Sorry for the delayed blogging, but no sooner had I arrived home from the Brakettes-Seahawks tilts last night than I got a call from The Little Punk in Shelton that he had an extra ticket to see the 12:30 showing of “The Dark Knight.” Well, yeah, I’m out the door. And then I got all busy with the Brakettes advance… Sorry. Anyway.
Good on Frans Nielsen for getting four years of one-way contract. He has possibly let the Islanders off easily, though. If there’s still a salary cap in four years, he’ll count $525,000 against it? That’s mind-boggling. (It’s also the 2011-12 minimum, BTW, as the CBA is currently constructed.) But ultimately, yes, good on Nielsen, who we hope always finds that happy medium between motivating himself and being too hard on himself. Remember, too: Tambellini always says Nielsen’s the best centerman he’s ever played with.
One of the message boards found Eric Boguniecki to the Ducks; sorry for forgetting which.
Here’s a double New Haven reference: Damian Cristodero reports that Darren Rumble will be Norfolk’s new head coach. OK, that part had been floating for a few weeks. Rumble played all of two games for the New Haven Senators. But wait, there’s more: Alan May, part of that ’89 Nighthawks team that went to the Calder Cup Final, is reported to be the assistant.
The Rangers signed Brian Fahey from the Wolves. Former Packer Garth Murray rejoins Don Maloney in Phoenix. The IIHF is trying to play referee between the Continental League and the NHL. Comedy.
Michel Therrien gets a contract extension.
Haven’t had any luck getting the template changed. If you need a link that’s dead, or if you’re looking for the latest in beat-writer blogs, hop over to the Lifeboat and use the right column over there.
Graham Hays of ESPN.com spent a lot of time with the Brakettes the past couple of weeks and did a nice overview of their situation and their history. BTW, the Brakettes put those 300 tickets for Sunday’s game on sale Friday night? They sold in 14 minutes.
—
And the movie (I should probably link ya our Joe Meyers’ review)? I really liked the first two hours or so. The opening frames set the mood and set the action right in motion. We deal with notions of heroism, honor, villainy, how they all intersect, where one ends and the others begin. The excitement keeps pumping (and the body count keeps rising). And then the ending… I dunno. I can’t pinpoint anything; it just fell a little flat for me. All that heroism vs. villainy stuff starts to roll around on each other and leaves you tongue-tied.
Heath Ledger, though, is excellent. There were times I remembered clearly that that poor guy was dead — a few lines take on some added poignancy — but most of the time, I was lost in the moment of the character.
And as Joe mentions, you can never get enough Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman.