Friday, October 31, 2014

Health Department Worker Suspended Due to Answering Calls as a Robot


NY PostHe knew just how to press his boss’s buttons!
A city Health Department worker was suspended without pay for answering the agency’s help desk phone using a robot voice, city documents show.
Computer specialist Ronald Dillon, 66, was slapped with a 20-day suspension for speaking in a “deliberately robotic fashion” while fielding calls from co-workers and the general public, according to an Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings decision.
Dillon, who answered calls at the department’s IT help desk, was caught using the weird monotone voice at least five times between February 2012 and April 2013, according to the document.
“You-have-reached-the-Help-Desk. This-is-Mr. Dil-lon. How-may-I help-you?” he would over-enunciate.
His robot impression was so convincing that one annoyed caller demanded to “speak to a human” after she thought an “automated system” had hung up on her.
Other callers filed formal complaints — tipping off his boss, Barry Novack, who told Dillon to stop using the phony voice, according to the decision.
Dillon told a judge at a disciplinary hearing that he was simply reading from a script that his boss had asked him to follow.
His thick Brooklyn accent had caused him trouble in the past, so he was trying to speak slower so that callers could understand him better, he told Administrative Law Judge Kara Miller.
He added that he’s not a “people person,” according to the document.
Miller didn’t buy it, ruling that, “He appears to be [a] disgruntled employee who is acting out.”
Dillon’s position involves handling tech problems on two phone lines — one that deals with his fellow Health Department workers and another for members of the public who are having trouble with the Nycmed.com web site.
To prove he was intentionally alienating callers, the Department of Health recorded five examples to present as evidence at the hearing, documents show.
Channeling his inner Siri will cost him around $5,000 in lost wages for the 20-day suspension.
Dillon has worked for the city since 1976 with no trouble, according to his lawyer William Massey.
“They were exceedingly harsh…We’re very disappointed with the decision,” he told the post.
He also claimed that Dillon’s boss hadn’t treated him fairly.
“Novack was bullying Mr. Dillon, belittling him and refusing to train him…Mr. Dillard went from nothing on his record to a 20 day penalty. That is very severe,” he said.
The Health Department initially gave Dillon a 34-day suspension but the judge lowered it the penalty to 20 days on Feb. 14.
Dillon appealed that decision with the Civil Services Commission on Oct. 2 and lost.

Kinda love this guy, kinda hate him. Either way I love this story. On the one hand, I love him because it's pretty funny to answer the phone as a robot. That's the last thing a caller wants to hear when they call in to the help desk. But it's too funny to get mad at him because he was so convincing. At that point you just gotta tip your cap to a funny prank. And he only did it 5 times in a year, not that big of a deal. If you're fielding calls all day at your job, you gotta make it fun sometimes. I'll take a 20 day suspension any day if it meant I got to make my job somewhat fun for 5 days a year. 

And on the other hand, I hate him because he claims to not be a people person. Bro, you work at the IT help desk for the Health Dept. in New York. Pretty sure your job will require you to field some calls on occasion. Or more like all day. Maybe choose a different career path, because that clearly involves being even somewhat of a people person. And honestly, it seems like this guy has the skills to be a people person, he just doesn't realize it. Maybe answer the phone as a robot, but as soon as someone gets pissed off, just say "hey, it's a person, we're just having fun a little bit, how can I help you?" Personally, I'd love a help desk employee like that. When the job gets a little dry, you gotta spice it up a bit. So that's on him to not realize his phone answering potential. The talent is right there, he's just gotta put it all together. Maybe his 20 days off will help him realize it. 

P.S. The guy's missing out on $5000 while he's gone. I'm a bit of a math connoisseur and figured out that this means this guy gets paid over $90,000 a year. I HATE talking on the phone, but sign me up for this job. I don't mind people, but hate phones. That's where I differ from this guy. I could figure it out for 90k a year. Maybe I'd just answer as a robot every time. Or maybe I'd send em to another hotline, or just shove some product down their throats Billy McMahon style.


P.P.S. 90k would be good for me now, but when I can make more doing something else, fuck answering phones.

Fire Jam Friday (10/31)


Only way to kick off the weekend is with some Fire Jam Friday. And for me it kicks off a four day weekend. Love it. Great tunes for ya this week, ending with some "Disturbia" from Rihanna in honor of Halloween.


#FireJamFriday

Free Money Friday

Alright we're back for another week ya degenerates. Last weekend was a real roller coaster of emotions so lets hope this weekend is better.

I'm taking UCF -11 here. UCONN is terrible so I don't think UCF will have a problem putting that up against them.

I'm going with UNC +15 on this one. UNC sucks but they haven't been getting killed by teams and the Hurricanes aren't a power house team. #itsallabouttheU

I'm going Ole Miss. Upset city. Although they lost to LSU last weekend, I expect them to make a valiant comeback to the winning ways that they had accomplished earlier in the season. This should be a great game.

I'm taking Louisiana-Monroe +34.5. I think that's too many points for the Aggies to put up. While the Warhawks do suck, they played LSU earlier this season who is better than A&M if you ask me, and LSU didn't even beat them by 34.5.

I'm going to give SoCar a little love on Top Cheddar since they don't get much here. I'll take them -6. The Vols are awful so I wouldn't be surprised to see the Gamecocks win by a TD if not more.

As always, I'm taking the over in this Georgia vs. Florida game. I've said it a million times, the 3rd quarter in Athens seems to take FOREVER. I think hitting the over in 47.5 should be easy.

I'm gonna take Washington St +9.5 in this game. While USC is obviously the better football team, Washington St held Oregon to only a touchdown lead when they played. USC also struggled against Utah last weekend.

I'm gonna take the over here. Oregon puts up big points and Stanford can also put up their fair share. Wouldn't be surprised to see this over 55.5.

I'm taking Arizona +6.5 here. I don't buy in on all the hype surrounding UCLA. Arizona is having a good season so I expect them to hold em' close.

I'm taking Illinois +28.5. That's a lot of points for Ohio State to put up. I don't think they're all that great, the struggled against Penn State last weekend. Most of Illinois' games have been somewhat close. I don't think Ohio St will put up that many.

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Pregnant Lady in a Red Cape Keeps Robbing People


SourceATLANTA, Ga. —Atlanta police are trying to foil a robbery suspect described as pregnant and wearing a large, red cape.
Police say the woman is a suspect in at least four armed robberies in recent weeks.          
The clerk at a Walgreens store told police the woman said she had a gun and took about $200 from the register before escaping in a gold Nissan Maxima on Oct. 6. The clerk described her as being "very pregnant" and wearing the cape.     
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that descriptions of the woman in other robberies vary.          
In the most recent case, the robbery of a Big Brother Grocery, the woman is described as being pregnant and wearing a red shawl.      
Police said, despite the differing descriptions, they believe the same woman may have committed all four robberies, and possibly more.

Gotta hand it to this lady for not being arrested yet. She's pregnant, in a bit of a pickle, not really sure how she's gonna pay for some stuff she needs. No problem. Put on your Little Red Riding Hood costume, grab your gun and head for the Walgreens. Steal a few bucks and hop back in your getaway Maxima. But here's why I'm impressed that she hasn't been arrested. Four or more robberies, been pregnant and red-caped for all of them and drives a Nissan Maxima. That's a lot of information on a suspect. I know there are a fair amount of people that live in Atlanta, but I've seen people give away far less about themselves and get caught quicker than this. I mean, can't you just type into a database that exact information and narrow it down to probably the only person who's pregnant in Atlanta that drives a gold Maxima. And if there are multiple pregnant Maxima drivers, just look for the one with the giant red cape on. Good job Atlanta police. You know, I'd like to think that the ATL police are ignoring this because they're out busting giant coke deals and solving murders, but they're probably just busy pulling over people going 45 in a 35. 

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

What We've Learned From NFL Week 8



Welcome back folks to another edition of "What We've Learned:NFL Edition". Last week I finally had the time (was not horribly hungover) to watch a lot of football, and I must say it was a terrific week of action which started on Thursday with my beloved San Diego Chargers losing to the Denver Broncos. The Chargers lost fair and square, but it wouldn't hurt having the refs from that game being deported to North Korea. Anyways, to the discussion.


1. The Flightless Jets

   The Jets fell to the Buffalo Bills 43-23 on Sunday in a game that was almost impossible to watch. The score did not reflect how horribly the Jets played, Geno Smith went 2-8 with a total of 5 passing yards and an outstanding 3 interceptions. Yeah you heard that right, Geno Smith had more completions to the other team than he had completions to his own receivers. Wow. After that terrific start from Geno, he was replaced by veteran Michael Vick and for a quick minute things seemed like they could get better for the Jets. Vick had a couple of terrific plays where he did Michael Vick things, running for 20 yards at a time despite the fact he had wide open receivers down the field. Even at the age of 34, Vick still has a good amount of speed, but it became obvious to me that Vick's talents have clearly been affected by his age. So many of my good pals know how much I USED to love Geno Smith. I would always insist that Geno has plenty of potential and was just waiting to become a good quarterback. I still think Geno has plenty of time to put it all together because he does have the skill set to be a successful quarterback in the league and I still believe that Geno is the Jets best option for quarterback. But in the meantime, I will be admitting myself into the local mental hospital for evaluation.      The Jets are playing the worst football that they can possibly play at the moment. Their defense is terrific but they never get a chance to shine because their horrible offense is the focal point of most discussions. I watched the majority of the Jets game on Sunday and despite turning the ball over countless times, the Jets defense responded immediately with multiple 3-and out stands against the Bills offense. With all of the obvious offensive flaws with the Jets, one would think they would try running the ball more often. NOPE. The Jets have the talent to run the ball with Chris Ivory and long lost star Chris Johnson. So far this season, Chris Ivory has only 101 carries but he is averaging a solid 4.7 yards per carry. If the Jets want to make anything happen this season they should start running the ball more frequently. Also, I have never been a fan of Rex Ryan. I won't sit here and preach about him being a terrible coach but I will state that he doesn't help the cause.     Rex Ryan announced on Monday that Michael Vick will start for the Jets next Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs. If you're a Jets fan, you might want to go to work on Sunday and keep yourself distracted from watching this game.
2. The Prominent Pats

      I think it's safe to say the New England Patriots are back to old ways. The Patriots crushed the Chicago Bears 51-23 on Sunday while everything seemed to be clicking for the Patriots. Watching that game on Sunday, their offense looked absolutely unstoppable. Just take a quick look at the picture above; that's bad news for the AFC East. After a sluggish start to the season, Tom Brady has looked like the MVP that he is in the most recent games. It seems that Brady and Gronk have officially found that connection again that has propelled them to countless victories in the past. 
     I have had my fair share of bad mouthing the patriots, but I am not ignorant. Any "true" sports fan and enthusiast knows that the Patriots are one of the greatest football teams, if not the best sports franchises of the last century. The Patriots are a playoff team, and there is no denying their potential to make a Super Bowl run this year. The Patriots have enough weapons for Brady to be successful this year. Julian Edelman, Rob Gronkowski and Brandon LaFell are all receivers with terrific upside and supply Brady with plenty of targets down the field. The only issue I currently have with the Patriots is their backfield. The Patriots need to find their running game in order to become a Juggernaut this year. With the loss of Stevan Ridley to injury for the year, the Patriots are hoping that Shane Vereen can fill in. So far, Vereen has been running well averaging 4.8 yards per carry with a total of 58 carries, but if the Patriots want to continue their success into a hopeful postseason, they must balance their aerial attack with a solid running game.      The Patriots take on the Denver Broncos Sunday at 4pm at Gillette Stadium. This game has the potential to be one of the best match ups of the NFL season. With the Patriots playing well and the Broncos being the Broncos this game could go either way. The Broncos and Peyton Manning pose too much of a problem for the Patriots defense, so with saying that I think the Broncos will take this game in a tight matchup.     
3. The Super Saints           The New Orleans Saints took down the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night with a score of 44-23.  Drew Brees finished the night completing 27 of his 32 pass attempts for 311 yards and three touchdowns. The Saints seemed to have solid control over this game once Aaron Rodgers suffered a very minor injury running out of bounds, although he stayed in the game.      In my opinion, the Saints have one the best offenses in the NFL without a doubt. The Saints had a horrible start to the season but they look to be turning things around. Over the years, Drew Brees has been one of the most productive and consistent quarterbacks in the league along with Tom Brady and the likes. The Saints seem to test defenses multiple times by throwing deep down field, and with Drew Brees as their quarterback, success is more than likely. Brees is surrounded by plenty of talent and now that tight end Jimmy Graham is back and health on the field, the Saints offense is hitting on all cylinders. Jimmy Graham is the Saints go to guy. He stands at 6 feet 7 inches of pure athlete, and defenses know all too well of his abilities. When the Saints get into the redzone there is no doubt who Brees will be tossing the ball up to. Sure Jimmy Graham is a beast, but he is not the only weapon that the Saints possess at wide out. Marques Colston is a receiver that has shined over the years in New Orleans, and he continues to be a valuable tool in the passing game for the Saints. The Saints have a nasty offense, but that is not their only attribute. On Sunday, running back Mark Ingram ran the ball 24 times for a total of 172 yards and a touchdown. He simply ran over the Packers defense and I think if the Saints can have Ingram run the ball more often, the Saints may be super bowl bound. It's obvious that the pass rush and secondary for the Saints are lacking the tremendous talent, plus defensive coordinator Rob Ryan looks like an absolute hobo. (irrelevant but needed to be said) The only problem with the Saints is their defense. But hey, if you have an offense with that much talent, I guess defense is not an issue.      The Saints take on the Carolina Panthers this Thursday at 8. I think the Saints will walk away from this game with a win although I am an under the radar fan of the Panthers. Cam Newton and the Panthers tough defense will make for a good matchup although it won't be enough to stop Drew Brees and the Saints.
Week 9 Upset: Tampa Bay Buccaneers Over Cleveland Browns 1:00 PM ET
FOX
(1-6, 1-2 away)
(4-3, 3-1 home)
This may be a bit of a shot in the dark but I have to suggest this outcome. The Browns looked horrendous last week against the winless Oakland Raiders and should have lost if the Raiders, well, weren't the Raiders. The week before the Browns lost to the Jaguars, who were also winless. I think Tampa Bay will sneak away with a win somehow and quarterback Mike Glennon will have an above average game connecting with wide out Vincent Jackson. Buccaneers -20Browns- 17


















Tigers in the NFL


Former Clemson Tigers were at it again this weekend in the NFL. Love how many guys are having a big impact on teams this year. 

Sammy Watkins, WR Bills
3 catches, 157 yards, 1 TD
Win @ Jets

Did make this huge mistake of showboating too early, and getting tackled before the endzone. You could tell how pissed he was at himself though. Probably won't happen again. 

Martavis Bryant, WR Steelers
5 catches, 83 yards, 2 TDs
Win vs. Colts

Andre Ellington, RB Cardinals
23 carries, 71 yards, 1 TD
3 catches, 14 yards

DeAndre Hopkins, WR Texans
5 catches, 95 yards
Win @ Titans

Dwayne Allen, TE Colts
1 catch, 21 yards, 1 TD
Loss @ Steelers

Bashaud Breeland, CB Redskins
6 tackles, 4 passes defended, 1 forced fumble
Win @ Cowboys

Chandler Catanzaro, K Cardinals
1/1 on Field Goals (28 yards), 3/3 on Extra Points
Win vs. Eagles
And unreal kicker swag.

Keep it up former Tigers.






1989 is Here and There's Only One Word to Describe It: FIRE


It's finally here! I'm a little late with the review but studying and YouTube and Spotify have all been screwing me over this week, but oh well. Here it is. Tay delivered once again.

1989

1. "Welcome To New York": This song was released about a week ago and I wrote about it then. Great tune. Got a cool little beat and a chorus kinda all over the place, but I love it. Just makes you wanna go to New York. Taylor said she started the album off with this because the city has inspired so much of her music recently. Fire.

2. "Blank Space": Love the way she says the "I'm insane" part of that line in chorus. Don't really know why. But that's my takeaway from this song. Flames.

3. "Style": Such a cool beat in this song. Gives me the chills. Just feels like it should be playing at a turning point in some movie. Probably my favorite song on the album. At least the early favorite. Lava.

4. "Out Of The Woods": This one came out about two weeks ago and I also wrote about it. Repetetive chorus but it works. Great beat, and a it has a cool feel to it. Heats

5. "All You Had To Do Was Stay": I like the chorus a lot in this song. Great lyrics and I love the high pitched "stay" part of it. Fire flames.

6. "Shake It Off": Lead single from the album and it's been out for a while, and of course I blogged about it back in August. Still love this song. Scorching hot.

7. "I Wish You Would": This one's got a pretty neat sound to it. Cool lyrics too. I love T-Swift's songwriting, honestly nothing like it. Don't think anyone is better at it. Inferno.

8. "Bad Blood": This song is the one supposedly about Katy Perry. It's a great song but it cuts deep knowing that they used to be friends and now they just hate each other. Blazing flames.

9. "Wildest Dreams": This song sounds kinda like a Lana Del Rey song. Soft background beat and soft lyrics, but I love it. First slow song on the album. Picks up a bit at the end of it. Sizzling embers.

10. "How You Get The Girl": So all I have to do to get Taylor Swift is say "I want you for worse or for better. I would wait for ever and ever"? Sounds good to me. Hey Taylor, I want you for worse or for better (it'd be for better). I would wait for ever and ever. Here I am Tay. I'll wait. By the way this song is sick. Blistering coals.

11. "This Love": Another slow song. I honestly love T-Swift's slow songs. "Tied Together With a Smile," "Dear John," and "All Too Well" are some of my favorite songs. This one will probably join them. Calescent.

12. "I Know Places": Awesome song. Got another cool beat to it, and she puts her vocal skills to work quite a bit in this one. Boiling hot.

13. "Clean": Love this song. Can't even figure out how to describe it. The lyrics are intense, it's kinda slow-ish, but the beat is kinda happy, making it sound like an upbeat song. Which I think is the point because she's saying she's clean from her ex. Who knows. Ovenlike.

Bonus Tracks from Deluxe Version:

14. "Wonderland": Starts off slow, but picks up before the chorus. Kinda has a "I Knew You Were Trouble" feel to it, but not as intense. Love it though. Tropical heat.

15. "You Are In Love": So good. Another slow song, but it's unreal. Gotta hear these lyrics. Just more solid songwriting from Tay. Magma.

16. "New Romantics": If you get tired of reading "this one's got a cool beat" let me know, but there's no other way to describe some of these songs. Some of the beats are unprecedented and this is Taylor Swift we're talking about. Another awesome jam from T-Swift. Sweltering heat.

10 outta 10. 5 stars. Two thumbs up. Whichever way you wanna put it, this album is FIRE. Wasn't expecting anything less, but it's honestly amazing at this point to see Taylor Swift put out unreal album after unreal album. 

New Taco Bell App

Source-The company is prepped to announce that they’ve launched a mobile ordering application for iPhone and Android. Once the respective apps go live, you should be able to find the iPhone app here and the Android app here.

Anyone that knows me knows how obsessed I am with Taco Bell. I'll basically do anything to stuff my face with some tbell then wash it down with a nice baja blast. I literally live and die by the bell. While I love this app, I also don't really get it and it's really going to mess with my already floundering self-esteem. When I go into Taco Bell I expect a judgement free zone, the people in there CANNOT judge me, unless they've never taken a good hard long look in the mirror. That's part of what I love about the place. No matter how drunk I am, I can go in there and order my food without feeling like white trash. It's almost like a test I set up for myself, if I can go into my safe haven and act like a functioning member of society, I will allow myself to go other places in public. This whole mobile app thing is going to change that and I'm not sure how I feel about it. 

#BEARSELFIES

SourceWe've officially arrived at the point where people need to be told taking 'selfies' with bears is a bad idea. That's according to officials with the U.S. Forest Service in charge of maintaining the popular Taylor Creek Visitor Center in South Lake Tahoe. The creek is the site of a spectacular annual run of kokanee salmon, which also attracts hungry bears. And lately it's also attracting lots of smart phone-wielding photographers desperate for unique social media profile photos."We've had mobs of people that are actually rushing toward the bears trying to get a 'selfie' photo," said Lisa Herron, spokesperson for the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit. The problem is getting bad enough that officials are threatening to close down the area if that's what it takes to keep careless people away from dangerous wildlife.
When I first saw this headline I had to make sure I wan't reading the onion. I could not believe this was a real story. Are you guys serious? You're taking selfies with bears??? That's ABSURD. Maybe I'd take a selfie with a bear in the zoo or somewhere that it can't attack me but if you think I'm gonna run up to a bear and risk getting attacked by it, you're out of your mind. I always hate when people say "I've lost faith in humanity" because it's just a stupid thing to say and you sound like an idiot, but jesus people, clean it up a bit. You're making us all look dumb because you want some attention on social media. I know everyone is all about how many instagram or Facebook likes they can get but I didn't realize they were going this far. Literally risking getting attacked by HUGE animals just to snap a selfie. If you have ever taken a selfie with a  bear, please delete yourself from my life. On a side note, I think it would be GREAT reality TV if someone had a show of white people trying to take selfies with dangerous animals. If you can complete the list of selfies with dangerous animals without getting killed you win. I'd watch that for sure. 
My face is so ironic and funny! Now I'm getting my face mauled off by a bear.
This chick can get it
 Nerd selfies always crack me up
 What's more dangerous than a selfie with one bear? A selfie with two!
 This girl is mean muggin... right up until that bear eats her face off
 OMG I'm so goofy taking selfies with bears! This is gonna get so many likes!
I don't have anything to say about this guy besides the fact I hate him

NBA 2014-15 Season Preview

NBA 2014-15 Season Preview
(Editors Note: This was written by our good friend Onie (own-ee) who might start doing some basketball coverage for us since none of us know anything about basketball. If anything is wrong make sure to rip him apart in the comment section)

The 2014-1015 NBA season is about to be underway. There are many questions waiting to be answered, questions like; Will the Cavaliers mesh and win a championship the first time around with Lebron announcing he is coming home and them having the next dream team? They may or may not regret trading away the first pick in the draft, Andrew Wiggins, to the Minnesota Timberwolves for one of the best power forwards in the game today, Kevin Love. The Cavaliers already had pieces in place to have a great chance on winning the NBA championship before acquiring Love and now they have Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, and of course the king, LeBron James. They have pieces around these three superstars that make them the favorite to win the championship this year, the only question is chemistry, and will they click?
Who in the east can compete with the dream team? The Chicago Bulls are always relative and now that Derrick Rose has recovered from his injury and seems to be back to his flashy self it seems they have the best shot on taking down the Cleveland Cavaliers. They added a huge piece in Pau Gasol, this 7- footer is a proven champion and will help the Bulls immensely. LeBron’s biggest threat these past years has been the Indiana Pacers but that may change this year. The Pacers let Lance Stephenson be acquired by the hornets and their best player, Paul George may be out for the entire season after breaking his leg in multiple places. George Hill their starting point guard is out for the first three weeks also so the Pacers may not be very competitive this year. The New York Knicks do not seem legit this year even though they kept their best player in Carmelo Anthony they have a lot to prove with their new head coach Derek Fisher. With Phil Jackson at the top it is hard to believe that this team will not be at least a little bit competitive. The Miami Heat went from being the most talked about team in the NBA with the big 3 to not being really talked about at all. They do still have Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh and also the add on of Loul Deng who is a proven all-star.


The Western Conference has always proven to be more competitive than the east. At the top of the western conference to start this year has to be the San Antonio Spurs who are not getting any younger but until someone shows they can beat them they are the reigning champions who do not look like they are ready to get dethroned. The Golden State Warriors hired a new coach in Steve Kerr but still have a lot to prove. They have the splash brothers, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, possibly the best backcourt in the game but this team never seems to finish the deal. The west seems to be pretty wide open this year. The spurs age is a question and Kevin Durant being out for the first part of the season for the Oklahoma City Thunder is also a question mark. Will the Thunder be able to stay relevant without the reigning MVP not playing? Russell Westbrook is going to have to lead this team until Durant comes back. The Warriors and the Los Angeles Clippers may prove to be the best in the west this year. One thing that people forget is the L.A. Lakers have not had two back to back terrible seasons in a while and Kobe Bryant looks to be back to his talented self. If Kobe can stay healthy and these young players can bond with him they could stay competitive. Jeremy Lin used to be the most talked about player in the league when he played for the New York Knicks and he may have the opportunity again with Steve Nash being done and the Lakers not having another legit point guard other than rookie Jordan Clarkson. Jeremy Lin has the chance to bring back Linsanity. Jeremy Lin was let go by the Houston Rockets who we cannot forget about when talking about a winning team, especially when they have Dwight Howard and James Harden, plus also picking up the veteran Jason Terry and a couple others.
 This NBA season could be predicting with the dream Cavalier Team winning the championship or could be very surprising with a couple teams using their chemistry to win. The MVP race may seem sort of obvious with Durant being hurt for the first part of the season and LeBron being back in his home city but there could be surprises there too. Kobe Bryant can never be counted out especially after being more determined now than ever and Carmelo Anthony also never fails to be at the top of the scoring list. The MVP race will be interesting and so will this whole NBA season. We will check back after a couple weeks and see how everything is playing out. LeBron will probably fail to close games as usual whereas Kobe will prove he is the best closer in the game today no matter his age. Carmelo will prove to be one of the best scorers in the game and Derek Rose will be the comeback player of the year. James Harden will continue to be the most underrated star player and Dwight Howard will be fully healthy and ready to get back to his unstoppable self, along with missing all his free throws.

If you like what you read, follow Onie on twitter @nathanieloniel2

Monday, October 27, 2014

Anaheim Ducks Round Up

Anaheim Ducks Weekly: 10/20-10/26

10/22/14: 4-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres

Well, this was another no brainer because the Ducks played the Sabres.  This is professional hockey and any team can be beat by anyone else on any given night, but it's hard to be intimidated by the Sabres these days.  Corey Perry lit the lamp 3 times for his second hat trick of the season, his last an empty netter and Freddy Andersen put up another solid outing only giving up 1 goal and saving 23 shots.  Since Perry's last goal was an empty netter it shows that the game was close until he put it away in the final minute.  The Ducks extended their win streak to 6 and Corey Perry stays red hot with his 6,7, and 8th goals in just 7 games.

10/24/14: 4-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets

The Ducks jumped out to a 2-0 lead real quick off of a slick fake shot pass from Vatanen to Perry and an hard slapper from the point off of Vatanen's stick both which were scored during power plays.  The Ducks power play is on fire so far this season after being 22nd in the league last year, a good sign that an already contending team is getting better.  Devante Smith-Pelly added a beautiful tap in off a Perry re direct and Getzy sealed the deal with an empty netter of a pass from Cogliano.  This game marked a return to the NHL for Netminder John Gibson who was lit up for 6 goals in the season opener, in the first game Gibson did not have much help in front of him, this game would prove to be different as the Blue Jackets only put 17 shots on net.  Gibson did not have much work but he looked solid in net which is a good sign for a team with two young goalies who should lean on and support each other throughout this season.  The Blue Jackets are a high flying team that should make the playoffs this year so this dominant performance and 7th straight win was no gimme.  The Ducks looked like a team that can't be stopped, but winning streaks don't last forever in a 82 game season.


10/26/14: 4-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks

This game was just not going to go The Ducks' way from the get go, the boys fell behind 2-0 after one off of goals from Brent Burns (100th of his career) and little Joe Pavelski who was a 40 goal scorer last season.  The Sharks were on a 4 game losing streak and the Ducks were on a 7 game wining streak, both of those were bound to come to an end at some point.  165 penalty minutes were dished out on this night, big contributors were Perry and Tim Jackman for the Ducks who got 17 and 21 respectively, but all players got involved including goaltender Freddy Andersen, big dogs Joe Thornton, and Ryan Getzlaf and Ben Lovejoy who broke some bones in his hand.  As much as I would have loved a win more, The Ducks stuck together and stood up for one another, seeing how Ice Hockey is an extremely violent sport, getting physical and roughing someone up in defense of a teammate is a huge component.  The huge piece of shit John Scott who revels in cheap shots made sure to jump over the boards and attack Tim Jackman once Jackman got released from the penalty box.  As I said, I love sticking up for your teammates but bro, you can give the guy a rough up a tad bit later than immediately after he gets out of the box.  I hate the Sharks so it was awful to see the Ducks lose to them in such manner, more of a fight with some hockey sprinkled in, The Cali teams are 3 of the best teams in the NHL who all hate each other, plus being blown out will cause frustrations to boil over.  Bright spots in this brawl were Andersen posting 33 saves and Beleskey doing his best to put his team back into the game when he scored with under 10 minutes left.  This was not Anaheim's night and it will not get easier as they must travel over 3,000 miles in the next week and go up against such contenders as the Chicago Blackhawks, St.Louis Blues,  and Dallas Stars.

Extra Notes:  Ben Lovejoy broke his hand in a brawl on Sunday night and will be out for 6-8 weeks, and Josh Manson has been called up from Norfolk.  Josh has 1 assist in 7 games this season and is a -1 in the plus/minus category. 


Freddy Andersen lost just his 6th game in a 2 season span and continues to impress even when he doesn't get the W.


Corey Perry scored his 9th goal of the season against Columbus which is good for a first place tie with Rick Nash for the league lead, he is now scoring at a goal per game clip.


John Scott was given a 2 game suspension for his altercation with Tim Jackman when he left the bench to fight him. (video of fight below)