My thoughts (Longwinded)

Well, I think it’s about time for my self imposed sabbatical after the Fleck cheap shot to end. I find it laughable that some of you and your little toadies think Gdogg has banned me from posting. That was something I chose to do on my own, simply because posting during the ruckus would have been a waste of time. Do I care what the GR crew thinks, frankly, some much more than others. I just stepped back and decided to take a break, I haven’t posted much since last week on any board and haven’t been posting much this year as it was. It’s nice to be missed, just like when some of you guys used to complain when the CHL-U got the exclusive rights to posting my thoughts first.

The Fleck cheap shot. The tape says it all. Intent, by a known cheap shot artist with a history of slashes, boards, and other match type majors who has been suspended for cheap shots in the past (Korbl) on the Thunder. Led with the forearm/fist/butt end and left his feet. 10 games, about right, it will be more than 10 the next time. Personally I would have gone with 6 more than Clayton will miss, to set a new precedent for all future offenses by anyone in the league. Do I think Fleck starts the day waking up and thinking “Who am I going to cheap shot today”? No, I think he does some stupid things in the heat of the battle, things he regrets later. Watch Fleck after he hit Clayton, his reaction is like “Oh crap, I did it again”. He seemed almost remorseful right after the hit. It’s like he became possessed and then regained control of his emotions and regretted what he had done. Still, do the crime and do the time.

Internet trolls. I’m a little pissed at how I reacted. There are very few posters who I trust when I read their opinions about away games. Colocoach and Dac from Colorado. OGR, Swill and a few others from BS. OKCBlazer1, Beamer, and Taos from OKC. Rob Orrick from Tulsa. The “Bulgy in the good spots” lux and rvrkings44 from Memphis. Everyone’s biased to a certain extent, some just do a better job of standing back and seeing the truth, not the just version they want to believe. There are trolls on every board, I got caught up in the heat of the incident. The opinions of 50-60 year old former goalies (back when goalie was the position you put a person who wasn’t good enough to skate up) and other tiny boys and girls really doesn’t matter. Bonehead play on my part.

On to the whole “Having a policeman on the Duda/Clayton line would have prevented this” nonsense. Marty McSorley’s presence on that line would not have prevented Clayton from getting laid out. Fleck saw an opportunity to make a run and took it. Teams do it every chance they get to the other star players. Joe Burton was always nicked up when he played in the CHL. Duda missed 3-4 weeks in the 99-00 season due to a cheap shot that screwed up his wrist. His line mates at the time? The legendary Kris Schultz and Travis Clayton. Other tough guys on that team? Trevor Converse and Mike Hiebert. Sure stopped Duda from getting hurt.

Blaming French and Presson for Clayton getting hurt. I was surprised and disappointed by the reaction by many of you. French gave that game away to make a point (Even though I think he could have won it and still made a point) and you get pissed because we lost. Many of those same carbon based life forms used to say “All I want is to be entertained and have the Thunder stick up for themselves". Make up your minds. We’ve got a great GM who is drawing 7K on a holiday weeknight and a coach that will be coaching at a higher level in a few years. And yet you revert back to the hating ways of old as soon as things get a little rough. Maybe you guys are like Sauter, the game has moved on and you haven’t. Maybe, you can’t change.

The “Info line” Yes, there are people who know more than the average fan. And there are people who learn about trades and callups before others. Does it really make a difference if you learn about LaPlante’s callup at 2pm or at 6pm? Will your knowing about it change whether or not he gets called up or returns? The answer is the same to both questions. No. The facts are there are some people who learn things sooner than others. I get info from several places. I just choose not to run to the Internet every time I learn something, maybe that’s why I keep getting info. I still firmly believe that the Thunder’s management shouldn’t be posting on either of the boards. That’s a battle you’ll never win, not matter what team you work for.

The playoff race. It’s clear that the three best teams right now are Colorado, OKC, and Wichita, probably in that order. Fortunately, if things keep going the way they are, all three can make the playoffs. The big battle will be for the 3 seed, since Bossier will back into the 2 seed by winning the worst divison in the CHL. The 3 seed won’t have to play Colorado, Wichita, or OKC, one of which will be the 1 seed. The South? It’s a one horse race, Laredo will back into the finals once again by not having to play any good teams. Plus they are still the real deal regardless.

Player moves. Do we need to make one or two more, you bet. Wholesale changes? No way. The addition of another scoring winger and a solid Dman will be what we need to beat the Eagles and make it to the finals. Wiebe or Rosendal might turn out to be that guy. The Dman will have to come from outside. Hopefully tomorrow.

McMillan. Anyone who wants to get rid of the best pure defenseman on the team and one of the best rookie Dmen in the league is retarded. Watch him for a few shifts. He makes Lizotte more effective, since he anticipates things so well on the ice. If he gets the puck in our end, he clears it. If he needs to pinch in to keep the puck in, he’ll do it. Does he go for the sellout check, no. He uses position and the boards to stop the opposing teams offensive rushes. Is he Kel Fels? Thank the Lord no. Get rid of McMillian? Brilliant.

Fairbarn. Another Dman cursed due to the fact he doesn’t go for the sellout check. Remember, this is the town that boo’d Cam Plante, a point a game defenseman. Wichita was the laughing stock of the hockey community (players and coaches, not Internet experts) for a few years due to that. Does he make mistakes, sure. Does he score and set up goals, you betcha. His vision on the powerplay is excellent and will improve even more, he’s getting the timing down with the wings on those passes to the post for the one timers by Clayton and Blaznek. Yeah, trading a first or second line Dman is a brilliant idea. Brilliant.

Blaznek. The top vote getter for the All Star game. Who voted? Coaches, along with some media reps. What a joke, what do the coaches know? Yeah, he’s the goldenboy, you earn that moniker when you lead the league in goals. Let’s go ahead and break up the leagues top line, brilliant.

Gdogg leaving. Don’t blame him a bit. Do I make fun of him, to his face, for passing out the flyers? Sure. Do I blame him as a “customer” of the GR (An incredibly overused term on this board) for leaving? Nope. You can envy him all you want (go ahead, you can admit it, you do), but there is no fan in the league with the presence that Gdogg and to a lesser extent, WAWAZAT have. Those two alone are the reason we get voted the most annoying fans every year. One of the years we got more votes than there were teams that made a trip to the Thunderdome that season. Think about that, teams voted for us even though they hadn’t visited Wichita that year. The Eagles know what a pain in the a$$ GDogg is and the world class trash he talks. Anyone else in the league get an autographed, personalized poster from the league champs? 99% of the Eagle fans and sponsors don’t have one.

GR Hooters contest. There are somethings you don’t see enough of. Only a perverted old man like Fyrfytr could get away with this one. Well done. I understand there was a top notch Hooters contest at WAWAZAT’s house on New Years Eve, unfortunately no photos were taken.

Gasmix. Needs to work more on his empty netters. You guys can hate him all you want, but I challenge you to put up your IQ and business acumen and results against his.

The Warrior. I’d pay $1,000 just to see what the Mudbug fans could come up with to put on the broadest shoulders among the CHL media.

Rajan’s Blog. Top notch, I’d like to see Roy Lang take up the slack and do something similar with a Northern Conference View.

The battle between the boards. We needed another board, one more family friendly, and more friendly in general. Does that make the GR the “bad” board. No, but it’s influence is reduced considerably. The new format isn’t as good, and now the Thunder fan base is diminished. People need to be able to post an opinion and not get jumped by the same half dozen posters for their mere bullying enjoyment. The GR is what it is. The TW Thunder board is what it is. Devin’s job isn’t easy, I used to have to monitor the CHL-U Thunder board and that was a pain in the a$$, I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. Still the social dynamics on the GR are Masters Level Thesis material.

I’ve rambled enough. I’ll still post from time to time, when I feel like it. I’ll still be at games and will swing by and say hi as I chase my son around during intermission. I can always be found on AIM as speedrissr. Just don’t hold your breath waiting for a response on every single issue, I’ve got more productive things to do with my time. I can always be found on AIM as speedrissr. A still hot wife and two wonderful kids. Watching, Playing, and Coaching Hockey. Golf. Friends (the flesh and blood kind, not the cyber buddy type). Winning online Poker Tournaments (thepokerdb.com is an excellent online tool if you want to get an idea how good a player is at Pokerstars, sadly, that’s the only site they cover). Gainful employment. Not getting slim. People can call scoreboard all you want on the Internet. I’ll stick to the ultimate Scoreboard, the one known as Life.

Al?

RLR

Damn, that post needs an intermission.


Good post.

Good job Speed and glad to see ya back on here even if it is not as often!!!

Solid!

I thought that was a pretty good post

What a blowhard. Glad to see you're still hanging around.

Quote:

by speedrisser Blaznek. The top vote getter for the All Star game. Who voted? Coaches, along with some media reps. What a joke, what do the coaches know? Yeah, he’s the goldenboy, you earn that moniker when you lead the league in goals. Let’s go ahead and break up the leagues top line, brilliant.

It's that kind of "in the box" thinking that will allow us to retain our solid third or forth place finish.

rovot wrote:

Quote: by speedrisser Blaznek. The top vote getter for the All Star game. Who voted? Coaches, along with some media reps. What a joke, what do the coaches know? Yeah, he’s the goldenboy, you earn that moniker when you lead the league in goals. Let’s go ahead and break up the leagues top line, brilliant. It's that kind of "in the box" thinking that will allow us to retain our solid third or forth place finish.

Ok coach Rovot..you know so much...what moves would you make? Impress us all with you hockey expertise. Spd...excellent post btw.

rovot wrote:

Quote: by speedrisser Blaznek. The top vote getter for the All Star game. Who voted? Coaches, along with some media reps. What a joke, what do the coaches know? Yeah, he’s the goldenboy, you earn that moniker when you lead the league in goals. Let’s go ahead and break up the leagues top line, brilliant. It's that kind of "in the box" thinking that will allow us to retain our solid third or forth place finish.

Judgeing from his logic, at this point, I'm thinking rovot lives in a box

Tap, tap, tap speed. Way to lay all out there. Well spoken.

Anyone who says I have bulges in the right places can say whatever they want, and I will be mesmerized.

Seriously, nice post.

Re: My thoughts (Longwinded)

speedrissr wrote:

Rajan’s Blog. Top notch, I’d like to see Roy Lang take up the slack and do something similar with a Northern Conference View. I used to have to monitor the CHL-U Thunder board and that was a pain in the a$$, I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.

Good post, good thoughts and I am also an avid reader of Rajan the Rayfans' blog. Just one thing about your days on the CHL-U, when do we get your exclusive piece on "The disturbing truth about MC21?"

Last edited by Predarat on Thu Jan 05, 2006 9:10 am; edited 1 time in total

Soild Speed, very Soild.

Glad to see you still around..

Great post speed, nice to see ya.

and speed..... according to gas on the empty netter, he was doing us a favor!

wow..... think highly of yourself??

speed, you have been a quality poster on this site and it's a shame you don't post more. Gdogg shouldn't have taken things so seriously, but I do understand. After all this is supposed to be fun.

speed

Tap, tap, tap of the stick to you. Excellent, intelligent post.

oscar wrote:

wow..... think highly of yourself??