shrader

Notice how often he avoids eye contact with Letterman. He keeps avoiding Dave so that he doesn't break the character and laugh after one of his jokes.

And it looks like Letterman actually broke him after the "sorry you couldn't be here tonight" line. Phoenix laughed and smiled at that one.

This comment will come back to haunt me, they almost always do. This team is special.

Who can she ask though, the Palmer brothers?

The only ice time stat you ever see is the average per game. The injuries will have a very minor impact on that number at best.

You not trusting Tony seems so funny after your mini-rant about him.

I think they messed up on a good angle to go with Tony (so far anyway). Tony as a bad guy would be just like Jack, except he took one wrong turn somewhere along the line. Two guys who have given everything for their work, one still believes in the country, the other doesn't. We've said it over in over in here, but I wouldn't be surprised to see this day go back down that line.

Two full episodes without Turk last night. That was different. I take it that the Aziz you guys are talking about is Ed? I can't stand the character and I'm glad he got fired. I can't think of anyone more annoying during the entire run for this show, not even JD. So far, Joe is the only worthwile intern out of this group.

Some of it will obviously be ruined for you, but you definitely should watch them when you get the chance. The earliest seasons which usually get the most positive responses should actually be pretty much spoiler free for you.

Yeah, that was one full day of the completely unexpected. The BU-Harvard game was a hell of a lot of fun. Once BU got their first, it really felt like they were about to start their roll, but you have to give Harvard credit for getting back in that game in the 3rd. I have no idea how anyone in the arena actually thought that goal at the end was before the buzzer, but still, an interesting way to end a game. The BC game was an obvious let down. That one was the clear favorite for the game of the night but that didn't happen. I was significantly liquored up at that point though (god I love this tournament), so I didn't really mind. That BU-NU final has incredible potential. They are by far the two biggest fan bases at these games. Each school's "student sections" are right next to each other and they'll end up filling up about half of the upper bowl. The atmosphere is going to be great. It's nice to see NU with a good program again, because there is so much more energy in their crowds now. I might not even need the beer next week. The back and forth between those two groups may be entertaining enough... but I'll still have the beer too. edit: There are some stories of a flu bug floating around the BU locker room. That could have a major impact (and may have yesterday).

I like where they're going with him right now. You know that at some point in the day, his past actions that he's so troubled by are going to come out. It should be interesting when we actually find out what he has done.

That column is a bunch of crap. Like I said earlier, no other conference is a viable option. The WCHA is the only one open to expansion, but they're just doing that for Bemidji. The ECAC is the best fit, but they won't be expanding anytime soon. Hockey East isn't an option. They're all New England and they're not about to suddenly change that by bringing in Niagara. The CCHA hasn't had any recent talk of expansion. Niagara has to play somewhere. They could've gone the independent route again, but no one would be willing to play them. Atlantic Hockey is their only option. If they can go out and continue to put together strong teams, dominating that league, they'll eventually force the ECAC's hand. Unfortunately, it's going to take a while to do that.

What's the story there, they're joining Atlantic Hockey? If that's the case, they really don't have much of a choice. The CHA is dead. The best fit for Niagara would be the ECAC, but they're not going to expand past the 12 teams they already have. The CCHA would probably be a good fit geographically, but they won't go beyond 12 teams either. The WCHA is the only major conference that is willing to expand, but I can't see Niagara as a realistic option. I could see the school being willing to take on the brutal travel that would be necessary. If Alaska-Anchorage can do it, they can. They just don't have the facilities that league would be looking for. I'd love to see Niagara thrive. They've got a great hockey market to tap into for both fans and recruits. It looks like too tough a road though. The best I can see happening there is they form a nice little rivalry with RIT, which could eventually force the ECAC to take both of them. They like to stick to a travel partners schedule, so those two schools would work (especially since I can't see Canisius as a serious program).

It wasn't just Gerbe though. They've been in the finals three years in a row. Sure, last year was the Gerbe show, but Brian Boyle played a huge roll in the previous two years. The rest of the team definitely helped, but they've had some strong leadership on top of it all over those three years. I keep hearing from people very close to that team that it is what is killing them right now and why they won't go as far this year. Like I said earlier though, I won't believe they're dead until they actually get eliminated.

The only way Minnesota ends up on the bubble is if they go into the tank for the rest of the year. It's completely possible, but they're too good of a team to end up in that situation. Since I went to BU, I'd like to say that I'm a bit biased on my opinion of them, but I've distanced myself from the team a bit in the last few years. I've been trying to watch the conference as a whole now, so I think it's safe to say that there isn't much bias in my statement that BU is legit. The balance on that team is incredible. Each line can score at any point... and they usually do. They should end up in the frozen four, but you can never be sure with single elimination or injuries. I fully expect BC to be there too. York is the best in the business and he gets them to play on the big stage. So until they're actually eliminated, I'll be expecting to see them playing in the final.

Obviously BU is the favorite since they always win it, but that team is an absolute juggernaut right now. Not only have they been beating good teams, they've been slaughtering them. They're a real treat to watch. I'll be there for both games. Working basically right across the street makes that pretty easy.

This should be the most entertaining beanpot in recent years. Soon to be #1 in the nation BU and then current #3 Northeastern and #11 BC. The hockey scene is really booming in Boston this year. Thank god these good hockey teams distract me from the annoying Bruins bandwagon fans. Any excuse to drink heavily on a monday is good in my book.

And he's not actually part of any conspiracy. He just wants to test out the shirt, see how far it can really go.

It's just an anti-gore thing from the producers. He didn't have any blood on him after the stabbing either. But on that note, I did like the gloves he was wearing. It looked like the guy wrapped his hands with bubble wrap. Hilarious.

The entire 4th line had almost no ice time last night, so that Paille -1 really isn't that much of a head scratcher. The big guns were producing all game and Lindy kept sending them out there. Mair's injury also hurt their ice time.

Wouldn't the investigators have been the least bit confused by the first man's "murder suicide" when they didn't find a drop of the girl's blood on him? I don't usually nitpick stuff like that one, but it really stood out to me.

I scanned through that quckly and thanks to a minor formatting error, I thought for a second that Heath Ledger didn't get the nomination.

It wasn't really a silent clock though. It was pretty similar to the ending of season 2. You could hear Walker breathing. I'd say it was a pretty good way to end the hour, especially since so many people would be freaked out by being buried alive.

Nevermind Jack's "do whatever I say and you'll make it out of this alive" or however he worded that one.

Thank god for college hockey. I won't even notice the lack of NHL hockey this weekend.