The Sharks are one of the few teams that welcome back almost all of last years players. A core that includes so many talented youngsters its hard not to make comparisons to last years cup champions. The loss of Scott Hannan is a big hole that sophomore Matt Carle and Christian Erhoff seem capable of filling. On any other team Joe Pavelski would be touted as a big star on the rise but in San Jose he finds himself buried behind the talents of Thornton and Marleau. Look for this youngster to draw heavy media attention with a 55-65 point season. The losses of goaltender Vesa Toskala and forward Mark Bell may be addition by subtraction. Bell was a distraction with his off ice issues and Toskala kept former Calder winner Evgeni Nabokov from playing in many consecutive games.
The Sharks are my pick to win the Western Conference Championship in 2008.
POINT PROJECTION
Joe Thornton - 111 Patrick Marleau - 86 Jonathon Cheechoo -78 Milan Michalek - 76 Joe Pavelski - 58 Matt Carle - 51 Steve Bernier - 44
G : Nabokov - 39-18-4 and 4 Shutouts
ANAHEIM DUCKS
With so much parody in the NHL it is nearly impossible to repeat. The formula to do so would probably contain a young core of superstars much like an early 80's Oiler squad. The loss of Penner is a deep blow to Burke's Ducks that Brian did well to plug in his acquisition of former 90+ point getter Todd Bertuzzi. With the exception of Nicklas Lidstrom no defenceman brings more to the ice and locker room than potentially retired superstar Scott Niedermeyer. The loss of both Captain Scott and the Finish Flash are hard to come back from. Enter the new blood. Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry are two players on the brink of superstardom. Getzlaf is a born leader who surprised the hockey world as a solid two way player in the Ducks cup run. Corey Perry is a pure scorer with tons of finish. He is cocky and hates to lose creating a lot of tension on the ice. With Selanne gone Perry will benefit from a huge increase in ice time and the presence of both Getzlaf and McDonald. Look for the Ducks to be upended by the much improved San Jose Sharks.
POINT PROJECTION
Corey Perry - 81 pts Ryan Getzlaf - 76 pts Andy McDonald - 76 pts Todd Bertuzzi - 70 pts Chris Pronger - 68 pts * Bobby Ryan - 41 pts Mattheiu Schnieder - 38 pts
G - J.S. Giguere - 30-16-4 with 5 Shutouts.
DALLAS STARS
The Stars are old and seem close to an inward collapse that would see leaders like Modano, Zubov and Lehtinen unable to fend off the speed and skill of the new NHL. Marty Turco proved to everyone in last years playoffs that he is for real and is very much the cornerstone of this franchise. Youngsters Ribeiro, Jussi Jokinen, and captain Brendan Morrow will need to step their games up another level to lead this team beyond the opening round of the playoffs.
Point Projection
Brendan Morrow - 71 pts Mike Ribeiro - 68 pts Jussi Jokinen - 64 pts Mike Modano - 61 pts Philippe Boucher - 50 pts Sergei Zubov - 46 pts Jere Lehtinen - 40 pts
G - Marty Turco - 34-22-8 with 4 Shutouts
LOS ANGELES KINGS
Of all the teams in the NHL the Kings are the most likely to turn it around. This team is on the brink of scary...very very scary. Young Jonathon Bernier pushed Dan Cloutier off the team by outplaying the former 30+ game winner in every situation. Bernier has an incredible amount of poise and confidence and with all the talk about Jonathan Toews and Niklas Backstrom it could more likely be Bernier and Habs rookie Carey Price that battle it out for the Calder trophy. On D budding superstar Jack Johnson looks to learn from Rob Blake and hopefully pair beside him. Along with that current and future superstar pairing the Kings will also dress Oleg Tverdovsky, Modry, Preissing, Visnovsky, Stuart, and rookie Thomas Hickey.
The Kings first line is arguably the most underrated in all of the NHL. Sophomore Anze Kopitar finds himself between sniper Alex Frolov and sniper Mike Cammelleri. All three players have come into their own and will toy with opposing defencemen. Michal Handzus and Ladislav Nagy could see high output seasons with a relief of pressure compared to previous seasons.
POINT PREDICTION
Mike Cammelleri - 96 pts Anze Kopitar - 81 pts Alex Frolov - 80 pts Ladislav Nagy - 66 pts Lubomir Visnovsky - 60 pts Michal Handzus - 58 pts
G - Jonathon Bernier - 28-18-1 with 2 shutouts
PHOENIX COYOTES
Like a four year old swimming in a vat of coffee the Coyotes youth better be immune to fire or they will be severely stunted. Martin Hanzal and Peter Mueller lead the list of talented youngsters with lofty expectations pressed upon them. Radim Vrbata and Shane Doan will be the offensive leaders on this team and both should have career seasons; someone has to score. Ed Jovanovski can hopefully prove his worth after last seasons poor showing. Goaltending is a glaring hole with many faces in camp but none of them a proven starter. David Aebischer is the favorite to lead the way after a decent preseason.
POINT PREDICTION
Shane Doan - 68pts Radim Vrbata - 64 pts Mike York - 51 pts Steve Reinprecht - 48 pts *Peter Mueller - 44 pts Ed Jovanovski - 42 pts *Martin Hanzal - 38 pts
G - David Aebischer - 19 - 28 - 3 with no Shutouts
The Pacific Division will be a very important division this coming season. Are the Sharks the strongest team in the west? Will the Ducks repeat? Are the stars too old to compete with the current pace? Will the Kings surprise everyone and fight for their playoff lives? Will GM Don Maloney reinvent the broken Coyotes machine?
This ink-blot angel is for Zach Rock who I ran into at Flatstock on Saturday. Like a question 2004 Tyson would pose Zach asked: "Why aren't you making these?". So I came home and drew this on the wall. For you Zach but much more for me.
When it comes to science the path to acceptance is extremely slow.
Ideas are destroyed by unrelenting scrutiny and are torn apart using
the tools and formulas we currently understand. Real scientific
breakthrough often lies under dust for decades until someone with
imagination comes along and asks "what if?".
Are we living through such an era of marginalized exploration?
Absolutely. When millions of dollars of funding are involved and a
life's work is put into question science enters an arena of vicious
politics. An imaginative, yet simplistic view of the universe is
currently under the boot of the scientific arena but, where most
concepts fail the Electric Universe Theory is pushing through.
The Electric Universe Model is simply this: Electricity plays a much
larger role in the cosmos than is understood using the current
gravitational model where electricity is thought to have little to no
effect on the cosmos.
Electric Universe theorists claim that by repositioning the importance
of electricity in space we can solve many of the major holes in the
current gravitational model. Including the need for "dark matter", an
unobserved phenomenon theorized to explain observed and unexplained
gravitational anomolies.
Recently Electric Universe theorists caught the attention of the
scientific community when they used the Electric model to predict the
result of NASA's Deep Impact striking the comet Tempel 1 with an 820
pound copper shell. The chain of events predicted by the Electric
Universe scientists were noticeable more accurate than the expectations
of NASA.
For visible proof of the Electric Universe Model, ELM scientists point
to comets. Comets are currently understood to be made up of ice. As the
comet flies the ice vaporizes creating the glowing tail we can see from
earth. ELM scientists claim that comets are negatively charged asteroid
rocks that glow from electric discharge when they pass through
postively charged solar winds. July the 4th 2005 ELM scientists gained
a major victory in credibility as their predictions based of the model
were proven correct.
Today, virtually all financial and experimental resources in
cosmology are devoted to big bang studies. Funding comes from only a
few sources, and all the peer-review committees that control them are
dominated by supporters of the big bang. As a result, the dominance of
the big bang within the field has become self-sustaining, irrespective
of the scientific validity of the theory.* *From an Open Letter To The Scientific
Community; Published in New Scientist, May 22, 2004
Signed by 218 scientists, engineers and institutions as well as 187 independent researchers.
The most merciful thing in the world ... is the
inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents... The
sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us
little; but someday the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will
open up such terrifying vistas of reality... That we shall either go
mad from the revelation or flee from the deadly light into the peace
and safety of a new dark age.� - H. P.
Lovecraft
The story of the Zodiac leaves you wondering as soon as it ends. Was this a meticulous planner who evaded police for years with his brilliance and foresight, or was this a foolish petafile who followed a few simple rules and managed to get away because of luck and confusion?
A journalist, a cartoonist, and a homicide detective find themselves at the whim of the Zodiac. A decade of searching erodes a marriage, destroys a career, and finally causes an award winning writer to give up on himself. Excessive paperwork, lost communication between four jurisdictions, one mistaken police APB, and an overlooked phone-call clutter the case of the Zodiac. The least likely of all the characters hangs on in hopes that his book will finally bring the killer to justice and maybe even some closure for cartoonist Robert Graysmith. This movie is about obsession and who better to bring it to the screen than David Fincher, a director who has not only perfected haunting portraits of obsession (Se7en, Fight Club, The Game) but was a small boy living in San Fransisco in 1968 when the Zodiac threatened to shoot up school buses if the newspapers didn't print his coded messages.
The story of the Zodiac is one that plagued San Fransisco for 14 years and Fincher carries this psychological masterpiece on long enough that you empathize with the characters as the lack of resolution begins to wear on you. The violence of the Zodiac is deeply unnerving and unlike anything you would see on CSI or your typical action movie. You are given the characters just long enough to connect with them until the Zodiac shows up and causes you to flinch with every bullet shot and every stab of his knife. This movie is not for the easily upset. You will be bothered by the Zodiac, Fincher poses the character masterfully and you will hate him especially as the illusion of the Zodiacs genius begins to unravel.
The mystery of the Zodiac and the lives it destroys will mercilessly capture your imagination, imploring you to find the holes and put the clues together. Was the Zodiac an evil genius or a fortunate fool? Dont expect the twists and turns to be the "wow" factor, the realistic portrayals of the characters, their dedication and the method of both the Zodiac and his pursuers are the focus of Finchers unforgettable classic. Fincher will pull at your heart and mind while still leaving you lost in mystery.
The story of the Zodiac leaves you wondering as soon as it ends. Was this a meticulous planner who evaded police for years with his brilliance and foresight, or was this a foolish petafile who followed a few simple rules and managed to get away because of luck and confusion?