thadthrasher

@frescoelmo that literally looks amazing. That with a good 'ol margarita....oh man!

As I sit here working in my home office I thought to myself, "You know what would make this work so much more enjoyable? An ice-cold beer!" So, I walked upstairs, said "hey" to my bloodhound, and opened my fridge. Inside was this treasure... Now, as I sip on my beer I am curious as to what drinks the VHL community enjoys. Fill the comments with your drink of choice!

That one always cracks me up. When he smacks Merideth, screams and runs I lose it everytime. @Smarch

Creed is that crazy uncle that shows up to your birthday part brining you a dead bird. Then you realize you don't have a crazy uncle and that it's just the homeless guy from down the road.

Yo, Robert is legit. I wouldn't mess with him at all. He's the lizard king!

It's clear that everyone has a favorite character on one of the greatest television shows ever created. I would like to know why your favorite character is Dwight.

I seem to start the same way, with practice facility. But, I like to write, so I usually move right into coming up with media spot ideas. After doing that I go through a review a few spots or graphics, and then if time allows for it I'll work on a graphic myself. Honestly, making a graphic, even a simple player card, is harder for me to do than to write 500+ words. I'm getting my Master's Degree, so writing ideas or topics at length is not really a challenge for me.

This is a great looking graphic! It's appealing to the eye, has enough contrast to make it seem gritty, and the lens flare at the top right is cool. I think my favorite part of it is how the color change effects visor. This is a great example of how a graphic can look amazing without being overly complicated. Well done! 10/10

Obviously.

Or mine

Not bad! Will you also be bringing the rum?

Now, I'm new to the league, but I can't say I agree with your assessment. Sure, I haven't been here long at all, but I'm having a blast. I'm able to write things that are semi-serious while throwing in a bit of humor and doing so makes my player progress. I think it's awesome! The discord community is a bit different, sure, but it's fun to have a place to go where discussion often changes. Yea, there are inside jokes and it can be hard to understand, but that's not the end of the world. There are jokes that are super NSFW, but that's the risk you run when being a part of an online community. The GM's that I've talked to while being here have been nothing but pleasant and helpful, reaching out to me even though I'm not one of their players, simply seeing if I need help or have questions. I'm sure that it is odd to see how this league has changed over the years, but that doesn't mean what we have now is bad. With that, tenure is a pretty dumb thing to mainly consider for jobs. Those who decide should be looking at qualifications, not simply tenure. The whole tenure idea is why we have unqualified people in areas of work where more qualified people could go. Overall, I appreciate your honesty in this forum. It takes a lot to share what you actually feel about what is going on, and that's a valuable thing. 8/10

Tensions continue to grow around the league. Many players who were sent home early are tense over their lack of playoff hockey. Those who are still in the running for a cup are feeling tense as the games continue to press on. Tensions on the ice are rising as teams continue to face one another in heated competition. Usually, after the finals, the tension seems to cease, but this year there seems to be a push to relieve the tension sooner rather than later. Starting the league-wide Costume Party 2020, Halifax 21st backup goaltender sent out a massive email to all players, staff, and GM’s Sales’ ambition for league cohesion is notable, and we know that the Halifax management certainly respect this older rookie. As this email went around, murmurs of possible costumes from the Halifax bench emerged. @Dolant seems set on a gorilla costume, “obviously” he adds. @Grape has mentioned the possibility of a maid costume, which would certainly be the center of attention at any part. And @Mason is set on dressing up as his favorite hockey player, Gabriel Akerstrom. While this is certainly a small list, it is interesting to see how much variety there is within the Halifax locker room. This shows us all that a league-wide costume party would bring forward many great ideas. Originally, Sales said that he would be wearing an Andre the Giant costume. However, after thinking hard and long about costume ideas, Sales has decided to go as Two-Headed Thadius Sales. Creating a carbon-copy image of himself out of paper-mache, Sales plans to attach the second head to his right shoulder. It’s original, funny, and shows the complex thinking that happens inside Sales’ mind. In fact, we have a sneak-peek at Sales’ costume. While this idea seems great, and is sure to bring about many laughs, the league has asked this question: Sales, being one step ahead, as he always is, came up with a plan. Sales’ quick thinking regarding this idea certainly reflects his quick thinking on the ice. In order to help Sales with his desire to have the Costume Party 2020 happen, we’ve decided to turn this VHL Media Spot into the very forum that Sales desires. VHL/M readers, please respond to this article with your Costume Party 2020 costumes. --------- 520 words, for week ending 1 Nov 2020

1. Thadius Sales (aka Prison Mike) has been standing in the shower, letting out a deep and long "ooooooh, I'm a dementor." 3. I'm feeling pretty good about it. We aren't blowing them out of the water per se, but we still have a chance! 4. During the off season, Thadius Sales plans on meeting up with Martin Nash, his old cellmate in the clink, to continue the tradition where Nash throws rocks at him to help him fine tune his goaltending skills. 5. Thadius Sales would happily step in as the mascot. He would be fully suited up in case Malone were injured or could not continue the game. Over his hockey attire, Sales would wear a giant Shrek costume. Then, if Malone were injured, Sales would rip off the costume in the crowd, let out a ferocious roar, leap over the glass and skate right to the net. 6. Thadius Sales, formerly known as Michael Scott, would be selected to represent Scranton, PA's most prominent paper company, Dunder Mifflin. His slogan would be, "Dunder Mifflin, the people persons paper people." Here is a video of me critiquing the slogan originally, but I quickly fell in love with it. 7. The best place to go trick-or-treating around Halifax would be the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. I'm an incredibly picky art critique. In fact, I have another video of me critiquing and then buying some art. It's a true passion of mine. You know what they say, "without paper it [art] could not have happened, unless you had a camera..."

Not bad, I'll just keep climbing :D

@Victor

The image you see above is startling. That is the mugshot of Halifax 21st's back-up goaltender, Michael Scott (aka Prison Mike). Now, as you read this you may be thinking to yourself, "I thought the Halifax 21st back-up goaltender was Thadius Sales?" If you found yourself asking this question, then you'd be right. Michael Scott (Prison Mike) is indeed Thadius Sales! It turns out that the 27-year-old Rookie goaltender has a past that is shocking, and leaves us all wondering, "how in the world is he now playing for the VHLM?" After he was acquired by the Halifax 21st, an interview was conducted in which Sales had this to say... What was intriguing was that Sales never once mentioned a previous career in hockey. In fact, according to our research, the man never played a game of hockey in his life, prior to his Halifax acquisition. He has no history of goaltending, and according to a few of our sources he had never really even watched a hockey game before. We decided to dive a bit deeper, assuming that he opened up to a few guy in prison. We approached Sales' old cell-mate, Martin Nash (Pictured to the right next to Sales), to see if he could shed a bit of light on Sales. "He was certainly an interesting guy. He kept to himself for the most part, until one day we were both in the rec room. Actually, that picture you have of us is of both of us watching TV in the rec room together. In fact, we were watching a VHL game, and that's what sparked Prison Mike's....uhm...sorry, Sales' interest in hockey. After we watched the game and I explained how everything worked he said to me, 'when I get outta here, dats what I'm gonna do.' So, from that point on we spent our rec time practicing. He'd stand next to the fence and I'd just throw rocks at the dude for hours. It was weird, the guy never flinched. I thought for sure after I hit him a few times in the face he'd start showing some fear, but nothing changed." It seems that even while Sales had no prior training in hockey, or even an interest, prison changed him. It gave him something to look forward to, and that's incredibly commendable. After spending a few years in prison and being pelted with rocks by Martin, other prisoners, and guards, Sales eventually developed his unorthodox of goaltending. He became, according to some, the hero of the prison, even though he continued to claim that he "nevah got caught, neither." Through his stint in prison, and desire to grow in his hockey knowledge, Sales started reading up on classic hockey players and adapting their routines as best as he could. Nash claimed that one of the greatest things Sales did while in prison was claiming that he originally came up with the popular phrase "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take," although we all knew that was coined by Wayne Gretzky. We actually found a CCTV shot of Sales' cell where we can see that this quote inspired him. Overall, Sales has a background that is unique and unseen. He brings about a story that is inspiring to any and all hockey fans. Even when life seems hopeless, when it seems like there is nothing you can do to fix what you broke, Sales has proven that change can happen. So, now, instead of prison inmates trying to get rocks passed Sales' head in the yard, Sales finds himself in a professional rink stopping hockey pucks shot by elite hockey players. He's shown that there is never a bad time to fall in love with hockey and pursue your dream of being a professional player. As we conclude this Junior Review we wish to leave you with a picture. If you have never seen Sales' face as he takes shots on the ice, you're lucky. The face that he gives is enough to unnerve even the most veteran of players. We suppose that his composure comes from years in prison and taking rocks to the face. Either way, the face you see below is exactly what Sales' opposition sees every time they try to light the red lamp. We feel sorry for them.

I'm literally in love with everything that you have written down. As soon as I read, "Whether they're busy sucking like they have in the past, or busy winning like every other time when they're not busy sucking (mostly just hogan does)," I knew that I was in for a good read. It's great to see the Bears venturing out into new territory. The menu items you have showcased have made me hunger beyond control, especially for the @Jubis tear-salt covered Jubby Fries. Very creative, and well written! 10/10

I think this is a really good looking graphic! It's simple, effective, and sticks to a theme that you currently have. Really, my only critique would be that you move the bar off of his eyes. Usually, people's eyes are drawn to other people's eyes. However, this may just be personal preference, so take it with a grain of salt. I do love the stacked last name with the signature on top of it, very cool! Overall, 10/10

1. Obviously there needs to be a haunted house. We could turn the rink into one and bring in some great actors. 2. Since I haven't known our GM for very long I think a safe answer would be a tube of M&Ms. He seems to be a man who enjoys chocolate, and who doesn't love the little tube that they come in! 3. Thadius Sales intends to wear his brick wall costume, let's hope it gives him a performance boost. 4. Clearly he needs to dress up as Andre the Giant. Imagine that skating at you! 5. My player seems to be handling rebounds fairly well. 8. As a Penguins fan would it be fair for me to say...the Penguins! The Penguins are in desperate need of a quality goaltender, and if Halifax can work with Thadius Sales a bit more then a shift up to the NHL would be great for both Pittsburgh and Sales.

At the end of last week, it was expected that Halifax 21st backup goaltender Thadius Sales would see some time in the net, but that start came sooner than expected. Sales found himself skating onto the ice for his very first VHLM game against the Mississauga Hounds. Facing 29 shots, it seems that nerves got to the rookie goaltender as 4 of those shots found themselves in the back of the net, giving Sales a save percentage of .862 for his first game. Sales gave up two goals in the first period, had a shutout second, and gave up two more in the third. Overall, 3 of the 4 goals against Halifax were delivered by the hands of the Hounds’ power play unit, who had 6 opportunities to score on the power play altogether. While Halifax fans would have loved to have seen a more stellar performance from Sales during his first game, most fans seemed generally optimistic that this rookie goaltender could only get better from here. A Second Game Win Hearing the optimism that fans had, Sales seems to have been able to shake off the nerves and bring in his first VHLM win during his second game against the Mexico City Kings. With a .867 save percentage, Sales stopped 26 of the 30 shots that he faced. While these are, again, not stellar statistics, those in front of Sales were able to pepper Kings’ goaltender Markus Emerson Jr. with enough shots to secure the 6-4 win. Giving up two goals in both the first and second periods, Sales dominated the crease in the 3rd, stopping 14/14 shots on goal for a shutout period. After two games played Sales finds himself with a .864 SV% and 4.0 GAA, being among the lowest in the league. However, with only two games contributing to these stats, there’s no telling where Sales may find himself within those columns after a few more starts in the net. Final Thoughts It’s evident that Sales has a lot of work still to do. His unorthodox style of goaltending seemed to throw off players on the ice, but after catching on they were able to find the chinks in his armor. While showing that he has the ability to stop a high number of shots, it may behoove Sales to learn a few lessons from more seasoned goaltenders and find a more orthodox approach to his goaltending. Halifax 21st management had this to say about Sales: These next few games will be crucial for Sales, since the season is coming to a close. It is certain that Halifax 21st starting goaltender, Kevin Malone, will get most if not all of the playoff ice-time. Being the case, Sales only has a few more opportunities left to prove himself to Halifax fans, management, and teammates. ------------------------ 642 Words Week ending 10/25/2020

The unleavened bread?

Let’s be honest, by the end of last week we still weren’t sure what the Halifax 21st saw in their newly acquired 27-year-old backup goaltender. We discussed before why we believe they picked this old rookie up, but what we saw this week during the 21st practice sessions certainly filled in the blanks. Let us be the first to say, this guy is good. While he may be a bit unorthodox, Sales has proven in his first week as Halifax’s backup goaltender that he is willing to work hard to be the best. His hardened past certainly showed up today as he never even flinched taking some of these impressive shots. A few of those shots that Sales faced seemed impossible to stop, but he proved us all wrong. The highlight of the practice session was when Sales faced a three on one situation. Defending was Kate Upton, and the three forwards were Michael Hall, Riley Couture, and Theodore James St. Louis. Blowing by Upton at the blue line, Couture gave a tape-to-tape pass to Hall on the left going towards Sales. After a few dirty dangles Hall faked a shot that should have fooled almost any goaltender, but not Sales. He tracked the puck as it skirted in front of him over to St. Louis who dropped to one knee as he delivered a one-timer that would scare even the most veteran goaltender. Sales, already sliding with the puck, reached over to the left with his blocker and punched the puck away while doing something very impressive, staring St. Louis in the eyes as if to say, “not this time bud.” After the practice ended, we approached the Halifax coaching staff with one question, when will the fans see Sales in the net? Hearing this, Sales could only grin. We know that Malone has been an essential part of the Halifax team, but if Sales can keep doing what he showed us today, we know that he will be a worthy fill-in for Malone when needed. What should be exciting is that if Malone can continue to help groom Sales on and off the ice, the VHL very well could see the greatest goaltender of all time. --------------------------------- 514 words, using for PT week ending Oct 18th