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About Mike Boone
Full Name
Mike Boone
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http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/columnists/mike_boone.html
About
I grew up in Park Extension, within walking distance of Dickie Moore's Dairy Queen on Jean Talon. Moore had a place on L'Acadie Blvd., and we used to see him driving around in his convertible with a Samoyed and a very dishy wife.
While "studying" at McGill University during the 1960s, I used to attend games at the old Montreal Forum. My fellow undergraduate reprobates and I would scramble up the stairs to get centre-ice spots in the top standing room section, where aged ushers didn't know or care what we were smoking.
I stood out in the cold for six hours to get tickets to the 1975 New Year's Eve game between the Canadiens and Central Red Army. With the exception of the birth of my daughter, the 3-3 tie was the greatest event I've ever seen in my life.
The Canada-U.S. Gold medal game comes close .... but I wasn't there.
I've been a professional journalist since 1974, when I joined the Montreal Star sports department. I've covered the 1976 Olympic Games, the 1979 Expos, pop music and MSO tours of Europe and Asia (classical musicians are WAY more fun to drink with than athletes). I wrote a TV & Radio column for 20 years and, since 2000, have written a City column for The Gazette.
The best part of being a Habs Inside/Out contributor is attending games at the Bell Centre. I think it's a great building: noisy, raucous and packed to the rafters with Montrealers and visitors who live for hockey.
And I still get goosebumps every time Michel Lacroix booms out "Accueillons nos Canadiens ..."
Having seen the Boston Red Sox win two World Series and the Pittsburgh Steelers add a couple Super Bowl titles, I suppose I can die happy ... but not before another Stanley Cup parade. And I'd really like my daughter to see a historic New Year's Eve game.
I like all the players. Covering baseball gives me a profound appreciation of pro athletes who aren't jerks.
My weltanschauung was summarized by the late great Bill Hicks when he said "all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration, we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively, there is no such thing as death, life is only a dream and we are the imagination of ourselves."
Have a nice day.
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D-day for Len Barrie.
~ Listen to the smart dog - he knows his poop!
Chris Nilan charged with shoplifting.
http://www.patriotledger.com/news/cops_and_courts/x1373174392/Former-NHL-player-Chris-Nilan-arrested-at-South-Shore-Plaza
I didn't realize that Nilan had such a good set of hands.
That is so unfortunate, but none too surprising.
The Chicago media are reporting that Patrick Sharp ($3.9M), Dustin Byfuglien ($3M), Kris Versteeg ($3M) and Cam Barker ($3M) are all being put on the market to see if the Hawks can get under the cap by trading one or two of them. All of these guys would look great as Habs but unfortunately we are up against the cap. I wonder if there is some kind of creative deal here that might work to our advantage. Chicago can't take much salary back so that's a major stumbling block.
Barker
The rights to D'Agostini, O'Byrne and a high pick for Sharp ;)
I will take Sharp and Byfuglien in a heartbeat. Will give them Gui, Breezer (nah, i can't give Breezer) and Laraque.
Yeah it's be great to get them. Trade Pleks, Lats and somebody else/draft pick/prospect. Not sure if that's possible with the little cap space the habs have.
Ok... Habbies with children... I can tell you I have 3 daughters her in Carolina, and they have been clearly instructed on who to root for:
GO HABS GO!
Well... I will let my kid choose for herself. Why would I purposely doom her to a life of misery? However, those little Habs booties she's been sporting recently look so cute on her.
As for myself, I have bought many Habs things for my 4 month old, and was told by someone I should let him choose for himself. I replied that he's going to have many tough choices in his life, so I'll help him out and make this one for him! :-P
Go Habs Go!! "I can't hear what Jeremy (Roenick) is saying because my Stanley Cup rings are in my ears" - Patrick Roy
My daughter is a much bigger habs fan than I am, and I tell you they better make it up to her this year and not have a repeat of last year's shitfest. To me it doesnt matter if they dont make the playoffs as long as they give an honest effort, but i think they will make the playoffs.
That is exactly how I feel. Just give it your all - don't matter to me where they end up.
Nah, i don't care about the effort... the need to win. I want wins however they can get them... either by working hard, by fluke or by slipping something into oppositions' sippy cups.
Latendresse would look great with a C on his chest.
:P
The only C he'll be wearing on his chest has an H in it.
You can't be serious.
It won't be someone with a 1 year deal. It will be someone commited long term. We have 3 guys who are with us for the long haul for sure. Gomez and Gionta are not going anywhere. You may be able to trade Cammy and his contract but I don't think we'll ever want to trade him. Gomez is the guy if you ask me. He needs to earn that cash.
Gomez gets the "C" and Cammy and "Lapierre get an "A".
IMHO
Gomez Has half Koivu's hart and more skill. That's all you can ask for really. Gomez for Captain.
I am very serious. The C with the H in it is the Habs logo, meaning he WONT be named captain.
I was talking to the guy who said he should be captain. I replied to you your message by mistake.
Little article on Lucic at the EA sports complex. Check out the video at the bottom where is wearing a EA sports hockey jersey (essentialy Habs jersey with EA Sports logo on the crest). Man that dude would fit in nicely on our roster....
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=442666
sorry, forgot the link......
Yaaawn... so, no trades? No rumors? Come on... boring. Man, still almost 3 months before a meaningful hockey game is played. Those bums should play like 182 games a season, not 82.
Personally I think the NHL should start a WNHL that runs in the summer similar to WNBA.
Timo, hey. My little girl came last Thursday, beautiful little 8 pounder who is going to be tall, just like her mommy and me. Named her Kaiya, and she is already sporting Habs soothers. We took her by my work today, and the guys are already calculating what year she's going to be playing for the Canadian women's olympic hockey team. What is the news with yours?
Hey man, big congratulation to you and the Mrs.!!!! Funny you should mention the soother... i got mine to take one (the Habs one) today too. :) As for mine I am betting on LPGA... gotta make daddy those big dollars and ensuring his prosperous retirement.
Again, congratulations!!! Is it the first? Man, does it ever turn life upside down :)
Yeah, she's our first. Good call on the golf. Lot more lucrative than women's pro hockey, that's for sure. I'm all about the glory, though. Maybe by then ladies will have their own pro league, and I'll be able to have both! Anyways, you and I will have to have a beer sometime, and ponder how we're going to deal with all the ridiculous flames fans gooing their pants about Bouwmeester.
Hey fellow fathers,
I just recently became a dad as well and I just thought I would let you know that I think there was a recall on baby soothers that have some NHL logos on them. There is an article about it on Canadianparents.com. Just thought I would pass this on to you guys.
Here is the soother article.
http://forum.canadianparents.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&topic=111282&gonew=1
Wow, thanks for the heads up. We've got four of those. Have to figure something else out, I guess.
The only ones not affected by the recall are the Leafs soothers. They still suck.
I always thought the Leafs soothers were called anal beads!
http://www.habseyesontheprize.com/
Why does RDS have to post the "blog" written by Terry Frei of all people. And title it Les leafs devanceront le Canadien? Don't they any kind of news?
http://www.rds.ca/hockey/chroniques/278596.html
That article was stupid. IMHO the Habs'll contend for the division title and shouldn't finish any lower than 2nd in it. New Jersey and Toronto wont make the post season as far as I am concerned. Thank the stars that Lemaire wasn't hired as coach of the Habs, especially not with Mario Tremblay as his side-kick. I shudder to think.
That article was stupid. IMHO the Habs'll contend for the division title and shouldn't finish any lower than 2nd in it. New Jersey and Toronto wont make the post season as far as I am concerned. Thank the stars that Lemaire wasn't hired as coach of the Habs, especially not with Mario Tremblay as his side-kick. I shudder to think.
NO MORE TRADES. Let's go with the following and see how we do after 20 games. The only exception is get rid of BGL for a future draft pick.
AK-Gomez-Gionta
SK-Pleks-Cam
Lats-Laps-Moen
MaxPac/Stewart-Metro-Dags/BGL
Marky-Hammer
Spacek-Mara
Gill-Georges
O'B
Price-Halak
Not bad. Where's Chips?
Your 2nd line D seems a little scary... I'd rather see Georges up there.
Also, I wonder why people keep putting CAmi on the 2nd line? He should be up front with Gomez. AK and Plex have good chemistry... I think they need a tougher guy to do the dirty work though. I like Lats on the 2nd with them and move little bro back a line to help mix it up.
~ Listen to the smart dog - he knows his poop!
i heard that martin has said he'd split up the big 3, at least to start. ak would bring some (relative) size to the gionta-gomez tandem. camalleri and pleks could be a good combination with either a big body (lats, max pac) or a good playmaker (sergei).
ps. the big 3 will devastate on the power play together, especially with markov and spacek in the back. i'd see ak-pleks-lats/max pac on the 2nd wave with sergei up at the point.
pps. i know calling them the "big 3" is a misnomer!
I agree. Martin said he'll likely go with pairs and doesn't want to put too many small players together. Expect to see Lats and MaxPac compete for 1st and 2nd line work.
Big 3? more like the Big One and Two Tiny, but they'll be good enough to be called the Big 3!
Forgot Chips. He can fill in for Metro and hopefully replace him the following year.
You may be right about the 2nd line D.
Can't put Cami on the first line. They would be too small and too much of our power on one line. I think AK has what it takes to play tough with speed and have a break out year on the first line. Cami will score alot of goals with the precision passing of SK and I have a feeling that Pleks is going to bounce back strong with this pair and Martin's coaching.
Remember the Smurf line of the mid-90's? Who was that... Koivu, Petrov... someone else??
~ Listen to the smart dog - he knows his poop!
Was it Matts Nasland?
I remember when the Montreal smurf line played against The Flyers "Legion of Dome" - LIndros/Leclair/Renberg quite a contrast in size to say the least.......
Valeri Bure.
Yeah Bure. I don't think it was that successful.
~ Listen to the smart dog - he knows his poop!
I believe it was Paul Depietro...
valeri bure
or was it Mark Recchi?
Little article on Lucic at the EA sports complex. Check out the video at the bottom where is wearing a EA sports hockey jersey (essentialy Habs jersey with EA Sports logo on the crest). Man that dude would fit in nicely on the roster.
Washington DC was a swamp and gets maybe 2cm of snow in their one-week Winter! They'd have to use that weird fake rink they were showing off in front of the Bell Center during Draft Weekend for that idea to work.
BGL on OTR right now
------------------------ Vive La Sainte-Flanelle!
Did he say anything meaningful? About the team I mean.... not his general philosophy, or other BS which I've had enough of.
~ Listen to the smart dog - he knows his poop!
Not really, just said that he didnt think we were undersized, especially with Moen and Gill and that Kovy pretty much signed his own release by not replying back to Gainey in time.
He did make a funny comment about Lucic being TO's problem now because the feud was 100% between him and Komi.
------------------------ Vive La Sainte-Flanelle!
TO now has 2 problems... Komi's play and Lucic pounding the crap out of him at least twice next year.
(Repost)
Don't know if any of you guys watched this show called La maison de Maxim Lapierre where Dandy's, Koivu's and Lats' wives renovated Lapierre's house. I'm assuming not because it is maybe less manly but watever. Jus chek out this clip after the house has been revealed and at the party, there's Koivu, BGL, Dandy, Lats and TK. Koivu's impressed with the home theater and TK wants his trio of Lats-Laps-Tk to practice in the garage. Juss chek it out for fun:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkEicGkwrC0
Pretty cool. Who says there was bad chemistry in the room last year. They all seem to be pretty close. Although, these were the stable guys. Higgins, the K. bros and Price weren't there. Neither was the Lone Ranger Kovalev.
ya, I double that, thanx for posting.
Wow, I sure am going to miss Koivu. He shoots a good pool game!
Haha, nice find man! Thanks for posting.
So I decided to have some fun with how the team COULD be put together (Pleks and D’Ags would still have to sign and nobody would be traded).
AK46-SG91-BG21
MC13-TP14-SK74
MP67-ML40-GL84
TM32-KC28-GL17
BM80 and MD36 for spares
AM79-PM22 (Andrei can make a star out of anyone, Mara can shoot a puck as well :)
RH44-JS06 (comrades, good defense and offense, nice shots)
JG26-HG75 (Josh won’t have to be such a tough player by himself anymore, he now has two giants as friends on the ice :)
RO03 as the spare or bring up YW68 and send someone down (could be a forward with him because I think he can play forward too or has, someone correct me if I am wrong)
Not bad when you look at it…
AK46 could become a 30+ goal scorer this year playing on that top line. I say they would all top 60 pts this year, easy
TP14 might have a good rebound season playing with MC13 and SK74. They are all fast, can score, great shots…MC13 is going to be awesome and I think this line would compliment all 3, SK74 is the tough, skilled player out there who can get in your face, you could also play MD36 in place of SK74 if he has an injury, plays poor, etc. I think D’Ags has potential…and my Dad will be upset if he not on the team...
MP67 IMO is ready to play and he would fit with ML40 (who will be wearing an A this year, yup) and GL84. All 3 are getting better every game and playing harder, I think they would really fire each other up and collect some points.
This 4th line COULD kick some ***, get right in your face, push around everyone while still getting points. Gives KC28 and BM80 to see if they can cut it (although it could be GM15 in the lineup and one of the other down, probably Maxwell)
Agree or Disagree (keep it clean), but this team is different, and I think we as fans are all going to be happy this year.
GO HABS GO!
I like the lines. I would only maybe jump Moen up to the 3rd line so he can work with Max as a nice shutdown line. Moen is so good in that role. I'd love to SK74 on that line as well, but I really like that CM,TP,SK line you have there. I totally agree SK would gel well with CM.
I don't think Maxwell is ready yet..(that's just my opinion)...maybe another half season at least, but we're pretty deep at centre, as probably one of our spare forwards will be a center, mind you I would rather see Chipper as a winger.
I also think that Patches might start in the minors, not because he isn't ready, but because he's injured again with a sports hernia. D'Ags, well he's going to have to show he's defensively responsible, but he's still probably going to make the team, however it will depend on what happens with Stewart, and Laraque.
Thanks for tossing up Andrei on the top line - Love that idea!
Your D pairings are exactly how I hope they end up. Mara and Markie will make a nice pair. Mara has an excellent first pass. The rest of them are great as well.
the best aquisition was: B. Cami (this kind of pure goals scorer in his prime is what montreal has been lacking since forever. its time for some scoring consitency)
gaineys worst acqusition was: C. Gionta (tanguay costs about the same, wanted to stay in montreal, puts up more points, and is like plus 100 every year. this isnt new jersey bob. tanguay was clearly the better choice)
Tanguay is damaged goods. That's why he hasn't got a team yet. The guy has had Knee, Groin, and shoulder injuries....all bad injuries that are easy to re-injure. way too much money for him.
Sorry man, but Tanguay is broken. His injury happened in Calgary and got much worse in Montreal. He had surgery on his other shoulder this Spring.There's a reason he didn't play Boston for us in the playoffs late. He was genuinely seriously injured, and he was worried - worried that it might not get better. However most GM's, in my estimation, take his not playing as not being committed. I really think that has hurt him. There has also been noise about Tanguay not being the greatest teammate as well. But that's just noise, and I have nothing but a Television/Radio analyst's position on that to go by.
There has to be a reason why nobody has rushed to sign tanguay.
Question for a boring Thursday night at HIO:
Which was the best of Gainey's acquisitions:
A. Gomez
B. Cami
C. Gionta
D. Spacek
E. Martin
Which was the WORST of Gainey's acquisitions:
A. Gomez
B. Cami
C. Gionta
D. Spacek
E. Martin
~ Listen to the smart dog - he knows his poop!
Gainey's BEST acquisition:
E. Martin - Pretty obvious reasons. Been explored from almost every angle and just seems to be a great move.
B. Cammelleri - I terms of player acquisitions, he's my #1. He gives us the sniper we've needed for the longest time, and gives AK46 time to develop into the sniper he projects to be without too much pressure.
Gainey's WORST acquisition:
A. Gomez - Obviously he's a true #1 centre and bring leadership, 2 cup rings & has shown he plays well in a defensive system. Despite all those positives, we overpaid for an overpaid player. He'll most likely never live up to that ridiculous contract, and that's all everyone is ever going to look at.
C. Gionta - He's a pretty close second for me. Gainey got the best RW available not named Kovalev, but I just don't understand the terms of the contract. $5 million for 5 yrs seems like a little much for a player on the decline. Hopefully reuniting him with Gomez sparks some magic.
"Hard work always beats talent, if talent doesn't work hard."
Put me down for Cammellari as the best and Spacek as the worst. Gomez and Gionta aren't exactly chopped liver either, but I think Cami is the best of the four players.
Martin should have no problem filling the shoes of Carbonneau, he does after all have a heck of a lot more experience.
Best --> I think we're going to really like Jaroslav Spacek. He's going make our PP go chug-a-lug, chug-a-lug!
Worst --> I don't think Gomez will leave up to our lofty projections because of how much he cost(s), so everyone's going to say he's the worst.
I have 2 good ones from that list
1. Martin, a coach that HAS a system...oh yeah and HAS experience!
2. Cammalleri, this is a decent contract he has, I believe he is just peeking in his prime and the last 3 years have produced 2 season with 80 + pts and have avg'd 0.93 ppg over the 3 seasons (one was not a full season)
Worst one is Gomez contract...like the player, but is he worth THAT much (if in the end it REALLY took signing him to get some of the players we have (Camm), then we think differently
This is pretty close to my answer too.
~ Listen to the smart dog - he knows his poop!
Who is E. Martin?
Ohhhhhhh...........never mind. I got it now. A, B, C, D, E.....Martin. LOL
1: E. martin, even with the team last year..i think martin would have made a huge difference in terms of winning (maybe not entertainment...but winning = entertainment)
2: D. Spacek... 3.83 million over 3 years is tough to swallow for a 35 year old...YES gomez is making7.3 and that's tough to swallow...but A includes B and C...and i just E was the best...process of elimination
- thanks for everything, saku koivu.
Totally off topic, but, due to some extreme boredom here, I clicked on the "Other Wing" just to see what might be new or of interest there.
Can someone please, please, put the "Other Wing" out of it's misery? I mean, c'mon, if my dog was anywhere close to being that ill I'd put him down.
Why is everyone is so interested in seeing Gainey trade MORE of our prospects away? We've already traded away our top prospect for a #1 centre. Gainey won't be emptying our cupboards any more than they already are, until he restocks them first. Besides, the team has changed enough over the last little while, with seven new faces joining the team.
Whether some will admit it or not, Plekanec IS a #2 centre. He is good for 20-30 goals and 50-70 points, which seems to me like the production of a second-line centre. Some are concerned about whether or not Plekanec and the Kostitsyns will mesh with Martin's hard-working, defensive system. In case those people haven't noticed, both Plekanec and SK74 are more than capable defensively. Also, Pleks, AK46 & SK74 are all on top of their game when they are hustling out on the ice, which is something Martin should be able to get out of them. I'm convinced that all three of them will have bounce-back seasons under Martin's system. Just don't expect any break out seasons, although they'd be welcome ;)
"Hard work always beats talent, if talent doesn't work hard."
I must say I agree with everything you've stated here. Let's go with what we have, as habs-13 says, we've made plenty of changes already, and Pleks is just fine as a #2 center. In my estimation there is not one center out as UFA, or truly available as trade prospect than can give you for your money what Pleks does.
Vinny's a nice idea, but unless we unload Gomez on TB, I don't see how this would be cost feasible.
Well said Habs-13
www.TrueRivalry.com
I have to agree with this.
Our prospects now include PK, Weber, Carle, Maxwell, Kristo, Pateryn, Fischer, Leblanc and few others.
We have almost no up and coming forwards, certainly no-one outside of Maxwell who is projected to play anytime soon or contribute if they do.
We are backend heavy and need a few more years of drafting forwards before we could even think about trading some away.
Cheap third and fourth line depth forwards just arent available like they used to be. We need to draft a dozen or so in the next few years to have a chance of any making a splash.
I agree that we should acquiring more depth at forward through the next few drafts. However with McDonaugh gone, we're now short a potential #1 defenceman. Subban, Weber, Carle & Fischer are fine prospects but don't project as #1 defencemen in the NHL. Addressing our need for a #1 defenceman should be taken care of as soon as possible IMO.
Maybe next draft, if there's a top defensive prospect available when we pick, Gainey grabs him and then focuses on adding the depth we need upfront throughout the other rounds.
"Hard work always beats talent, if talent doesn't work hard."
... laffs Interested in Marlus Naslund -
So says a report from Hockeyexpressen. Naslund did admit that he has talked to Brian Burke but has told him that he will take his time to decide.
Burke sure is loyal to his some of his former players isn't he? ................. will Bert follow.
I'd like to experience a Habs game at the Olympic Stadium...It would be nicer if they ripped off the friggin' roof though...67000 Hab Fans loosing their marbles....the atmosphere is going to be crazy!! It may be a money grab but still cool...
LETS DO THIS!
Knowing is Half the Battle...
... Tanguay rumours false:
via Steve Gorten of the Florida Panthers Blog at the Sun Sentinel,
Reports by RDS.ca hockeybuzz.com that free agent winger Alex Tanguay has signed with the Panthers apparently are not true.
Panthers’ assistant general manager Randy Sexton just said through a team spokesman (4:20 p.m.) that reports the Panthers have signed Tanguay are ‘false.’ I’ve left a message for Tanguay’s agent. Waiting to hear back. .....................................................................
added 4:35pm, via George Richards of On Frozen Pond,
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.—Word from the Panthers is the latest Alex Tanguay rumors regarding his signing with the team are false. But Florida is one of the teams the talented left winger is considering, so as always, stay tuned. I’m northbound and down, 10-4 good buddy…
added 4:56pm, Just to clear up the RDS mention from Steve Gorten, it was reported on one of their forums, not by RDS staff.
Really? And that wasn't a flying saucer, just some pots and pans hovering over my house last night?
Who is likely to be moved before the season starts? Do anyone have any ideas? My guess will be one of the six forwards and a couple of prospects for a # 2 centre that is already under contract for a couple of seasons.Just have to wait and see what happens before training camp starts. Go Habs Go!!! Spank the Make Me Laughs on 1st of Oct. Send BB a message that he will never forget by signing Komo.
HabsFan90 gets us going on a nice little riff, then disappears.
This is now the point when Boone drops in some other boring, unrelated thread and cuts us off at the knees!
NightRyder, you are a funny guy.
Try the veal. I'll be here all week.
LMAO
~ Listen to the smart dog - he knows his poop!
Hell yeah, my two favourite teams battling it out at the Big O. I'm in!!! I hope this gets approved.
Real fans have only one team. It never changes. It's not Golf. Who do your root for when Caps are playing the Habs???? There is only 1 Hockey Club. There may be other teams, BUT ONLY 1 CLUB DE HOCKEY...
I don't understand what's the problem of having another team to cheer for once in a while. I certainly don't follow the Caps like I do the Habs, but I'm allowed to like them as a #2. My #1 team is the Habs, #2 team Caps. And FYI when the Caps and Habs play each other, I root for the Habs every time.