Winger Kris Versteeg a Flyer for (2) 2011 draft picks

Tonight around 6pm, TSN.CA's Bob McKenzie broke the news via Twitter that the Flyers had traded 2 draft picks in the 2011 NHL Entry draft to the Toronto Maple leafs in exchange for 24 year old RW Kris Versteeg.

Flyers' fans are familiar with the 5'10 180 pound winger from last year's Stanley Cup finals when Versteeg tallied 5 points and was a +3 in 6 games as a key member of the World Champion Chicago Blackhawks. Following the season the Lethbridge Alberta native was shipped north of the border to the Leafs as the Hawks roster was decimated in order to fit within the construct of the NHL's 2011-12 salary cap.

Versteeg, in my opinion is very much a core type player. Dont be fooled by the fact that he has moved around a bit here in the last year. As I mentioned, Chicago was in a unique predicament and his departure was due to his cap hit of 3.083 million and not his abilities. As for why Toronto would part ways with him? My guess would be that Leafs G.M. Brian Burke has some other moves he would like to make and adding the 1st and 3rd round picks from the Flyers to his arsenal were too good to pass up. The Leafs aren't going anywhere this year and Versteeg's talents were being wasted there anyway. The Leafs are in dire need of a superstar and to be quite honest, their fans deserve it. This deal and the assets they have added may just help them toward that end.

Now, as for why Kris Versteeg is worth 2 high draft picks...He is a very skilled and talented 2-way forward capable of playing both on the power play and the penalty kill units. As I mentioned previously, he is only 24 years old, that along with his skill set and versatilty very much fits in with the nucleus of this Flyers team. Also this is no rental situation. He is under contract through the 2011-12 season and will still only be eligible for restricted free agent status after that. Meaning he would still remain under Flyers control beyond next season if the oraganization so chooses.

This season while playing for the lowly Leafs he posted 14 goals, 21 assists in 53 games and projects for 21 goal 31 assist season. Throw out his -13 on a bad Toronto squad as he is a career +22 player otherwise. He also plays the game with an edge that Philly fans will enjoy.

If you can't tell by now, I am very much in favor of this move. I have liked Versteeg for some time and am thrilled to finally get the opportunity to see him in a Philadelphia sporting his #32 sweater. I m exited not just because of who Versteeg is as a player but because I really believe that he, moreso than any player available, will fit perfectly onto this roster and into this locker room.

Ahh...#32...Murray Craven...Daniel Lacroix...Kris Versteeg. Anybody got any other former Flyers' number 32's?

76ers tame T'wolves 107-87 to climb within 2 games of .500 mark

Trap game. That is what this game had written all over it. In the past this Sixers team would most likely have suffered a let down just one night removed from their emotional upset victory of the Spurs  They shook off a somewhat sluggish start, refused to fall into the trap, and managed to win a road game going away 107-87 vs the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves (13-41).

Up 54-50 at the half the game had the look of one that could go either way. The Sixers took control in the 3rd quarter and once the lead reached double digits you never really got the feeling that the Wolves had enough in the tank defensively to get the stops needed to forge any semblance of a comeback.

Behind improved performances by Andre Iguodala, Lou Williams, and Jodie Meeks the Sixers found themselves with a comfortable lead midway through the 4th quarter. 7 Players scored in double figures but make no mistake, the star of the game for Philadelphia was Thad Young, who pumped home 18 points on 9 for 13 shooting. Thad finished the game with a game high +26. That was good for 6 points better than rookie Evan Turner who was solid with 9 points, 8 boards and 4 assists in a 32 minute run.

Next up for Philly is a nice 2 day layoff before they head to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies (29-26) Tuesday @8pm.

76ers upset Spurs 77-71, handing them only their 9th loss of the season

The ever improving Sixers took another step in their development tonight when they defeated future hall of famer Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs 77-71 at the Wells Fargo Center. It marked only the 9th time all season that the Spurs were on the losing end of a game.

Jrue Holiday who had been slumping recently had a solid bounce back performance en route to 27 points and 5 rebounds. The new point forward system coach Doug Collins is running through Andre Iguodala has taken the ball out of Holiday's hands. His assists, and overall game have suffered as a result. We can only hope that tonight is a sign that Jrue has embraced the change, adapted accordingly and made the proper adjustments necessary to succeed within the framework of the offense.

Consider this, the 76ers defeated the 44-8 Spurs on a night where Andre Iguodala and Lou Williams combined for 5 of 28 shooting and had only 13 points total. This young Sixers team is not suppose to be able to win games when that happens. Elton Brand continuing his best season in Philly, only had 6 points but was a major factor as he pulled down a game high 17 rebounds and blocked 2 shots. Spencer Hawes had one of his best games of the year with 13 and 8 respectively. Thats not suppose to occur vs. the likes of Tim Duncan, DeJuan Blair, and Antonio Mcdyess but it did tonight.

Every so often teams will sneak up and win a game they aren't suppose to win. Often is the case with young teams that don't know they are suppose to roll over and play dead when the top teams come to town. Its just the nature of pro sports. But this isn't one of those such instances. This has a different feel to it. This team has been building toward this for awhile now. The confidence has been growing, 1st with the moral victories found in narrow defeats and now with outright victories against the NBA's elite.

The biggest message that should be taken from tonight's victory is that this youthful Sixers group has learned how to win the close games. How to execute down the stretch and even more impressively, how to do it against the good teams. Thats something this team will take with them long after the enjoyment of tonight's victory has worn off. Even if they fail to realize it, they will reap the benefits of such success as it leads to future successes.

That shows just how far this group has come. They once had to derive their lessons from moral victories. Now they get to enjoy actual victories, against great teams, like the San Antonio Spurs.

Monster energy drinks and the shocking oversight

My energy drink of choice is the low carb and absolute zero products put out by Monster. The company was launched out of Corona California back in 2002 and in recent years they have carved a nice spot for themselves sponsoring many athletes and events across the extreme sports landscape. BMX and motocross riders, skaters, snowboarders and the like can often be seen rockin' the big "M' somewhere on their gear. Even the athletes that are under contract to rival companies, more often then not fly through the air with the Monster logo easily visible to anyone within camera shot. Product placement at it's finest. Red Bull may claim to "give you wings" but the evidence at the X-Games would suggest that Monster should lay claim to any such boast.

The folks at Hansen natural, founders of Monster energy have been in bed with both of the heavy hitters of the cola wars, Coke and Pepsi and even Anheuser Busch.to help their product be mass produced, distributed, and marketed globally. With access to the marketing and advertising expertise of such giants, I found the following oversight to be both shocking and unforgiveable.

As a 2 can per day Monster energy drink junkie I always have my fridge stocked. Other than my junk, Its the 1st thing I reach for each and every morning as I try to find the strength to do battle with the world that awaits outside my door. Now, I fancy myself as a pretty perceptive cat(although my girlfriend claims I didn't notice the new kitchen mat for nearly a month although I believe I did notice it at some point, but my mind, in efforts to protect me from the trauma, blocked out the memory since the mat was valentine's day themed and had a big gay red heart on it).

Anyway, I'm pretty good at spotting the IMPORTANT things like other people's flaws, mistakes, shortcomings, etc., its a gift I know, so I could not help but notice the egregious error made in the manufacturing of this particular Monster Energy can. As I mentioned it was morning so I was multitasking. Shaving, take a sip, shave some more, take another sip. You get the picture. There I am in front of the mirror, can in hand, sweet nectar of life about to touch my lips when I notice that the opening from which I am drinking, the only opening,  is located on the exact same side of the can as the only big Monster "M" on the entire can!

How can they allow this to happen. If this were my company, the marketing and advertising execs responsible for this travesty would find themselves out of work quicker than Tony Hawk's hips rotated during his groundbreaking 900 at the X-Games. The thought of anyone drinking a Monster with only the nutritional info being visible to onlookers might just be the biggest black eye for ad executives since Reebok gambled and lost on Dan & Dave striking gold multiple times at the 1992 summer olympics.

Whats next, McDonald's thinking its a great idea to make people read the fat content of a Big Mac before letting them purchase one?

My shock is derived from the society in which we live. There was an era when Times Square in Manhattan(or anywhere in Tokyo for that matter)  was a true sight to behold. A jolt to the optic nerve. The flashing lights, the branding, the total saturation of product placement was almost too much to comprehend. It needed to be seen more than once to fully appreciate it(you know, like the Usual Suspects?). We are not in THAT era anymore. Ads are everywhere. We are constantly under siege as Madison ave does all it can to ensure that we can't so much as wipe our asses without hearing Mr Whipple's voice telling us to not squeeze the Charmin.

So, my disbelief stems from the basic question of "how the hell did they overlook such a simple thing?" I mean somewhere somehow someone went to all the trouble of printing ambulance backwards on an ambulance so we could read it in our mirrors. You know, cause the sirens and big flashing lights aren't enough for some retards to realize they need to get the hell out of the way. So how do you manufacture a can of Monster and not have the logo facing out for the world to see? Its just inexcusable. Seriously, next time you watch a commercial for anything take notice. If its a Doritos commercial I guarantee you that the hippee stoner lookin' dude on the couch with the munchies chowin' down will have the side of the bag with the name on it facing the camera.

I am a fan of Monster and therefore want it to do well. Much the same way I go out and actually buy cds from my favorite Heavy Metal bands and go to their shows. For the selfish reason of keeping them prospering and thus easily accessible to me.

Hope that you all understand.

Blog version 2.0 redux preview

I generally will only post here when I feel passionate about a specific topic, idea, or concept. If you follow this blog you will most often find yourself reading about sports, entertainment, politics, and whatever other diversions that "The Man" is using to keep us occupied and without focus. Haha!


I will also use this blog to post about things that irk me. As I age I have found that the list just grows longer. So, to avoid an aneurysm, I will vent here from time to time.

Example; We (my live in girlfriend Laura and I) found this (almost) perfect pub. I made the observation that they kept the place too bright. She loved the place as did I, but I for some reason, unbeknownst to me, lack the desire and ability to ignore just how close the owners had come to achieving perfection, only to fall short due to their choice of setting on the dimmer switch. As a bar biz worker for the past 17-18 years I found it to be negligence of almost a criminal nature. Needless to say, Laura, while I believe sharing my opinion, did not come close to sharing my passion and disdain for such an oversight.

This, according to my significant other, is my biggest character flaw. I have this ability to find the negative even in the most positive of circumstances. I see her point but in my opinion I am just more observant than others. I am not a sheep. I feel it is my duty to point out flaws, mistakes, descrepencies, omissions, and random acts of ignorance and/or stupidity. And so what if I am constantly pointing out how things can be made better? After all I am only doing so in an effort to make my little fraction of the world more enjoyable to me.

Oh well. In my quest to keep Laura around to be my wife one day I figure I had better spread my neurotic thoughts amongst the masses and spare her the anquish of being the lone member of my support group.

Join me. Won't you?