers at right wing? That makes no sense at all.

That's definitely my preferred method with dry rub wings. Whenever I order dry rub ribs I prefer a wet sauce to dip them in or pour over the top.

I agree. The examples are horrible but statistically speaking they are anecdotal at best, similar to the stump speech examples of people brought up by politicians at rallys and debates.

That's cool. Nothing wrong with mixing it up and giving people options. I've haven't really sampled the mustard based bbq very much but I definitely enjoy the vinegar based and spicy versions of the tomato based sauce. I haven't really cared for sweet bbq sauce since I was young. I love the flavor of the TN dry rub but still prefer a wet sauce whether it's ribs, sandwiches, or just chopped up on a plate.

I'd like to beat Boston, Carolina, and Philly in whatever order is feasible then beat Dallas for the Cup. The next season we can take out Pittsburgh, Ottawa, and Toronto before taking out McDavid and the Oilers to repeat our reign as Champions.

Always loved his fight calls, especially with Rob Ray throwing the punches. Can't remember which fight (or maybe he's said it multiple times) but I really like the one where he said Ray got 5 for throwing them and the other guy got 5 for catching them because the other guy got destroyed by Rob Ray. Always loved the Someone call a cop line on great saves as well. I think my favorite was when Pominville line when he was on a particular hot streak. He always did the population part, but I remember him saying something along the lines of "They are gonna have to open up a new Planned Parenthood Center in Buffalo because the population in exploding in Pominville" or something like that.

Sounds good, although I don't care for seafood so I would have left that portion out personally. You're in Georgia if my past post memory serves me correctly, right? What style of barbecue sauce do they use in your neck of the woods? NC is known for the vinegar and red pepper flakes, SC is known for mustard base, and TN is known mostly for dry rubs but I don't really know about Georgia. Do they use a tomato based barbecue sauce like TX and MO? Is it spicy or sweet?

I hope they give Eichel a chance to center the top line immediately and give him a chance (20 games or so) to sink or swim unless it just appears completely obvious that he isn't ready. If he's getting beat like a rented mule then either give Reinhart a chance or move Zemgus back up to the top line to allow the young guys to be sheltered a bit and work on their flaws and get through their growing pains.