getting married

This is no doubt be my last blog entry as an unmarried man.

Today at 4:00pm, EST I will wed the love of my life, LaResa. A lot of people have been asking me if I'm getting nervous or if I'm stressing. Yeah, a little stress has been creeping up on me, but besides the elope-ers, who's really got a stress-free wedding all planned out? Yah, not us. As far as nerves go, I've never been this certain about really anything before in my life. So, I can't exactly say that I'm nervous about anything. Yeah, it's a huge step in our lives, but its not one we weren't prepared to take. I'm much more nervous about moving to Tucson than I am about putting a ring on that girl's finger.

Hopefully, in little over twelve hours, the whole thing will be underway and going off without a hitch. I've never been more prepared to make this day something that Reese will remember for a lifetime. I'm destined to not screw it up. I've got a great supporting cast of groomsmen who have been with me every step of the way. I've got a lot in my to-be wife.

I'm a damn happy man right now and I'll be damn happy to have Mrs. Crockett spend the rest of her life with me. Here's to you, Reese!

child terminate

One of my side-projects lately, has been to convert SUYM from its current, early 2000's state, into a more manageable, long-distance friendly web site.

While going through some configuration, I found a pretty funny setting. It makes me think of a toddler terminator.
"I'll be back... after dinner, cuz mom says..."
HAH!

free agency: so far

Naslund and Kalinin are gone, having signed with the Rangers (ugh...). Jason Williams and Ladislav Nagy are the lone survivors still on my list, both all but guaranteed that they won't be Pens when the season begins. With the acquisitions of both Miroslav Satan (pronounced Shah-tan) and Ruslan Fedotenko, I seriously doubt either of my predictions from my original list will be headed to the Steel City. Satan fills the gap (but not the shoes of) Hossa created when he bolted. I always thought of Fedotenko (going back to his days with the Flyers) as a player that Ryan Malone should mirror. I firmly believe that Jordan Staal will benefit the most from Malone's departure, especially on the power play, but the Fedotenko signing certainly eases my mind if I ever worried about Bugsy leaving.

Now, my attention is turned firmly to some Finnish star - Janne Pesonen. I'm eagerly awaiting a write-up about him from some Pittsburgh-bias periodical so that I can finally get excited about him. Reports have Pesonen agreeing to terms with the Pens a few days ago, with a contract signing imminent. The important thing here is that he led the league in scoring last season. What league? Some league in Europe. Way too complicated to spell and too dulling to google. I wish there were more hype surrounding him.

My next question is what the heck is Pavol Demitra's deal? Surely he's got an offer or two after almost a week into free agency. Somebody's going to overpay for his services. I'm just glad it won't be the Pens. Hopefully it'll be somebody in the Atlantic! (heh heh heh...)

thank you, now move

Okay, so its five days until the Crockett wedding goes down and I can't put my thoughts together long enough to determine if I've got all of my "groomy things" in order. (Sounds like a title to an episode of Gumby) I've tried to make a checklist, but its so damn hard... (I'm so damn lazy!) Reese says I need to write thank-you cards for the groomsmen. Yeah, just what I'd want if I were in some dude's wedding... A thank-you card. Knowing damn well that I'll be fed to the lions if I don't write them, I'll probably end up writing them tonight. I'm trying to tie in some kind of joke along with a "National Treasure-esque" style of cryptography where I'll lead the groomsmen on an incredible adventure via riddle that will ultimately end in beer. That should be fun. Time to get creative.

I also need to get three quotes from moving companies in order to get my beloved knick-knacks from here to Arizona. I need to have things moved from Oil City AND Coal Center, so I've been trying to rehearse a way to coherently relay this bit of information to the high school drop out who will undoubtedly take my phone call when I ring these moving companies. God, I hate incompetence... (Please, let me speak to somebody who can effectively translate my details into a functional move...)

missed targets

I know I'm not sports/beat writer, but I find it creatively stimulating to imitate one. Like a "Crock on the Ice" segment on Channel 11 news wouldn't be the bee's knees...

Let's review my predictions:

Brian Rolston (Devils)
Sean Avery (Stars)
Dmitri Kalinin
Ladislav Nagy
Jason Williams

Two top-six forwards and an average defender. Still, getting two of those three wouldn't be at all bad. Though, I fail to see how signing Nagy or Williams will differ from the Ziggy Palffy signing a few years back.

Hossa signed with Detroit around lunchtime. (Completely ruined my lunch, btw.) Not that I thought he'd be back anyway... Hoped, not thought...

That leaves us with almost everyone from my "No!" list ("Fluke" Vrbata cashed in already. Guess where?). Strangely enough, an unconfirmed source reported earlier that the Pens had shown interest in the oft-injured Pavol Demitra. As talented as he may be, Ray Shero has to be aware of Demitra's inability to put together a meaningful season. Then comes the homebodies - Naslund and Jagr. Jagr wasn't even on my initial "No!" list because of how he acted on his way out of Pittsburgh. I can't imagine him wanting to come back, but then again maybe people deserve a second chance. Which is exactly what Naslund is looking for, from either Vancouver or Pitt. I'd be more inclined to take on Naslund's demeanor than Jagr's disasterpiece. I wonder what RS is thinking...

free agency: day 1

So the dust has settled on day one of free agency in the NHL. Much to my chagrin, but also par for the course, several savvy veterans were well overpaid.

Topping the chart, directly from the ruins of the original "Comedy Central Blue Line" stands Michal Rozsival, a now-wealthy chronic underachiever. His new contract stands at $20 million for four years (let's see, that works out to roughly $5 million a season...) Sergei Gonchar makes $5.5 million per season. You'll excuse me if I fall ill. I'll give you one guess where he went. Right back to New York. They also overpaid for Wade Redden who will be paid similarly.

Next up, we've got two signings out of Chicago which allegedly made Warren Buffett spin in his grave. (...yeah, he's alive... I know...) Chicago is a hockey city I believe I will never understand. It seems they address their future issues a bit too soon. Remember a few years back when they tabbed Adrian Aucoin as a UFA? What did that do? Well yesterday they nabbed goalie Christobal Huet and handed him a contract to the tune of... well, nobody really knows yet, but Huet was arguably the prize goalie of free agency so you know he didn't come cheap. Unless the Blackhawks trade Nikolai Khabibulin at some point during the offseason, they're right back to having goalie 1a/1b. I have no idea why they pour so much money into this one position. You can only have ONE goalie out there at any given moment. Its not like overpaying for two will make you any better. Overpaying for two defensemen? That might work, but not for two goalies. But speaking of overpaying for a defenseman, Brian Campbell became immediate legend in the general ledgers of GM's across the league when these same Blackhawks inked him to an eight year term worth... wait for it... $7.1 million per season. (following Warren B. shortly after hearing this was Gonchar) It's a good thing Chicago has all of those superstars in their front six to help justify these two signings. (sarcasm noted)

Tampa Bay has officially inked every Penguin on the 2005-07 roster that isn't named Crosby or Malkin. One has to wonder why Brooks Orpik is still lingering.

New Jersey rolled back the clock by signing both Bobby Holik and Brian Rolston, both members of the team during the late 90's. Isn't it fun to bring the good ol' boys home? (Jagr or Naslund anybody?)

My take on this mirrors Ray Shero's: wait it out. Sure, most of the talent is off the market. That's how day one's go during free agency. RS isn't going to fail the Pens. He's going to either find a bargain somewhere, or carefully plan how he splurges. My bet is on the former, but you never know. Hossa's still available...

the pens & free agency

I love this time of year. In little over an hour, the hockey world will no doubt be rocked by a wallet-fattening contract offered to a mediocre player who happened to have more shine on him than dust during the closing moments of the 2007-08 season. So goes July in hockeydom.

Most interestingly, and quite the contrary to my original predictions, Penguins GM and all-around good guy - Ray Shero - has offered contracts to each Marian Hossa and Brooks Orpik and was declined. At some point during June my gut told me that RS would have made quite an acceptable offer to one of our offseason big three (Malone, Hossa or Orpik). Now, the Pens are set see all three depart. Malone's already in Tampa, no doubt beachside drinking a tall, expensive cocktail. Hossa is expected to be the next to go, although there are still some unconfirmed rumblings that while he'll test free agency, he'll still give the Pens every chance to negotiate and may take less than he's worth to stay with a winning club. It's my experience that money can persuade in both directions, but what typically holds true in hockey is that good hockey players tend to be rich hockey players if left unsigned by July 1. The Pens aren't going to drop $7-8 million on this guy. So we'll wave a sorrowful goodbye to a heck of a hockey player. (Please, God, don't let him sign with the Rangers or Devils...)

I thought for SURE that if we didn't sign Malone or Hossa that we'd make every effort to sign Brooks. It's my opinion that the Pens could stand to lose Hossa and Malone and still be successful as long as they ponied up and offered Orpik a decent wage. Listen, the Pens have scorers. They have a fantastic farm system. They can recover from the loss of two top-six forwards. Before the Pens turned it around at about mid-season 2006-07, defense was a luxury. (Among the internet boards, the collective defense from about 2002-2006 was known as the "Comedy Central" blue line) Picture Brooks in a Sabres uniform about to unload out a thunderous hip-check on Crosby or Malkin. Things get a whole lot scarier than the mere loss of Hossa or Malone.

So now what? With those three most likely signing elsewhere, what other options do we have? The Pensblog put together a great list of free agents that may fit our system here. Here's my take on things:

First, make an effort to sign Brian Rolston. He's no Malone and certainly no Hossa, but he's a talented winger who's produced in one of the stingiest, defense-first systems in Minnesota. He's 35 years old and likely can't command the salaries our big three will.

Next, convince Sean Avery that he wants to play here. If and when the Penguins lose Laraque and Jarkko Ruutu, they all of a sudden look like pussycats. With no hulking defenseman and no lumbering, role-playing wingers, why not address the loss of a scoring threat and loss of tough guys in one move? Sure, Sean's gonna want paid. That's why I said convince.

If we need to replace Orpik, the Pens should first give a hard look at their minor-league talent, then call Dmitri Kalinin. He's no physical force, but he has some upside and he's very solid on the blue line. He'll probably come very cheap, too.

Finally, take a gamble. I'm looking at you Ladislav Nagy (you little instigator, you). He produced in Phoenix when he had some half-decent teammates (not that Phoenix was any good during his time there) but floundered on the AHL affiliate Los Angeles Kings. (Cmon, you really think Kings fans believe that they've been a true NHL team the past few years? Give me a break.) Nagy is the bona-fide high-risk, high-reward steal of free agency. (Sorry, Todd Bertuzzi) He's coming off a series of injuries that not only hampered my fantasy teams in years past, but will also hamper his quest for a lucrative contract. What's a one or two year deal going to hurt? He won't be expensive to roster and he won't be expensive to buy out if he flounders. Jason Williams should also be mentioned here. Do NOT sign both of them. It's one or the other.

Who shouldn't we sign? On the surface, Pavol Demitra looks like an interesting addition. He's a scoring winger, who can play center and could really gel with Malkin if given the chance. However, the fact that he hasn't played anywhere close to a full season since the lockout may prove that he's more risk than reward... Markus Naslund has groups in the area clammoring for a renewal of Pittsburgh marital vows. Granted he had hardly any support outside of the brothers Sedin in Vancouver, but he might be washed up. He could be an interesting pickup later in free agency, on the cheap... Oh, and GM's take note: Radim Vrbata IS a fluke...