Sharpshooter

WWE definitely did Deonna dirty, too, so good for her there. I'm also glad to see Eric Young back as well. I'm glad they are much more stable. The last few years have not been great, and I just stopped watching. So, if they are headed in the right direction, that's great. There was a time where I enjoyed Impact more than any WWE programming. Right now, WWE is solidly in third place now, it's pretty crazy. I haven't checked out NWA, so I can't comment on them.

Right. It's not "cancel culture." It's a loudmouth not understanding he doesnt' have verbal immunity when he's representing his company.

 

If JR was secretly recorded shooting the shit at a private event, I'd agree with you. He wasn't. He was recorded as a willing participant on a podcast/radio program as a representative of NBC. He violated their terms. He was fired. There is no injustice here.

 

Although, if he was caught on recording saying it as an employee of NBC, I bet the same thing would probably happen. I mean, we've seen people get blacklisted for lucid tweets made, like, eight years ago. But anyway, I think this is finally it for JR.

You keep conflating how people talk and how spokesmen/women talk on a national platform while representing a company. They're not the same thing.

 

You can say whatever the hell you want. If your company sends you on television or on the radio on their behalf and you say shit that violates the company's policies, guess what's gonna happen?

 

This is why I'm surprised that JR has still managed to be on TV all these years. I know this case was pretty extreme, even compared to what he's said in the past. If he doesn't get banished this time, I don't know what it will take. Like I said, I'm surprised NBC, or any nationally televised network has kept him around. He's certainly known to have loose lips.

Blanchard is rumored to have demanded $150,000 from Impact just to return their championship belt. She's fuckin' crazy.

 

LOL! Wow. And WWE wants to touch that? I doubt it very much, I don't care how many female wrestlers they've lost, or will lose.B-A-G-G-A-G-E.

Blanchard is rumored to have demanded $150,000 from Impact just to return their championship belt. She's fuckin' crazy.

 

LOL! Wow. And WWE wants to touch that? I doubt it very much, I don't care how many female wrestlers they've lost, or will lose.B-A-G-G-A-G-E.

He's there in a professional capacity. That's the problem for NBC - he's a hockey broadcaster for a major network appearing on a hockey podcast owned by one of the largest sports media outlets to talk about hockey. He's not just a former player here. He represented the company in a professional environment and talked about having a threesome with his wife and his smokin' hot coworker. Imagine you said that to a client or in a meeting - on a recording, no less?

 

It's not locker room talk when it's broadcast to anyone who wants to hear it while you're representing your company in a professional capacity.

 

He certainly hasn't done himself any favors in the past. I'm honestly surprised he's been kept around as long as he has in the TV world. It's not like NBC didn't know what they were getting into when they chose to have him as a representative.

I haven't watched Impact in a long time. I might have to start again. They brought in Deonna Purrazzo for their already stacked women's division, so I'm happy about that. I still can't believe the rumors of WWE being interested in Tessa Blanchard, though. They are usually pretty staunch about bringing in overly outspoken people. We'll see.

I haven't watched Impact in a long time. I might have to start again. They brought in Deonna Purrazzo for their already stacked women's division, so I'm happy about that. I still can't believe the rumors of WWE being interested in Tessa Blanchard, though. They are usually pretty staunch about bringing in overly outspoken people. We'll see.

Have you heard how women talk about guys, married or otherwise sometimes? You should hear some of the stuff they come up with. It should go both ways. Personally, I absolutely wouldn't speak to a woman that way anyway, but I mean, they aren't totally innocent either from speaking provocatively in the work place or anywhere. If a bunch of married women/celebrities had a sports show or whatever and they were speaking the way Roenick did about guys, is that alright? Because I guarantee the backlash would not be the same.

RedTails or Sentinels would be good.

I'd venture a guess that since NBC has numerous news arms, most of their higher profile employees likely have contractual clauses preventing them from speaking at major political events. I'd imagine that this is pretty common among news outlets; you're highly unlikely to see Paul Krugman or Rachel Maddow speaking at the DNC, for example.

 

Also, can we not do the whole cancel culture thing? It's not a useful lens for understanding this, nor like...99% of the things its blamed for. This is a pretty black-and-white thing; JR said things about a co-worker that are in clear violation of NBC's policies. You can probably argue that the punishment was too severe, but it's not like JR's got much to stand on to say he didn't violate the company policy.

 

Yeah, I mean, he's always walked a fine line. I'm honestly still surprised he's on TV at this point, even before all of this. It's not like he can apologize and people would be alright with it. He certainly hasn't done himself any favors in the past, I will say that.

EC3 and Heath Slater both made appearances on the last Impact. I'm glad EC3 is back there after WWE did him dirty (again!). Hopefully Heath can become more than just a jobber, he definitely has a lot more to offer. Watching wrestling without fans really sucks, though, as I'm sure it sucks for them having to wrestle in front of no fans. Hopefully next year!

EC3 and Heath Slater both made appearances on the last Impact. I'm glad EC3 is back there after WWE did him dirty (again!). Hopefully Heath can become more than just a jobber, he definitely has a lot more to offer. Watching wrestling without fans really sucks, though, as I'm sure it sucks for them having to wrestle in front of no fans. Hopefully next year!

I don't know if you can take joking around or having fun on a podcast or whatever as gospel. I'm not saying I, myself, would go out of my way to say it, but it's just some sports talk show. It's just that now everything is taken to the nth degree. You get a bunch of guys around talking about women, guess what, there's probably going to be some things said. I know it's not radio, but still, it's kind of expected for men to talk that way. It's been like that for generations. But, it's 2020 and it's trendy to 'cancel'.

The Czechmates would like a word...

 

Touche! How can I forgot about those guys and their cringey skits and commercials!? Maybe on par with the FLY line? Plus they were better (and together) longer.

He got fired for saying that!? Man, you really can't say anything anymore. I think I've developed more into a mute as I've gotten older.

With the exception of the FLY line for about two months, that was the most entertaining line they've had. I know Jagr made those two much better, but they still fed off each other really nicely. That whole line and season is just really memorable to me.

Play smarter, Brendan. They need as much depth as they can muster for the bottom six, this certainly does not help.

So this was actually the impetus for the thread. The question isn't so much whether you want a 1st overall pick or a Cup. If you told me I would be GUARANTEED a Stanley Cup in exchange for forfeiting all first round picks for the next decade and having an average roster age of 35, I'd do it in a heartbeat. The Cup is the end that justifies all means.

 

This being said, likelihood and probability must be factored into the calculus. This is why I was so opposed to the MSL/Yandle/Staal trades. The "one last piece" myth can really screw you up if you're not as close as you think you are. And we all know losing on purpose isn't really an option here. It's not like the Rangers can choose to mail it in and pray for the draft lottery to go their way.

 

But this is uncharted territory. It's the Wild West of playoffs. There's no raucous Garden crowd, just as there are no blaring airhorns (still convinced that's piped in by the arena, by the way) followed by "Let's go Caps!" There is no home ice advantage, no momentum, and hell, you could even argue that experience is out the window too. Sure, Zdeno Chara knows what it takes to win more than Kakko does. Does that matter as much when literally nothing is the same as it normally is for playoff purposes?

 

The players will be counting on each other to get up for each match. They will feed their own momentum, not the crowd. This is why I don't necessarily agree with the assertion that if we get past Carolina (which is a big "if") we're dead in the water. There's nothing more dangerous than a team that believes in its own magic, and these playoffs were tailor-made for a Cinderella story. In my opinion, younger rosters have the edge here as it won't take them as long to get up to speed.

 

We were one of the hottest teams in the whole league going into the pause. It's not so much a matter of being better than the Bruins as it is a simple question of whether you believe, regardless of opponent, we are capable of winning 19 out of 33 possible games (57.58%). And for a team that I think went on a 16-6 run (I believe) after Shesterkin took over, anything is possible.

 

I think our chances are better now than they will be in even three years when the defense looks drastically different. The question is though, knowing that beating Carolina effectively eliminates the possibility of drafting another franchise player, do you think our chances of winning it all are greater than 12.5%? Shockingly, for me, who has always been a "glass half empty" kind of guy, the answer is yes.

 

All good points, and honestly, they probably do have a greater chance of winning it all than they do the top pick. Like you said, this is a unique circumstance, and makes this arguably the most wide open Stanley Cup playoffs ever because of it. I'm not too worried about guys like Panarin and Zibanejad getting back into things quickly, even though they, and the team had a lot of momentum before the pause. I'm still expecting Shesterkin to start. Right now, he's their best goaltender and this is the playoffs. He's one of the reasons they were sniffing a playoff berth before COVID. Playoff hockey with no crowd is going to suck, though. But, like you said, perhaps some teams more than others rely on that. There are definitely arenas that are tougher to play in because of it.

If they lose to Carolina, they get some playoff experience and a chance at the number one pick. If they don't beat Carolina, they get even more playoff experience, but no chance at the number one pick. Since I don't see them winning the Cup, the playoff experience and a chance at the number one pick is a little more enticing. I mean, say they get to the third round and lose. Yeah, they get even more experience, and it's still a win of a season in my book, but they lose a chance at an excellent player. This team is still headed in the right direction, but considering where they still are, another top pick certainly wouldn't hurt.

To me, this is sort of reminisce of the 2005-2006 season where I thought Jagr should have won the Hart, but it went to Thornton instead. I know he was insane when he was traded to the Sharks that year, but I think almost everyone knew who the real MVP of the league was that year. Jagr did wind up getting the Pearson, and he said that meant more to him because it's voted by his peers. I mean, it wouldn't be a total blindside if Draisaitl won the Hart, like when Thornton did, but it's just the situation reminds me of '06 a bit. So, I think this is the award he gets and one of the two Oilers gets the Hart.

Shut up, Brooksie!

I like them a lot. I wonder if they're going to keep the alternate logo/jersey they had, that paid homage to the original Ottawa Senators team.

Baseball next Thursday and hockey the week after! YAASSSS!!!

So, the draft will be happening around when Opening Night usually is, and the actual opening night is a few weeks before Christmas. lol So weird.