der meister

rub-a-DUB-DUB

I'm calling to report a double homicide

Nice

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FYI folks, @Banackockwon the holiday auction and his video goes live at 1pm eastern today. I'll link it when it's live.

1 - need to let in fewer goals for sure 2 - lol no. Not at all. 3 - 4 - huh. Color I guess. 5 - I hope so. That's dope. 6 - Honestly, chopsticks. I stir pasta with them and everything.

Well. This was an interesting week. Normally I use sim leagues as an escape from stress, but with Shevchenko's poor performance, that's not working as well as I'd like. Over two seasons with D.C., Shev had a 9.39 shooting percentage, while this season he's at 6.83. I've said before that I think he'll be much better next season, but it's frustrating to have such a setback season. But why was this week interesting? Well, yesterday I learned that I can put up with a lot of bullshit, but when I snap, I snap back hard. After starting my day hearing a disgusting story about my boss's reaction to a serious situation, I then received an email with the job posting he wants me to apply for, the 11k demotion. I already felt like I was going to puke all over my desk from the story, so I walked out citing illness. Then I went home and wrote an email to the county's HR director, as I am a state employee. I'm waiting on a response to that, but a former coworker who now works for the county offered to have a meeting with her as well to corroborate my account. Then I went to the doctor and explained my situation, which she immediately described as extremely toxic, and she gave me a medical leave letter covering the next 2 weeks. Time I will spend looking for a different job. I'm even willing to move within a few hour radius, or to Canada. Maybe especially to Canada. I know I'm going through a lot, and these entries are at least mildly therapeutic and self serving, so would it really be too goddamn much to ask for Shev to start scoring at his previous rate?

Better!

Tough loss and my player not being useful. Multi-purpose sighing

Sigh

Not picking on you, but I hate seeing "full stack". The expectation from employers seems to be they can get one guy to do the job of two or three.

Wow can't even get a shootout goal.

I looked in my area and remote nationally and found nothing. Found 3 or 4 things in Ontario within 30 minutes.

Started applying to IT jobs in Ontario this week. Have 5 applications out for things that I'm varying degrees of overqualified for. It wouldn't be an ideal situation but I'm ready to tap out on NY and the US in general and move to the Great White North, eh?

I tend to agree, but it is an option. I do have high expectations for Shev at least partially filling the offensive gap next season, and some UFA splashes would go a long way.

NOTE: I wrote this Monday but didn't have a chance to post it until now, so some of the numbers are slightly off. Apologies. Pretend that says 2025 and VHL instead of NHL The trade deadline is always an interesting time of year. It's been clear for some time who are the pretenders and who are the contenders, but this time of year is when you see exactly who the most serious General Managers are. At least in theory. Honestly a lot of trade deadlines come and go with minimal movement, which I personally find disappointing, but I have a feeling this year is going to be an active one. At least, I hope so, because otherwise what's the point of this theme week? For starters, the parity in the league right now, particularly in North America, is tremendous. A team wanting to separate themselves from the rest of the pack might go out and make a big splash. For a team like the Vancouver Wolves, that might mean adding another scoring forward to augment their already impressive offensive arsenal. As for teams that have parts remaining to sell, the pickings are pretty slim. One potential target could be D.C. Dragons' forward Kyle Toms, who is retiring at the end of the season. For a team looking to bolster 2nd line depth, Toms could be a decent option, and he has proven surprisingly productive this season with 50 points in 51 games. One forward who could be on the trade block is Toronto Legion winger Konstyantyn Shevchenko. Acquired in the offseason as part of a blockbuster trade with the D.C. Dragons, Shevchenko has been anything but stellar since arriving in Toronto. On pace for less than half of what he scored last season and well under half the number of hits, he has been perhaps the biggest disappointment for the Legion this season. It's hard to say how much his value has dropped, as the trade is still recent enough that his lack of performance could simply be chalked up as a fluke due to poor chemistry with the rest of the team. But perhaps the Legion would be interested in a package of younger but less developed players that can help them not slip down the standings next season. While we've heard no concrete evidence that Toronto is shopping the Ukrainian winger, it's easy to see why his name could be on the block. Half of the Legion's forwards, including both of their centers, are retiring this year, and beyond Shevchenko, only winger Dorji Khan, who also has 31 points this year, could still be considered young. In the prospect ranks, the Legion sport Inker Belle, a right winger playing for Halifax in the VHLM this season, who looks ready to move up. With 66 points in 46 games, Inker Belle is a playmaker with strong defensive skills, and she could be a candidate for Rookie of the Year next season. But even with such a high profile addition, there's a serious concern in the middle of the ice. For Toronto, currently 4th in the North American standings, the other option is to double-down on their push for a championship this year, before they lose so many key players to mandatory retirement. As an aside, I wish the United State Congress had a mandatory retirement age. Does it make sense for Toronto to enter a rebuild, perhaps by trading the underperforming Shevchenko and their center spine, in an attempt to reach a more sustainable, long-term success? Or does it make more sense for the Legion to add to their current roster, most likely in the form of a defensive upgrade? Perhaps Legion management chooses to simply stand pat and see if the team gets hot at the right time and proves to be a Cinderella story? Regardless of what ends up happening in Toronto, the speculation is always the most fun part of the Trade Deadline.

3-0-1 is a pretty good day. And Shev did something 25% of the time. That's my kind of motivational level!

Completely forgot about this with the shit show that is my life. Between two leaking pipes in my basement, a pending demotion, a terrible job market, my kids stuck attending one of the worst high schools in the state, and my wife's desire to go back to college, there's a lot going on. Shevchenko's poor performance seems pretty trivial and unimportant in the face of all that. Still, it would be nice to not feel like a major reason the Toronto Legion are not higher in the standings. I do think Shev will be considerably better next season, as I think having the center on the line having the higher scoring attribute is making a big difference, what with Scoring actually meaning Likelihood of Shooting. Even when he's not scoring, it's nice to see Shev blocking shots and/or laying in the hits, like the 5 hit game in tonight's sim. Despite losing our last game 3-0 to Riga, Toronto has crept into 4th in North America, a point ahead of Chicago, though they have a game in hand. New York is also creeping up, with them just one point behind Chicago. The parity this far into the season is pretty remarkable.

I miss GOMHL

Stupid skills competition...

1 - I think it's a Shev problem. I don't get it. 2 - How much people care about football 3 - Needed? No. Could be fun though. 4 - I grew up in the suburbs of Buffalo, but have been vegetarian for 23 years. Drums before then, and Franks Red Hot. 5 - A goalie who spends his career in the VHLE. That was my plan at least. 6 - That's tough. Very different characters. RDJ was more accurate to the source material, but Benny was very fun.

Wow. Shev did a thing! And a combined 0/15 on the powerplay too? Lol

The sound of a composite hockey stick being slammed repeatedly into the dasher boards rings out in the Toronto Legion's home arena. The thumps end abruptly, punctuated by a snapping noise. The Legion's Assistant Equipment Manager shakes his head and walks partway down the hallways to the team's locker room. He quickly grabs a stick from a bundle under a placard with the name "K. Shevchenko" emblazoned on it and brings it to the bench. Shevchenko is there a moment later, scowling as he takes the proffered stick and charges up the ice. It's an all-too-familiar scene in downtown Toronto lately, where the Ukrainian winger, acquired in a massive trade with the D.C. Dragons during the offseason, has by all accounts failed to live up to expectations. Coming off a 74 point season, Shevchenko is on pace for just 44 points - 22 goals and 22 assists. There's been speculation around the league as to what exactly is going on with the 6'8" sniper, but no one seems to have the answer. His physical play is way down from last season's numbers, when he played like a legitimate top line power forward, and some wonder if that's reflecting a lack of intensity or a conscientious decision by the Toronto coaching staff. His shooting percentage is also way down, from a 8.90% to a 6.96%. Furthermore, he's not shooting as often, on pace for just over 300 shots after nearly reaching 400 last season. A pile of the dead Ultimately, though, the real question is, "Who is the real Konstyantyn Shevchenko?" Some pundits speculate that the lack of production could be a byproduct of the U.S. political scene, which lines up well on the timeline, at the very least. With the incoming administration's historic favoritism of Russia and its leader, Vladimir Putin, it's highly likely that U.S. support of Ukraine will dramatically decrease. For a player who is so clearly invested in the safety of his countrymen and the sovereignty of his nation, such a turn of events could certainly be impacting his on-ice performance. There's also the trade itself to consider. In D.C., Shevchenko was a budding star, a franchise cornerstone to rebuild a struggling Dragons franchise, along with forwards YNF Retiring and Brendan Petan, Jr. Instead, Shevchenko found himself being trade bait following his 74 point sophomore effort. Was there a falling out between Shevchenko and Dragons' management? Did D.C. know something the rest of the league doesn't with regard to the developmental path of Shevchenko? Or, did the move perhaps impact the youngster's psyche, sending a message of rejection when he possibly expected praise and accolades? Keep in mind that not only was Shevchenko an emerging star player, but he was also named the Dragons' Captain at the beginning of last season. What exactly happened, then, to see such a fall from grace? Perhaps the explanation is much simpler, however. The Legion are a team currently built on a backbone of forwards who are all just a few short months from retirement. There have been no rumors of a brash attitude from the Ukrainian, but its possible that he's simply having a hard time finding chemistry with the "old guard" in Toronto. The reduction in shots per game could be explained by a deference to his elders, choosing to support their final career numbers at the expense of his own. Whatever the case may be, undoubtedly Toronto Legion management expects more out of their major offseason acquisition, and certainly, based on the number of sticks that have been smashed during recent practices, Shevchenko expects more out of himself too. Whether he can turn it around this season remains to be seen. In the first year of a two-year deal, a bounce back year is sorely needed, and the Legion will be leaning on him heavily to continue building a team that should be higher up in the standings than they currently are.

Just listened to my old boss complain about the toxicity coming from my current boss. Told someone a lie about her and then didn't say anything about getting called out on the lie. I definitely need to gtfo ASAP

Well....