nj96

Just a little background - I'm a full season ticket holder whose wife just had our second child in 14 months two months ago. So now we've got a 16 month old and a 2 month old... As you can guess, we're not making many games... Our Devils attendance loss is your gain! I'd like to sell them to fellow Devils fans where I can, so here it is... I've got 14 of the remaining games for sale if anyone's interested, including the Penguins game tonight. http://www.michaelaanddan.com/Devils.asp I'll even take 10% off the top if you buy multiple games. There's a link at the top to email me any requests. Thanks a bunch!

Anyone upset about Oates leaving has forgotten about our complete inability to score a power-play goal, which, as I understand it, was the whole point of having Oates in the first place. If the team had at least a clue about running a powerplay we might have a 4th cup right now... With the talent we had out there, we should have been (way) better than we were. As for Larry, I think his time here has run its course. He's been good, but not spectacular, with our young talent. I'm actually pretty excited to see who PDB brings in. I'm really hoping it's someone from outside the organization. A little new blood in the idea department isn't a bad thing... Maybe they'll teach the team the illusive "one-timer" we've all seen other teams employ...

It was a lazy play by Timonen but Bryz is an NHL goalie. He might not be the best with a stick but he should be proficient enough to dump it to the corner or to either side. He had both his defensemen open and time enough to move it... That said, great play by Clarkson to initiate the play!

Thanks. Seems like he's usually pretty on for the rebound game (from what I can remember). Figured it would have been higher...

Is there any way to dig up Marty's GAA (or number of shutouts) in playoff games where he got pulled in the previous one?

Like the title says... 2 seats right behind our goalie of choice... I'd love to get $90/seat but will take a reasonable offer... The view from these seats is amazing and, the way we've been playing the past week or so, is bound to be full of action. Thanks!

I had something similar but it would open a popup every 5th time (or so) I would use google. Try using malwarebytes to see if there's anything kicking around. Good hunting!

I know this is really late but I can't go tonight... Anyone want them? I'd like to get $80 each but BO is fine considering the game starts in about 2 hours, $100 face. 2nd row behind Marty, Section 14. These are really great seats! Let me know!

One nondescript early-winter game in 2003, my girlfriend-at-the-time and I were sitting in our normal seats in the upper deck of Continental Arena just minding out business, watching the game. Somewhere around the end of the first period, a completely wasted, pretty rotund facepainter and his girlfriend sit directly behind us. There's literally no one else within 5-10 seats since it was an off game so we take notice (we saw them wondering around beforehand so we figured these weren't their actual seats) and continue watching the game, cheering, etc. About a minute or two after they sit down, he starts making grunting noises whenever we cheer or whatnot. For the next couple minutes it's like that which was starting to bug me. Then... The noises changed... What was a grunt became a gurgle. Without much warning, my entire back and right side were covered in a pink, foamy vomit that, to this day, I can't begin to fathom what he drank to create. I'm shocked - completely at a loss for words or actions... I stood up and looked at the guy. He was sitting back, almost passed out, with his girlfriend looking at me like, "What?" The usher came up with security and escorted us all down to the office. They got the boot, after much arguing by the facepainter, as we tried to get ourselves cleaned up. We got sent up to the ticket office to get our seats moved for the rest of the game (which was in about the middle of the second period at the time) where we were told that we could only get moved to seats within our ticket bracket, meaning we couldn't move up at all... So, we ended up sitting 5 rows forward in the same section. Pretty lame, Devils Front Office... To this day it's still a sore spot... We ended up having to get her leather jacket dry-cleaned and I (stubbornly) resurrected my jersey with Fast Orange to return it to its original white color... We never did get a call from the guy, either. My number was on the little security report just as his was but never got a "Hey, sorry I threw up on you" call... I see the guy around at games every now and again, usually drunk as ever, greasily fumbling his chubby, drunken ass through life.

Unfortunately, sometimes you've got to call a repair guy... They've got specialized tools and knowledge and can probably diagnose the individual part that failed quickly instead of narrowing it down and throwing parts at it... That said, it may be worth replacing... It's probably nowhere near as efficient as today's models so switching would probably save you money on the electric bill as well as keep your food colder than it is now... If you decide to try and fix it and need parts, i've always used www.repairclinic.com for what I can't find at HD or Lowes. Good Luck!

As much as an unmotivated goof of a hockey player as he is, I would take him back in a heartbeat just to play with Kovalchuk. Think about it... Gomer's prime years were playing with Mogilny and to a lesser extent with Elias and Gionta, both in their prime. In 2000, he was a rookie with something to prove, then in 2003 he had Burns "motivating" him. Now, after his game declined, and balded, he's got something to prove again and is still one of the best puck movers in the game (when he's motivated). And let's face it, for as good a goal scorer as Kovalchuk is, he's nowhere near an elite stickhandler. More times than not, the puck magically jumps off his stick as soon as he gets moving. Kovy's a shooter plain and simple and one of the best in the game today. Give him someone who can pass the way Gomez can and it'll be scary...

Can't decide between rudderless or heartless...

With the Chara hit and all the press the headshots have been getting since the NHL opened up I was wondering where everyone stands on something. Ever since the NHL opened up it seems like more and more players are getting hurt with a growing number of those being in very prone positions. In the old days, when the players getting hit were held more accountable if they got hurt (ie "hey, he should have had his head up"), "clean" hits were taken care of within the the scope of the game (harder hitting, fighting, etc. as retaliation). Personally, and I know I'll catch some heat for this, I feel that the NHL should be responsible for punishing elbows, forearms, etc. to the head but "clean" hits that happen to hit the head should still be allowed and that players should be more responsible for not putting themselves in dangerous situations. You would never see a player intentionally lean his head towards the boards when a defender is coming up from behind or a player reaching, completely stretched out with a defender closing in... The players are putting themselves in the dangerous situations to get the edge over the defenders because they know the defender shouldn't hit them hard or risk taking a penalty. So, my questions is: In a perfect world, what would you like to see: - NHL Crackdown - NHL hands out severe penalties for all headshots/prone hits. The game opens up but hitting all but disappears as players use the rules to their advantage. - Players - NHL punishes illegal hits (elbows, forearms, boarding, etc.) but players become more responsible for not putting themselves in dangerous situations. The game slows down a bit and a little finesse is lost. - Mixed - NHL cuts down on elbows, forearms, etc. but players are held more accountable for getting hurt in prone situations. - Old school - Mixed plus instigator rule is removed and players police themselves for dirty play ****** Sorry if this is very disjointed and written like a 10-year old... I'm at work writing between phone calls...

It's really amazing how bad he's gotten... I still believe he can be one of the best playmakers in hockey when he wants to. If only his work ethic and maturity were at the level of his raw skill... Oh, wait... He's not putting up the numbers because we're not using him properly... Riiiigggghhhhtttt...

This team has a lot of problems, one of which was the coach. Probably not the top of the reasons we suck this year but the easiest to deal with. Hopefully Lou doesn't stop here and either cleans house completely or deals with some of the other issues...

At a quick glance, I thought they were comparing the Devils to the Washington Generals... I must have been mistaken (although the resemblence is uncanny nowadays).

With all the threads pushing for a complete rebuild or calling for Maclean's head, am I the only one noticing some signs of improvement? The goal against Toronto was just another example of something that didn't happen at the beginning of the year... The man in front. That's just one of the basics I've seen flashes of from about 10 games ago on: - They've have guys moving toward the attacking zone as they dump pucks in instead of players moving parallel to the blueline or even away from the attacking zone. - They've been putting a man toward the net and getting a puck, if not to him, near him when cycling and on rushes - They are finally getting a screen in front! Nothing pisses me off more than 5 guys on the perimeter shooting to an unobstructed goalie. - They're actually doing things with purpose - like throwing a puck into the corner because a teammate is going there, not because it's away from everyone, friend or foe. Passing like they have a plan, not just because the player is undefended... Now if they would just have hours of passing and one-timer practice and Kovalchuk finally realize he's faster than most defensemen and can just skate around them instead of trying to go through them... While it sucks to watch this team in its current state, but I think they can really start rolling... Then a (hopefully) 100% Parise for the push... Maybe I'm the only one delusional enough to think that, though... Hey - they can only get better, right?!

I think it would be better to have a rally at NHL HQ as opposed to The Rock. Here's my reasoning: - You're looking for exposure. Nothing says exposure like a protest in NYC. Granted, with that kind of exposure also comes the attention of local law enforcement but, as far as I know, any peaceful rally should be covered by the constitution, no? It's not like we're inflating a giant rat or anything (although that would be hilarious)! - Even just a hundred or so fans would look impressive on a city street. The same number of fans at The Rock might look small and not draw the same amount of attention. - It would give the big networks (ABC, NBC, etc.) better access to cover it. I understand News 12 is our local news station but let's face it, the only time I tune in is to find something on a story that's too blah for the major networks to report. Anything to make it easier for the media to cover it, the better...

Going through this thread, there's a couple things I think are important (it started as 2 things but grew)... 1) This isn't that same team that was winning early on. With all the injuries came a lot of youth joining the lineup. Youth who were all playing for potential roster spots and trying to stand out instead of being happy as "part-of-a-whole". I think it was around when Pando and Oduya came back when this skid started and, not to overstate (or understate) the uselessness of Pando and Niedermayer, they are completely useless. I'd rather have a few hungry rookies in there and take our chances with a "strength-against-strength" defensive strategy instead of line matching... 2) There were a lot of games in the early run where the team gave up an early lead just to get it back in the third for the win. Maybe some luck was involved and they were great comebacks at the time but I think they were masking what was really happening with all those blown leads... 3) Basic plays like passing, one-timers, finding space to receive the puck, etc. are nowhere to be found with this squad. It seems like everyone's waiting for the guy with the puck to do something while the guys with the puck is waiting for the rest of the people to do something... It just seems like there's no one on the team (other than Parise) who's saying "give me the puck". 4) I've felt this team's leadership has been in question since the Scotts left. Maybe I'm just not down with an offensive leader or maybe Elias and Jamie just rub the wrong way from a leadership perspective or maybe it's because Jamie cries like a little girl whenever he gets called on a penalty... I won't revisit what's in the "team softness" thread but that's a case in point as is the Marty/Avery thing. 5) Brodeur needs to be rested. Period. There's absolutely no reason he's playing as much as he is (along with some back-to-back games) when there's a compressed schedule and the olympics to deal with. He's not 25 anymore... Personally, I think this team's been slowly deteriorating for a couple years now. From the last cup team, some serious talent has walked out the door (not that I'm saying we should have signed Gomex, Gionta or the like) to be replaced by lesser parts. Even the 4th line who could always be counted on for energy and a goal here and there have disappeared. That said, they have talent now and, with the parity in the league as it is, it should be enough to make things interesting... Let's just hope it's because the whole team's tired... Because if this team doesn't pull out of this soon, we're going to end up fighting for 6-8 with 7 other teams and I don't like the odds there, especially when 2 of them seem to have our number...

Coming from someone who just quit 251 days ago after 16 years, don't kid yourself... It's not a 3 day thing, it's not a 2 week thing... It's a lifelong decision and commitment. Just to feel normal again will take a while. That said, it will be hard, it will be challenging but it's also 100% worth it and eventually you'll look at people smoking and smile knowing you're not a slave to that addiction anymore. I used the gum and would recommend it to anyone. Make sure you actually read the directions as it's not so much actual "gum" per se as it is more of an artificial "dip" used to take the edge off the withdrawals... A lot of people say the gum or patch is just trading one addiction for another, here's my thoughts: the amount of nicotine in either is miniscule compared to a cigarette, the gum or patch are much, much safer chemical-wise so even if you did keep using them forever you'd still be better off, the whole point of them is to take the huge nicotine peaks and valleys of smoking and make them more of a straight-line that eventually drops to nothing. People are different and for some cold-turkey works but I wasn't one of them. The gum made it possible for me. I knew I couldn't be trusted to "know" when I needed a piece of gum so I just had a new piece every 2 hours. I didn't set a limit on how long I would have it in (usually lost all the nicotine by an hour). It made it very regimented and really simplified things... Eventually, 1.5-2 months down the road or so (I think), I just started to forget to put them in... I just started to carry one or two "emergency" pieces but rarely, rarely used them. Also be aware of the lovely little time called "No-mans land"... For me it lasted from around month 2 to 5. You're basically stuck in a world where nothing seems like it's worth doing and everyone's out to make your day worse. Nothing seems to be going right so what's the point... Just remember... Smoking is just another problem not the solution (the problems will still be there afterwards anyway) and every cigarette only fuels the desire, never quenches it. Then (right around that 5th month for me) the fog will lift and you're good to go! I would say look for either a local or Internet support group like quitnet.com (which is a little fruity but it's active and the people there will definitely know what you're going through). Just the little wisdom bits that people post is worth it. Plus, it's free! Also, if you're going to quit... Quit. Make the commitment and understand that to stay quit, you need to never smoke again (the scariest thing for me to think about when I was smoking). NOPE (Not One Puff Ever). So many people relapse after they're free because they think that just 1 couldn't hurt. It's an addiction and you need to treat it like one... If you want some more advice, just ask! I'm like a quitting spokesperson once someone asks me to be! -Dan

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I think Lou probably saw everyone just drifting further and further out and Julien not being able to pull them back in. This year hasn't been a good one regardless of points. Our top line has been bested by a rookie, a sophomore and the streaky Langenbrunner, our leading defence pairing can't stop giving the puck away or icing it, we really can't get the puck out of our own zone and the PP and PK aren't what they could be (although they've been better the past 2 games). Gomez is the heart of that top line and, like it or not, he needs motivating and Julien just wasn't cutting it. Gomez woke up under Lou last year and hopefully this year it will be the same. Granted, the injuries have hurt things, but it's not like the guy that were brought in were all that bad. Clarkson really sparked things and Pelley played well. They're not Shanahan and Draper, but for limited callups they didn't break up anything that wasn't broke before... Everyone got too comfortable, the callups were playing for something - spots in the lineup. That's why they looked so good... The EGG hasn't had that fire this year. Luckily the Parise line was playing like a veteran unit out there or we'd be out of the playoffs! I think that Johnny Mac and Laperriere were really who the players were listening to anyway and since Julien was basically bringing nothing to the table that the other two couldn't and wasn't turning the heat up after the lacadaisical (sp?) play for most of the season his time was up. Maybe Lou was just getting bored sitting behind a desk again...

The red is most likely meant for running the fan and light off different switches. The blue might be for a 3-way (hehe - sorry, had to). If you're going to be doing other electrical work (especially in an older house with "special" wiring), I would definitely invest in a multimeter and test everything! Saved my butt more than a few times (my house is "special", too). Even just a cheepo voltage tester would suffice. Glad to hear you've got it working! -Dan

First question... Do you have a voltmeter? If not, you definitely want to get one... It's a lot easier figuring stuff out when you can see which wires have voltage (plus, it saves you from getting unnecessarily shocked). Is the fan/receiver 3-way capable? Are the other blue and red hanging outside (like awaiting connections) or are they internal to the fan enclosure? If it's a 3-way that would explain all the extra hots. Plus, there's usually an extra hot in case you want to add a seperate fan switch (definitely worth the extra for the special switch). The instructions should say something about the other colors but they might be in a different section if they're meant for a different type of installation (like 3-ways or separate fan/light switch). What brand/model fan is it? Maybe there's an online manual that could help? Good luck! -Dan

The high-stick didn't look intentional at all, not that many of them are. It looked even more accidental than the majority of them. Zajac skated through the MTL players stick which bounced off Zajac's stick into his face. If it was the shaft that hit him it wouldn't have been too bad but the toe caught him square on the cheek. Definitely not worth all the hubbub. -Dan