#senator jake Hoffman

[onlytiktoks]

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Rachel Leingang at The Guardian:

An Arizona grand jury has charged 18 people involved in the scheme to create a slate of false electors for Donald Trump, including 11 people who served as those fake electors and seven Trump allies who aided the scheme. Kris Mayes, Arizona’s Democratic attorney general, announced the charges on Wednesday, and said the 11 fake electors had been charged with felonies for fraud, forgery and conspiracy. Beyond the fake electors themselves, high-profile Trump affiliates have been charged with aiding in the scheme: Mark Meadows, John Eastman, Boris Epshteyn, Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis, Christina Bobb and Mike Roman.

Those charged over their roles as false electors include two sitting lawmakers, state senators Jake Hoffman and Anthony Kern. The former Arizona Republican party chair Kelli Ward and her husband, Michael Ward, have been charged, as has Tyler Bowyer, a Republican national committeeman and Turning Point USA executive, and Jim Lamon, who ran for US Senate in 2022. The others charged in the fake electors scheme are Nancy Cottle, Robert Montgomery, Samuel Moorhead, Lorraine Pellegrino and Gregory Safsten. The indictment says: “In Arizona, and the United States, the people elected Joseph Biden as president on November 3 2020. Unwilling to accept this fact, defendants and unindicted co-conspirators schemed to prevent the lawful transfer of the presidency to keep unindicted co-conspirator 1 in office against the will of Arizona’s voters. This scheme would have deprived Arizona voters of their right to vote and have their votes counted.”

Biden won Arizona by more than 10,000 votes, a close margin in the typically red state that immediately prompted allegations of voter fraud that persist to this day. The state has remained a hotbed of election denialism, despite losses for Republicans who embraced election-fraud lies at the state level. Trump has not been charged in the Arizona case. The indictment refers to Trump himself as “unindicted co-conspirator 1” throughout, noting how the former president schemed to keep himself in office, and how those around him, even those who believed he lost, aided this effort. Some involved have claimed they signed on as an alternate slate of electors in case court decisions came down in Trump’s favor, so they would have a backup group that could be certified by Congress should Trump prevail.

An Arizona grand jury handed down 18 indictments to those involved in the scheme to award 11 fake electors to give Donald Trump the state of Arizona in 2020, despite the fact that Joe Biden flipped the state in his narrow win. Donald Trump has been named unindicted co-conspirator #1.

The persons indicted for aiding and abetting efforts to help the fake electors: Jenna Ellis, Kenneth Chesebro, Christina Bobb, Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, and Boris Epshteyn.

Some of the notable fake electors charged include: former AZGOP chair Kelli Ward, TPUSA employee Tyler Bowyer, and 2022 GOP US Senate candidate Jim Lamon.

[mudwerks]

(via AZ panel votes to ban Satan displays from public property)

Arizona’s legislature is STILL a bunch of anti-constitution religious nuts:

PHOENIX — Calling Satan “an explicit enemy of God,’’ a state senator is pushing to keep displays of him, by any name, off of public property.

Just Satan. Christmas trees and menorahs would still be allowed.

”It is a desecration of our public property in the United States of America and in the state of Arizona for a satanic display, memorial, altar, etc., to be on public property,’’ said Sen. Jake Hoffman, a Queen Creek Republican.

He pushed the measure through the Senate Government Committee Wednesday on a 5-1 party-line vote.

All that drew questions.

”It is because it’s insulting to your religion?’’ asked Sen. Juan Mendez, D-Tempe.

Hoffman said that’s not his motive.

The legal issue goes beyond that.

The Satanic Temple has been recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a religion and entitled to the same charitable status as any other.

“I am genuinely impressed that in only 25 words this bill seems to violate three separate clauses of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,’’ testified Micah Mangione, an individual who showed up to testify against the bill.

These, he said, are prohibiting the government from establishing a religion, barring government interference with the free exercise of religion, and guaranteeing the right to free speech. He warned the Republicans there are implications for their support of SB 1279.

”If you can go after the Satanic Temple, which is a religion, what about paganism next?’’ Mangione asked. “What about Judaism next? How about Islam? How about LDS?’’

What the legislation does is declare that only Christian values matter, he said.

Hoffman said he doesn’t see it that way.

”It is legally and constitutionally suspect to argue that Satan, someone who is universally known to be an explicit enemy of God, is somehow a religion,’’ he said. “That is an absolutely ludicrous statement to make.’’

Another individual testifying against the bill, Tonia Francis, told Hoffman what he is proposing interferes with her First Amendment rights.

Hoffman disagreed, saying she remains free to practice whatever she wants — just as long as nothing is erected on public property. Any arguments beyond that are off base, he said.

”So you think that it’s both legally and constitutionally OK to argue that Satan … who is universally known to be explicitly the enemy of God, antithetical to God, you think that’s targeting your religion?’’ Hoffman asked.

”Universally known to you?’’ Francis asked.

”To, literally, everyone,’’ Hoffman responded. “That’s not a point that’s debatable. Would you not say that Satan is the enemy of God?

”No,’’ Francis said.

Hoffman called her testimony “disingenuous.’’

Mendez called the legislation “a straight-up attack on the rights of people and religion.’’

Hoffman can’t even imagine that other people don’t believe in his chosen religion’s world view. 

And he’s an elected legislator?!?!

[dertaglichedan]

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed a new bill that would have made it illegal to facilitate or record sexually-explicit conduct in public places, like classrooms and government buildings.

This veto decision comes months after an Arizona teacher was fired after being caught recording pornography of herself and another individual in her classroom and posting it to the website OnlyFans.

“No 12-year-old child should ever have to worry that their middle school desk was the location of a porn shoot, yet because of Hobbs’ actions, this is precisely the case,” said Arizona State Senator Jake Hoffman.

SB1696 was supported by Republicans and made it through the House and Senate. However, Democrats ended up voting against the proposal, as expected.

In November of last year, another Arizona teacher was discovered recording porn in her 8th-grade class, before uploading the videos to social media platforms, OnlyFans, and other risqué websites.

“That was my friend’s daughter’s desk. And she is mortified over the situation like, ‘that is my desk.’ She has no care knowing students have seen her everything and on students’ desks,” said Kristina Minor, a parent from the Arizona school.

“She was sharing these links to her sex site on her social media accounts, which are public, which children follow her,” Minor continued.

The teacher’s OnlyFans profile also reportedly featured a picture of herself from the school’s yearbook.

“It has come to our attention that students have been airdropping explicit material. The images did not happen during the school day and the person depicted no longer works for LHUSD. Please remove all images from your child’s phone and talk with them about the appropriate use of technology,” the Lake Havasu Unified School District said in a statement, regarding the incident.

Parental outrage and contempt were rampant due to the fact that no criminal charges were brought against those responsible for creating the sex tape on school premises

[justheretokilltimesblog]

Just more from the “Law and Order” party.

[debunkingtherightwing]

Charlie Kirk attempts to deal with the extremely awkward reality of his employees engaging in election fraud

Charlie Kirk has probably been having an extremely rough week.

It all started when right-wing representative and Turning Point Action senior director Austin Smith withdrew his bid for re-election. This was because it came out that he allegedly forged dozens of signatures in his bid for re-election. He also resigned from Turning Point Action. Naturally when you are a guy who still totes Trump's lies about the 2020 election being stolen, one of your employees committing voter fraud is awkward to say the least.

But Charlie's troubles didn't stop there because later in the week two of Charlie's closest allies, Tyler Bowyer and Senator Jake Hoffman, were indicted for posing as fake electors in the 2020 election. Tyler Bowyer in particular must have been a blow because, as documented on this blog, Tyler is a regular on Charlie's ThoughtCrime podcast and was so confident that there was voter fraud (at least voter fraud that HE wasn't involved in) that he outright tried to sue the Arizona government.

Naturally, the reality that is your employees running around committing election fraud left and right is super awkward for Charlie "The Election Was Stolen Because Just Trust Me Bro" Kirk to wrestle with but to his credit he does try to wrestle with it a bit in this episode. Lets get into it.

07:10, Charlie Kirk: "Ok everybody, radio stations across the country, we're broadcasting live from the 48th state Arizona. Where we always do but it is especially important to mention that today. Last evening, the internet went ablaze with breaking news from the state of Arizona. The attorney general of Arizona is Kris Mayes. She should not be the attorney general of Arizona. Remember, she won by 280 votes with millions of votes cast."

Yeah Charlie, that's called voting. That's how elections work bud. What? Are we supposed to only accept landslide victories because Charlie says so? It would still be "stolen" in Charlie's mind if it wasn't a landslide victory because "oh, too many people voted for that candidate".

07:42, Charlie Kirk: "They found all these extra votes out in the Native American reservations, weren't allowed to contest signature verification, all the poling places that went down on election day."

Arizona's former attorney general actually conducted an investigation into "voter fraud" and found that there was no basis for allegations of widespread voter fraud. He was actually a Republican and never actually released his findings, Mayes did.

The aforementioned report actually covers Charlie's gripes about signature verification - it covers it quite a bit actually. They found that quote; "no improper election procedures were discovered during the signature verification review". They even include what they did to get that result. What does seem a lot more verifiable is that Charlie's employees are engaged in some pretty shady business to put it lightly which is again really freaking awkward. If I were Charlie I really wouldn't be making election fraud accusations right now.

07:58, Charlie Kirk: "So you'd wonder if someone wins by, I don't know, 280 votes they don't exactly have a mandate to become a flaming Bolshevik. That if you win by 280 votes you don't exactly have a signal from the people of Arizona that you can just go full Letitia James - throw the law out and just go after your political enemies."

So, in Charlie Kirk's world there's apparently a tier list for what you can and cannot do as an elected official that's dependent on how close the election was. I don't know if Charlie realizes this but if an election is close it doesn't mean that the majority of people don't support that candidate.

Also, use the law to go after your political opponents you say? Kind of like advocating that we should put your political opponents in leg irons. But Charlie wouldn't know about that would he?

09:08, Charlie Kirk: "The media is framing this as going after fake electors. Fake electors, what even is that?"

Since Charlie seems unaware of what a fake elector is, allow me to explain. Essentially, each presidential candidate in Arizona has eleven electors. The winning candidates electors are then appointed in a winner take all format. After the election is decided the electors for the winning candidate certify the election. What the Republicans did was create an "alternate slate" of electors that signed documents falsely claiming that they were in fact Arizona's electors in the hopes that Mike Pence would count them instead of the legitimate ones. The only valid electors were Democrat ones since Biden won Arizona.

Anyway, Charlie's whole argument are that these people were "alternate electors". Kind of like this alternate quote from Charlie Kirk I have that says "I'm a lying tiny faced grifter". Charlie can't dispute that I said this because it's an alternate quote.

12:30, Charlie Kirk: "They're saying that they were trying to subvert the election system. They put up a picture and tweeted out what they were doing."

Ah, so crimes aren't actually crimes as long as you loudly announce that you're committing a crime first. Man, I'm learning a lot from this Charlie Kirk program today.

Again, the goal was that Congress and Pence would use these "alternate" electors as actual electors. This was built off of the lie that the election was stolen that was long debunked by the time these fake electors were set out.

13:36, Charlie Kirk: "Lets go back in time to the 1960 presidential election. A race between Kennedy and Nixon. Hawaii was very closely contested. While Hawaii certified Richard Nixon as the winner of the states electoral votes, Democrats said 'No, JFK won'. Democrats, John Fitzgerald Kennedy and his team, assembled their own slate of electors and submitted their votes to the national archives to be counted while the state worked out the contest in the courts."

The 1960 election is the other thing that Charlie Kirk has been yapping about. Unsurprisingly, Charlie's viewers aren't getting the full story here.

Charlie Kirk is leaving out a bunch of key details. First of all, 1960 occurred during an active recount where there was actual uncertainty around who won the election. In 2020, states like Wisconsin that submitted fake electors did so even after Trump backed recounts proved that Biden won the state. In Hawaii it was unclear who won the state - in these states it was crystal clear. Plus, Hawaii didn't have a chance at overturning the overall election result whereas 2020 did. The fact that recounts occurred multiple times in these states and that ballots still came up Biden shows that this was not some kind of good-faith "backup plan" on the Republicans part.

15:42, Charlie Kirk: "So Tyler Bowyer and Kelly Ward and all of these patriots, when they met they were looking at the 1960 precedent."

Except that there were recounts before Tyler Bowyer and Kelly Ward et all conspired. There's a difference.

Here's something kind of amusing.

16:37, Charlie Kirk: "But now these folks are facing years in prison, these patriots, because they signed a piece of paper exercising their constitutional ability to petition the government. More in just a second - what do we have? Patriot Mobile? I wanna tell you about Patriot Mobile-"

PEOPLE ARE BEING ARRESTED FOR EXERCISING THEIR RIGHTS *beat* by the way, buy my junk.

17:06, Charlie Kirk: "When you switch to Patriot Mobile you're sending a message that you support free speech, religious liberty, the sanctity of life, second amendment, military veterans, and first responder heroes."

Did he....did he just do a "support the troops" in an ad read for a "conservative phone plan", whatever the hell that's supposed to mean by the way.

Doesn't get more cynical than "Buy my junk to support the troops!" What an absolute goon.

23:25, Charlie Kirk: "But Kris Mayes, the attorney general of Arizona, she comes out and she says 'this is not a political decision'. Oh really? This was just a couple weeks ago Kris Mayes, play cut 118."

Charlie then plays an out of context NBC clip of Kris Mayes saying that "we absolutely have to get President Biden re-elected." I picked up from some words said in the clip that Kris is seemingly talking about abortion but it goes to show you how out of context this clip is that I had to play it back a couple of times to figure it out.

Anyway, she said the words! Still doesn't change what Bowyer and the other fake electors did. This is just a way to distract from the point.

Conclusion:

Well, the life of Charlie Kirk is probably rather difficult right now and I don't find myself all that sympathetic to his plight. It's pretty hard to say the election was stolen when your own employees are running around doing stuff like this. Oh well, guess we'll see what the future holds for old Charlie Kirk and Toilet Paper USA. I wish them the worst of luck. Cheers and I'll see you in the next one.

Sources:

Charlie Kirk's employees can't stop committing election fraud:

Vigdor, Neil. “Lawmaker Accused of Forging Voters’ Names Resigns from Turning Point Action.” The New York Times, 19 Apr. 2024.

Leingang, Rachel. “Arizona Grand Jury Indicts Trump Allies Including Giuliani over 2020 Fake Elector Scheme.” The Guardian, 25 Apr. 2024.

Arizona election fraud is B.S:

“Former Arizona AG Sat on Records Refuting Election Fraud.” Toronto.citynews.ca.

Fake Electors Scheme:

“What Is a Fake Elector? The Term of the Day, Explained.” The Arizona Republic.

“The Pro-Trump Arizona Fake Electors Scheme: What’s in the Charging Document?” The Guardian, 26 Apr. 2024.

“Republicans Are Trying to Take the Trump Fake Electors Narrative and Tie It to Democrats.” USA TODAY.

[wushigod]

An Arizona grand jury has charged 18 people involved in the scheme to create a slate of false electors for Donald Trump, including 11 people who served as those fake electors and seven Trump allies who aided the scheme. Kris Mayes, Arizona’s Democratic attorney general, announced the charges on Wednesday, and said the 11 fake electors had been charged with felonies for fraud, forgery and conspiracy. Beyond the fake electors themselves, high-profile Trump affiliates have been charged with aiding in the scheme: Mark Meadows, John Eastman, Boris Epshteyn, Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis, Christina Bobb and Mike Roman. Those charged over their roles as false electors include two sitting lawmakers, state senators Jake Hoffman and Anthony Kern. The former Arizona Republican party chair Kelli Ward and her husband, Michael Ward, have been charged, as has Tyler Bowyer, a Republican national committeeman and Turning Point USA executive, and Jim Lamon, who ran for US Senate in 2022. The others charged in the fake electors scheme are Nancy Cottle, Robert Montgomery, Samuel Moorhead, Lorraine Pellegrino and Gregory Safsten. The indictment says: “In Arizona, and the United States, the people elected Joseph Biden as president on November 3 2020. Unwilling to accept this fact, defendants and unindicted co-conspirators schemed to prevent the lawful transfer of the presidency to keep unindicted co-conspirator 1 in office against the will of Arizona’s voters. This scheme would have deprived Arizona voters of their right to vote and have their votes counted.” Biden won Arizona by more than 10,000 votes, a close margin in the typically red state that immediately prompted allegations of voter fraud that persist to this day. The state has remained a hotbed of election denialism, despite losses for Republicans who embraced election-fraud lies at the state level. Trump has not been charged in the Arizona case. The indictment refers to Trump himself as “unindicted co-conspirator 1” throughout, noting how the former president schemed to keep himself in office, and how those around him, even those who believed he lost, aided this effort. Some involved have claimed they signed on as an alternate slate of electors in case court decisions came down in Trump’s favor, so they would have a backup group that could be certified by Congress should Trump prevail. But, the indictment says, the defendants intended for these false votes to pressure former vice-president Mike Pence into rejecting the slate of accurate electors for Joe Biden during the electoral college vote-counting on 6 January 2021. Pence did not declare Trump the winner, use these fake electoral votes, or otherwise delay the official count. Arizona’s charges are the latest turn in the fake electors saga. Seven states saw similar schemes, but two states – New Mexico and Pennsylvania – hedged their language in their documents enough to prevent prosecution. Democratic attorneys general in Michigan and Nevada have indicted Republican fake electors in their respective states. In Georgia, three of 16 fake electors were indicted as part of a wide-ranging racketeering indictment against Trump and allies. The remaining were given immunity for helping in the district attorney’s investigation. In Wisconsin, the fake electors acknowledged Biden’s win as a way to settle a civil lawsuit over the issue. Mayes’ investigation fell behind other states because she narrowly won office in 2022, and her predecessor, Republican Mark Brnovich, had not pursued the line of inquiry. She had confirmed the investigation in early 2023. The investigation – along with a host of other disagreements – have put Mayes at odds with Arizona’s Republican-led legislature, which started a committee to investigate Mayes and her office over concerns she was working beyond her authority as attorney general. In a video on Wednesday, Mayes said the investigation was “thorough and professional” and would provide justice for the plot to overturn the state’s electoral votes. “I underst...

[murlin09]

[go-redgirl]

Ted Cruz, Conservatives to Hold West Virginia Rally Against H.R. 1, the ‘Corrupt Politicians Act’

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and conservative activists will hold a rally at the West Virginia state capitol Saturday against the “Corrupt Politicians Act.”

The Council for National Policy Act will host a rally at the Charleston, West Virginia state capitol at 1:00 P.M. Eastern.

The rally will feature conservative leaders to rally against H.R. 1/S.1, the For the People Act, which the leaders refer to as the “Corrupt Politicians Act.” The legislation already passed the House. The rally will feature:

Sen. Ted Cruz;

Eric Berger, co-founder of FreeRoots;

Jake Hoffman, president and CEO of Rally Forge;

Ken Blackwell, board member of CNP Action and former Ohio secretary of state;

Kelly Shackelford, chairman of CNP Action, and president and CEO of First Liberty Institute;

Mike Thompson, senior vice president of CRC Advisors.

The rally precedes a hearing on the bill held by the Senate Rules Committee on March 24.

The rally would presumably work to lobby Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), a moderate Democrat and swing vote in the 50-50 split Senate.

Manchin’s support or opposition to the Corrupt Politicians Act could help pass or tank the legislation as it works its way through the Senate.

The Corrupt Politicians Act is 791-pages long and would enact a massive transformation of America’s electoral system.

The legislation would:

Federalize control over congressional elections;

Declare that standard state and local maintenance of elections systems, such as purging ineligible voters from voter rolls, limiting vote-by-mail, requiring voter ID, and establishing rules against felons voting, would erode the right to vote;

Restrict lawsuits against the rules in H.R. 1 to the federal court system, which is, coincidentally, favorable to Democrats;

Establish online and automatic voter registration;

Protect illegal immigrants from prosecution if they vote;

Establish same-day voter registration;

Register minors to vote;

Mandate early voting;

Establish nationwide vote-by-mail without a voter ID; and

Allow ballots to be counted ten days after Election Day.

Sen. Cruz said this week the Corrupt Politicians Act is the most “dangerous piece of legislation before Congress.” He explained:

It is the single most dangerous piece of legislation before Congress. What I call H.R.1 is the ‘Corrupt Politicians Act.’ […] It’s the number one bill. It’s not about COVID; it’s not about vaccinations; it’s not about getting people back to work; it’s not about getting kids back to school.

 It is about ensuring that Democrats remain in power and control for the next 100 years. It is a radical bill. What does it do? It federalizes all elections. It strikes down every election reform protection at the state level. 

So photo ID laws — right now in a lot of states you’ve got to use photo ID to vote — ‘The Corrupt Politician Act’ strikes that down. It sets up automatic voter registration, which would result in millions of illegal immigrants, and criminals, and felons being able to vote. 

The Democrats believe if illegal immigrants and felons are voting, that benefits the Democrats and keeps them in power. Not only that, it mandates universal mail-in balloting, it mandates ballot harvesting. This is all designed to facilitate fraud.

READ MORE ABOUT

Politics election integrity For the People Act Joe Manchin Kyrsten Sinema Ted Cruz

[innocentamit]

VIDEO: AZ Legislators Hold Election Integrity Panel At TPUSA AmericaFest

VIDEO: AZ Legislators Hold Election Integrity Panel At TPUSA AmericaFest

Arizona State Senate President Karen Fann, Senator Sonny Borrelli, and Rep. Jake Hoffman chaired an election integrity panel on Sunday during Turning Point USA’s biggest event in history. The Gateway Pundit covered the incredible speakers and the enormous crowds at TPUSA’s AmericaFest. THOUSANDS Turn Out For TPUSA AmericaFest – AZ Election Integrity Panel @ 7:30 ET – Watch Speakers LIVE Over…

[junker-town]

Tracking every major 2018 NHL trade rumor heading into the deadline

The NHL trade deadline is one week away.

The 2018 NHL trade deadline is rapidly approaching. On Monday, Feb. 26 the NHL will officially close its doors on trades for the remainder of the 2017-18 season, meaning we have two weeks of potential madness left.

NHL trade deadline day is usually not as crazy as the NBA’s deadline is, as most major hockey trades happen — if at all — in the days leading up to the deadline. The rumors, however, seem to churn out new names every day as we get closer to the Feb. 26 deadline.

As such, we’ve compiled a complete list of trade rumors from Feb. 1 onwards about the biggest names potentially hitting the trade market. We’ve already seen teams like the New York Rangers flat out admit big trades are likely coming as we head into the deadline, but teams like the Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators will also likely be major sellers as their playoff hopes end.

Here are the latest NHL trade rumors

Feb. 23

Senators are in “massive” trade talks involving multiple teams for Erik Karlsson Ottawa has a “strong preference” to package Bobby Ryan with Karlsson. The Canucks are getting calls on Chris Tanev, but injury concerns limit offers.

Feb. 22

“Every team” asks about Nashville’s Eeli Tolvanen but he’s not available. The Maple Leafs are not on Ryan McDonagh’s 10-team no-trade list. The Blue Jackets have initiated extension talks with trade candidate Jack Johnson. Vegas could be buyers at the trade deadline. The Canadiens are in “no rush” to move Max Pacioretty or Alex Galchenyuk. Jarome Iginla wants to sign with an NHL team before the trade deadline.

Feb. 21

The Blue Jackets have asked about Blackhawks’ forward Artem Anisimov. Erik Karlsson is “still in play” for other teams this month.

Feb. 20

Senators are trying to package Bobby Ryan’s contract in talks for Erik Karlsson. Another potential center target for the Penguins: Colorado’s Carl Soderberg. The Penguins have shown interest in Rangers’ winger Michael Grabner. Anaheim may be looking at winger Thomas Vanek from Vancouver.

Feb. 19

Boston does not want to trade top prospects or high draft picks for expensive rentals. Jets have discussed several forwards, including Chicago’s Ryan Hartman. Artem Anisimov, who has a NMC, hasn’t discussed any deals with Hawks management. The Penguins are also among teams interested in Derick Brassard.

Feb. 18

Detroit reportedly offered Petr Mrazek to the Flyers for a 3rd round pick. They declined. The Blues have inquired about Max Pacioretty from the Canadiens. Oilers forward Patrick Maroon is getting incredible interest across the league. The Rangers are looking to trade Nash, Grabner, Holden and Desharnais.

Feb. 17

Despite their denial, “don’t be surprised” if the Senators trade Erik Karlsson. Blues, Senators are in “serious talks” about Derick Brassard, Mike Hoffman. The Canucks have inquired about Max Domi, Tobias Rieder out of Arizona. San Jose may have interest in Bruins’ forward Matt Beleskey. Maple Leafs, Stars among teams who have inquired on Red Wings’ Luke Glendening.

Feb. 16

Buffalo defenseman Josh Gorges is available, and the Blues have shown interest. The Jets and Bruins are among teams interested in Patrick Maroon. The Rangers want Jake DeBrusk in a Ryan McDonagh deal with the Bruins. Rangers are more interested in players and prospects than draft picks. Blue Jackets are interested in Derick Brassard, but the “price is steep.” Penguins’ Matt Hunwick may be on the trade block with Ian Cole. The Maple Leafs and Stars are interested in Red Wings forward Luke Glendening. Stars deny reported interest in Glendening.

Feb. 15

The Red Wings are looking to move Gustav Nyquist and/or Tomas Tatar this month. Detroit’s Jimmy Howard has received more interest than Petr Mrazek from other teams. Kings are now shopping for a “mid-level scoring winger” after landing Dion Phaneuf. The Blue Jackets may be open to dealing young forward Boone Jenner. Radim Vrbata was asked to submit his 10-team no trade list to the Panthers last month.

Feb. 14

Rick Nash, Max Pacioretty, and Mike Green are among the NHL’s most coveted assets. The Panthers are a potential dark horse candidate for Pacioretty. Brian Gionta and James Wisniewski are hoping to sign NHL deals after the Olympics. The Senators are ready to listen on anyone but Chabot, Karlsson, and Stone. Ryan McDonagh has reportedly submitted his 10-team no trade list to the Rangers.

Feb. 13

The Jets are interested in landing a top-six forward before the trade deadline. The Coyotes aren’t shopping Max Domi, but they’ll listen to offers. Kings have “circled back” to Dion Phaneuf, Penguins interested in Derick Brassard. Penguins could be looking for fourth-line center, not a third-line center. There are 8-10 teams interested in Sabres winger Evander Kane. The Flyers may be in on a goaltender now that Brian Elliott has been sidelined with injury.

Feb. 12

Jeff Skinner, Max Domi among potential trade targets for the Colorado Avalanche. The Bruins are reportedly in on Ryan McDonagh, but does it makes sense? The Edmonton Oilers are maybe, possibly, thinking of trading Leon Draisaitl. Senators are talking Derick Brassard with other teams, but the price is high. Talks are starting to heat up around Golden Knights winger James Neal.

Feb. 11

Are the Penguins zeroing in on minor addition like Tomas Plekanec or Matt Cullen? Speaking of Plekanec, the Sharks are also reportedly interested in the center.

Feb. 9

The Red Wings may try to trade one of Petr Mrazek or Jimmy Howard this month.

Feb. 8

Stan Bowman says he doesn’t expect the Blackhawks to be buyers at trade deadline. Josh Leivo, Nikita Soshnikov, and Matt Martin may all be on the trading block.

Feb. 7

Will the Lightning chase defenseman Ryan McDonagh at the NHL trade deadline? Elliotte Friedman speculated on a potential Red Wings-Hurricanes blockbuster Could the Chicago Blackhawks consider trading Brandon Saad this season?

Feb. 5

The Rangers requested Rick Nash’s no-trade list, putting the winger on the trade block. The Avalanche are reportedly looking at Michael Grabner from the Rangers. The Predators have been “checking out” the Red Wings for scoring wingers.

Feb. 3

Josh Leivo has reportedly asked the Maple Leafs for a trade.

Feb. 1

The Canucks want to re-sign defenseman Erik Gudbranson, for some reason.

[biofunmy]

World Series: Nationals Stun Astros in Game 2 to Seize Control

HOUSTON — First came silence from the shocked Houston Astros fans, then some grumbling, and finally a round of sarcastic claps and whistles when the home team finally converted a routine play. The way their team was playing, there was little else to cheer.

In a game that was as surprising as it was lopsided, a strong performance from Washington pitcher Stephen Strasburg and an utter collapse by the Astros gave the Nationals a 12-3 victory in Game 2 of the World Series and stunned the crowd at Minute Maid Park.

The Nationals, playing in their first World Series, grabbed a two-games-to-none lead and are now heading home for the next three games, beginning Friday night at Nationals Park.

Washington has history on its side: Only three teams have lost the first two games of the World Series at home and gone on to win the title — the 1985 Kansas City Royals, the 1986 Mets and the 1996 Yankees. For the Astros, who won the 2017 World Series in seven games, joining that group will require summoning all of their experience and skill to reverse course immediately.

But even in a grim and near-silent clubhouse after a team meeting, the Astros insisted they still had life.

“I remember when we lost three in New York and the world was coming to an end,” said Alex Bregman, the Astros third baseman who made two costly defensive gaffes in the seventh inning. “Next thing you know, we’re in the World Series in ’17. We’ve been here before.”

Bregman was referring to the 2017 American League Championship Series, in which the Astros rallied from a three-games-to-two deficit to beat the Yankees, but in that series Houston won all four of its home games. This time around the Astros have looked vulnerable at points, and downright awful at others.

In the seventh inning Wednesday, they gave up a tiebreaking home run to Kurt Suzuki, bobbled one routine ball, made an poor throw for an error, threw a wild pitch and allowed the Nationals to score six times in the nightmarish frame. When Astros shortstop Carlos Correa finally threw across the diamond for the final, some taunting claps and whistles followed.

“We’re a really good team,” said A.J. Hinch, the Astros implacable manager. “We have Game 3 in a couple of days. We’ll be fine.”

But the Nationals are really good, too, and have probably performed better than many fans expected. When they swept the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Championship Series last week to win the club’s first pennant, it was the first time in 86 years that a Washington team had made the World Series; the long-gone Senators made it in 1933.

But now, with the Nationals having beaten two Houston aces at home — Gerrit Cole in Game 1 and Justin Verlander in Game 2 — the focus will turn to a 95-year drought: The only World Series the old Senators won was in 1924.

The Nationals have aces of their own, including the Game 1 winner, Max Scherzer, and Strasburg, who is now 4-0 in the postseason. Sean Doolittle, a Nationals’ relief pitcher, said winning Game 1 eased the tension for Washington, and he said he could sense a relaxed sense of confidence filtering through the clubhouse before Game 2, despite the high degree of difficulty Verlander and the Astros’ lineup presented.

“If you had said at the beginning of the series, ‘What’s the best-case scenario?’ and I said, ‘Well, we win two games,’ a bunch of people would be like, ‘Let’s be realistic, here. These are two of the best guys in all of baseball,’” Doolittle said. “But give Max and Stras credit. They went toe-to-toe with those guys.”

But the Nationals’ lineup has been terrific, too, putting balls in play and forcing the Astros into uncharacteristic mistakes. They also forced Houston to do something it had not all year: In the decisive seventh inning, Hinch signaled Ryan Pressly to walk Juan Soto intentionally, marking the Astros first pass since August 2018. (Soto, of course, went on to score.)

The Nationals have now won eight straight postseason games and are 17-2 in their last 19 games, dating to the regular season. The only other teams to win eight consecutive postseason games are the 2014 Kansas City Royals, the 2005 Chicago White Sox and the 2004 Boston Red Sox. The Nationals also became the only team to win five consecutive postseason road games.

All of this is from a team that started 19-31 before rallying to win a wild card berth. They trailed in that game and won, and they fell behind in their division series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. But since losing Game 3 of that series, Washington has not lost.

“People had kind of written us off in May and June,” Doolittle said. “A lot of us found our names in trade rumors, and our manager was on the hot seat. So, we’ve kind of embraced that, just that role of being counted out. We’ve kind of played with a chip on our shoulder for a while and we’ve embraced it.”

They still have two more games to win, but all these years later, something special appears to be happening with Washington baseball again.

“I like our team, that’s all I’ve got to tell you,” said Howie Kendrick, one of the Nationals’ veteran players. “I don’t know whether it’s special or not, but I like what we do as a team and it’s fun.”

James Wagner contributed reporting.

Benjamin Hoffman provided live updates and analysis from Game 2 as it happened:

9th Inning: Nationals Finishing Things Off

Bottom

After Carlos Correa flied out to center off Javy Guerra, Martin Maldonado hit a surprising solo homer to left, narrowing the deficit to 12-3. Josh Reddick grounded out but George Springer was able to briefly keep Houston alive by reaching on a throwing error from Anthony Rendon. Jose Altuve singled, sending Springer to second, but Jake Marisnick grounded out to third to end the game.

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Chris Devenski came in to pitch for Houston. He retired Kurt Suzuki on a grounder to third but then allowed a 393-foot homer to Michael Taylor, a player who had come into the game as a defensive replacement. Taylor now has two postseason home runs this season after hitting only one in the regular season.

Devenski settled down to strike out Trea Turner and Gerardo Parra, who came in as a pinch-hitter for Adam Eaton, flied out to center to end the inning.

The Astros have three outs left to try to make up a 10-run deficit.

8th Inning: Nationals Add Three Insurance Runs

Bottom

Tanner Rainey was much better tonight than last night. Alex Bregman flied out to right, Yuli Gurriel flied out to center and Yordan Alvarez struck out. Rainey needed 12 pitches for a perfect inning.

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This game is officially out of hand.

Josh James struck out the first two batters he saw in the inning, but Victor Robles, who had led off, reached first on a dropped third strike. That proved costly, as Adam Eaton hit a two-run homer to right, pushing Washington’s lead to 10-2.

Anthony Rendon struck out and Juan Soto walked ahead of Howie Kendrick getting his second hit of the game with a single to left. James was replaced by Hector Rondon who promptly allowed a single to center from Asdrubal Cabrera that brought Soto in from second, making it 11-2.

Jose Altuve managed to end the difficult inning with a nice diving stop on a grounder from Ryan Zimmerman that gave him plenty of time to throw over to first for the third out.

7th Inning: Suzuki’s Homer Starts a Rally

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Houston was unable to counter the Nationals’ big inning.

Washington’s first reliever of the night was the 42-year-old Fernando Rodney. He walked Josh Reddick, but got some defensive help when Anthony Rendon fielded a harder grounder from George Springer at third and was able to throw to second to retire the lead runner. Jose Altuve popped out softly to Trea Turner at shortstop and Michael Brantley grounded out to first to end the inning.

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The damn finally broke and Washington jumped to a 8-2 lead thanks to a solo homer and three singles that generated more five runs.

Leading off the inning, Kurt Suzuki put Stephen Strasburg in line to potentially get a win in this game by taking the second pitch he saw from Justin Verlander on a 381-foot ride to left-center. The solo home run gave Washington a 3-2 lead.

Victor Robles then walked, putting Verlander at 107 pitches, and Manager A.J. Hinch talked briefly to his ace before replacing him with Ryan Pressly.

Pressly walked the first batter he saw, Trea Turner, and then had both runners advance on a sacrifice bunt from Adam Eaton.

After Anthony Rendon flied out to center for the second out, Houston intentionally walked Juan Soto to get to Howie Kendrick. With the bases loaded, Kendrick got his first hit of the World Series — an infield single that brought in a run. The next batter, Asdrubal Cabrera, singled to center, bringing in two more runs, and the Nationals were suddenly leading, 6-2.

A wild pitch sent the runners to second and third, and that proved vital as Ryan Zimmerman singled on a ground ball to third that drove in a run and brought a second one in thanks to Alex Bregman’s throwing error, making it 8-2.

That was it for Pressly, who was replaced by Josh James after allowing four earned runs to go with one inherited run while recording just two outs. James quickly ended things by getting Suzuki, the batter who started the scoring, to ground out to shortstop to end the inning.

6th Inning: A 1-2-3 Sixth for Verlander, but Strasburg Sweats

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A few baserunners, but no real trouble for Stephen Strasburg, whose night is most likely finished.

After Alex Bregman grounded out to shortstop, Yuli Gurriel doubled on a liner into the left-field corner that took a while for Juan Soto to corral. After falling behind in the count, 2-0, against the next batter, Yordan Alvarez, Strasburg signaled for an intentional walk to bring up Carlos Correa. Strasburg ran the count full against the Houston shortstop, but then threw him a bat-breaking changeup that got Correa to pop-up to second for the second out.

Strasburg was at 106 pitches when Kyle Tucker came out to pinch-hit for Robinson Chirinos, and he was at 114 when he finally retired the rookie on a called strike three.

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That was a quiet one for Justin Verlander. Howie Kendrick continued to look lost, flying out to center, and Asdrubal Cabrera struck out swinging. Ryan Zimmerman then grounded out to end the inning. Verlander is at 98 pitches.

5th Inning: Starters Continue to Cruise

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Continuing the theme of the ace pitchers matching each other, Stephen Strasburg stranded a runner in a scoreless fifth inning.

Josh Reddick led off by grounding out to first and George Springer grounded out sharply to shortstop. Jose Altuve then extended the inning with a single to left that a diving Trea Turner couldn’t reach, but he was left there as Michael Brantley flied out to center to end the inning.

Just like Verlander, Strasburg’s pitch count is starting to climb into the range of wondering how much longer he will be in the game. He is at 86 pitches through five innings.

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Trea Turner singled off Justin Verlander but was back in the dugout fairly quickly when Adam Eaton grounded into a 6-3 double-play. Anthony Rendon walked in a seven-pitch at-bat, and while Juan Soto took a few mighty hacks at Verlander’s offerings, the 20-year-old slugger ended the inning by grounding out harmlessly to first.

Houston Manager A.J. Hinch will at least need to start thinking about his bullpen moves, as Verlander is up to 83 pitches and may only have one, possibly two innings left.

4th Inning: More Zeros, and More Strikeouts

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Stephen Strasburg continued to match Justin Verlander’s dominance.

After Yuli Gurriel struck out to start the inning, Yordan Alvarez singled on a hard grounder that found its way past Asdrubal Cabrera at second base. Carlos Correa hit a grounder to third base, but with Anthony Rendon fielding it on the run, he had no play at second, so he threw to first for just one out.

With two down and a runner on second, Robinson Chirinos struck out to strand the runner. Strasburg is up to six strikeouts.

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Justin Verlander came up empty on an attempt at a diving grab on defense, but he worked around that one hit for a third straight scoreless inning.

After Verlander struck out a visibly frustrated Asdrubal Cabrera with a high changeup to start the inning, Houston’s starter was unable to make a play on a soft grounder by Ryan Zimmerman, resulting in an infield single for the longest-tenured Nationals player.

Unrattled, Verlander retired Kurt Suzuki on a liner to left and then ended the inning by getting Victor Robles to pop out to second.

3rd Inning: Another Scoreless Inning

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Stephen Strasburg had to deal with a few base runners, but he came away with another scoreless inning.

Josh Reddick led off for Houston and he struck out swinging before George Springer skied a pop-out to second base. With two down, Jose Altuve grounded a ball to short that Trea Turner struggled to field. With Altuve motoring to first, Turner rushed a throw and Ryan Zimmerman was unable to scoop it out of the dirt. Altuve ended up on first, with an error charged to Turner.

Michael Brantley sent Altuve to third with a single to right that just cleared the glove of a jumping Asdrubal Cabrera at second base, but Alex Bregman grounded out sharply to shortstop to end the threat.

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Justin Verlander was dominant once again.

Adam Eaton started things off in the third by flying out to center and Anthony Rendon grounded out to Jose Altuve, who was playing on the other side of the diamond as a result of a shift. With two outs, Juan Soto doubled down the right-field line — his third extra-base hit of the World Series — but Howie Kendrick flied out to right to end the inning. Kendrick, the N.L.C.S. M.V.P., remains hitless in the World Series.

2nd Inning: Justin Verlander Sets Strikeout Record

Bottom

Stephen Strasburg was absolutely dominant in a perfect inning.

Yordan Alvarez hit a ball sharply that appeared headed for the outfield before Washington’s second baseman, Asdrubal Cabrera, was able to snare it for an out. Strasburg then froze Carlos Correa with a sinking curveball for a called strikeout and got Robinson Chirinos with a terrific changeup that the Houston catcher could only wave at.

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Justin Verlander is the new postseason strikeout king and the game remains tied after a scoreless half-inning.

Verlander got off to a better start than he did in the first, striking out Ryan Zimmerman on six pitches. After Kurt Suzuki singled to left-center field, Victor Robles struck out, with a foul-tip finding its way into Robinson Chirinos’s glove. It was Verlander’s 200th career postseason strikeout, pushing him past John Smoltz for the major league record.

With two down, Trea Turner flied out to right to end the inning.

1st Inning: Both Teams Get on the Board

Bottom

Staked to a 2-0 lead, Washington’s Stephen Strasburg could not hold it, as Alex Bregman’s two-run homer made it a 2-2 game.

After Strasburg struck out the Astros’ leadoff batter, George Springer, on three pitches, Jose Altuve doubled to left, making it 22 consecutive postseason games in which he has reached base. He wasn’t there long, however; he got caught trying to steal third, with a strong throw from Kurt Suzuki and a quick tag by Anthony Rendon.

Michael Brantley then hit a two-out single, dropping the ball in front of Victor Robles in center field, bringing up the previously ice-cold Bregman. He proceeded to launch the ball 411 feet to left, tying the score at 2-2.

Strasburg recovered to retire Yuli Gurriel on a sharp grounder to third to end the inning.

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Houston’s Justin Verlander started his day with an uncharacteristic four-pitch walk of Trea Turner. Adam Eaton then laced an 0-1 fastball into left for a single, and Verlander paid for putting two quick runners on base when Anthony Rendon crushed a double off the wall in left. Turner and Eaton scored, and Washington had a fast 2-0 lead.

That brought up Juan Soto, one of the heroes of Game 1, but Verlander struck out the powerful youngster. Verlander then got Howie Kendrick to fly out to right and escaped the inning without further damage by striking out Asdrubal Cabrera.

Astros G.M. Addresses Locker-Room Comments

In a radio interview before Game 2, Houston General Manager Jeff Luhnow addressed the comments that his assistant general manager, Brandon Taubman, has been accused of directing at a group of female reporters in the team’s clubhouse after the Astros clinched their berth in the World Series.

Taubman was said to have shouted at three female reporters in an “offensive and frightening” manner as he praised the team’s closer, Roberto Osuna, who was suspended for domestic violence last year. The Astros initially attempted to discredit the Sports Illustrated article that revealed the incident, but later backtracked under a hail of criticism — and after multiple reporters corroborated the details of the Sports Illustrated report.

Taubman apologized for his language on Tuesday, and Major League Baseball said it was investigating the incident. And while Luhnow apologized for the incident in the radio interview, he also seemed to cast doubt on whether the incident played out as reported.

“What we really don’t know is the intent behind the inappropriate comments he made,” Luhnow said of Taubman. “We may never know that because the person who said them and the people who heard them, at least up to this point, have different perspectives.”

Starting Lineups

The Nationals will use the same lineup that propelled them to victory in Game 1.

1. Trea Turner, SS

2. Adam Eaton, RF

3. Anthony Rendon, 3B

4. Juan Soto, LF

5. Howie Kendrick, DH

6. Asdrubal Cabrera, 2B

7. Ryan Zimmerman, 1B

8. Kurt Suzuki, C

9. Victor Robles, CF

The Astros went with the same basic lineup they used in Game 1, swapping in their normal starting catcher, Robinson Chirinos, for Martin Maldonado, who had started Game 1 because he is Gerrit Cole’s personal catcher.

1. George Springer, CF

2. Jose Altuve, 2B

3. Michael Brantley, LF

4. Alex Bregman, 3B

5. Yuli Gurriel, 1B

6. Yordan Alvarez, DH

7. Carlos Correa, SS

8. Robinson Chirinos, C

9. Josh Reddick, RF

Keys to the Game

The Nationals, with a one-game lead in the series, will start Stephen Strasburg and the Astros, playing at home, will counter with Justin Verlander.

Strasburg and Verlander have both been superb throughout their careers, with Verlander holding a fairly distinct edge in terms of regular-season success. But in more limited postseason action, Strasburg has been far more effective. In seven postseason appearances (six starts), Strasburg has a 1.10 E.R.A. in 41 innings, with 57 strikeouts and only 5 walks. Verlander has not been bad in the postseason by any stretch, but in nearly a full regular season worth of postseason work (28 starts), he has put together numbers that closely resemble how he pitches in the regular season: a 3.26 E.R.A. in 176⅔ innings, with 196 strikeouts and 54 walks.

With his moonshot off Gerrit Cole in the fourth inning of Game 1, the 20-year-old Juan Soto became the third youngest player ever to homer in a World Series. But there’s no need to filter by age when trying to show how special of a game the Nationals’ outfielder had. He was only the seventh player of any age to have a World Series game in which he collected at least three hits, a home run and a stolen base. The feat was last accomplished by Moises Alou of the Marlins in Game 5 of the 1997 World Series.

Sahred From Source link Sports

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[paradoxicalca]

(OC) Jim Benning goes All In on the Canucks (An Alternate Reality)

(Previous parts of this series include: Mike Milburying the Islanders, Don Cherry Drafts the Leafs, Tom Wilson-Proofing the Penguins, Dundon DIYs the Hurricanes, Re-Chiarelling the Oilers, Moneyballing the Sens, Covertly Tanking the Wild, and Frenchifying the Canadiens.)Part IIt's June 15th, 2019, and the Canucks' war room is quietly optimistic. Elias Pettersson's rookie season has completely changed the outlook of the team's future, and the addition of Quintin Hughes to their blueline late in the year gave just a peek at what was to come: things are finally going to turn around in Vancouver after years of confusion and pain. With a high draft pick and a deep 1st round, the team has every chance at drafting another star.Just then GM Jim Benning bursts through the door, trips over a scout's laptop charger, and falls headfirst into the side of the table. When he gets up, fine save a bump on his head and a rip in the back of his pants, he looks primed for business."As all of you know, my contract expires at the end of this season. Our main priority is making sure that I get extended."His assistants and scouts look nervously at eachother. "Shouldn't we be focusing on building a team that can eventually win the Cup?""Yeah, and how are we supposed to do that if I'm not the GM anymore? Get a load of this guy."Benning grabs a cup of coffee and immediately spills it all over himself. He tries to dry it off with the closest thing at hand, John Weisbrod's sandwich, creating a viscous solution of mustard and Timmies triple triple down his front. "Our best players are in their primes - we gotta be competing for a Cup before guys like Brandon Sutter and Jay Beagle start to decline. It's time, gentlemen. We're going all in.""Hold on, Jim." Jonathan Wall says. "Are you sure that's a good idea? Columbus did that last year and they're about to lose all their stars in free agency.""The guy running that team, does he still have a job?""Yeah""Then get the fuck out of here!"He places his iPhone in the centre of the table and presses on its heavily cracked screen. "I've set up a conference call with every other GM in the league. I want everyone to know we're gonna be a force to be reckoned with."The call begins. Soon everyone is on the line. It's a cacophony. Jim Rutherford's trying to order Denny's delivery at the top of his lungs; John Chayka and Kyle Dubas are arguing over whether Beyblades or Bionicle were cooler; Pierre Dorion is breathing heavily into his team-issued Motorola Razr. Eventually things quiet down.Benning begins "Gentlemen, I'm calling you all because I wanted to let you all know that I really wanna make the playoffs. Real bad. I'll do anything, I'm totally desperate. Please. Trade me some players that will make my team better so I can be in the playoffs and get a new contract. Pretty please. That's all, have a good afternoon and I await your offers."He hangs up, leans back in his chair, and winks at his colleagues. "Now we wait.""Jim, what the hell was that? We just lost all of our leverage! We're gonna get terrible offers now"Benning laughs deeply and walks towards the window of the office, his jowls dancing below his chin. "Bullshit, Jon. We just started a bidding war."The front offices' horrified faces reflect clearly in the gel of his hair.Just then, Benning's phone vibrates - a trade offer from the Lightnings' Julien Brisebois. JT Miller for a first round pick."Now there's an offer! I'm going to go ahead and accept it.""Wait hold on Jim, you can't just accept the offer. We should negotiate, check out the player, see if he's a fit."Benning rolls his eyes. "Great point, John, I'll just go ahead and check his analytics on my fancy computer." He opens his laptop and mimes typing. "Get your head out of your ass.""We should at least lottery-protect the draft pick""Fine. Are you done? You know what guys, I'm just gonna do this by myself." He excuses the rest of his staff and locks the door behind them, inadvertently breaking the knob and trapping himself inside. His phone vibrates steadily with trade offers as he waits patiently for the building services staff to find him and let him out.Part IIThe next week is very eventful.Benning met with 6'8, +11 defenceman Tyler Myers who presented him with a request for a 5 year, 6 million dollar AAV contract. After discreetly folding up the 8 year 8 million dollar offer he had prepared, Benning happily agreed; a rigorous study by the Canucks' analytics department had confirmed that Myers was 6'8 and +11.Benning went on TSN Radio and - without prompt - provided his own personal ranking of the Trade Bait board in order of how much he would be willing to trade for them. He's shocked to be fined $50,000 by the NHL, saying "they'll call anything tampering these days."Benning also lost 3 phones at the draft - not in the EA NHL way where he made bad offers or lost GM rep, he literally just lost 3 phones over the course of the weekend.Benning repeatedly ducked Vasili Podkolzin's calls, knowing that getting to know the young Russian would make it harder to trade him. He attended the Canucks' Prospect Camp but only to take cell phone videos to send to other General Managers - ultimately a waste of time as all the footage is either blocked by his thumb, accidentally taken with the selfie camera, or both.Eventually, the night before Free Agent Frenzy, Benning is ready to secure that contract playoff spot. The Canucks' scouting staff deletes their internal prospect reports like Lucius Fox shutting down the surveillance machine in The Dark Knight. The assistant general managers quietly update their LinkedIn profiles. The Canucks' social media manager solemnly prepares for the ratios.​Vancouver Canucks @CanucksWE HAVE A TRADE TO ANNOUNCE: #Canucks acquire Mike Hoffman (15% retained) from the Panthers in exchange for Vasili Podkolzin, Tanner Pearson, and a 2020 4th round pick.​Vancouver Canucks @CanucksBlockbuster Alert: #Canucks acquire Kyle Connor from the Jets for Quintin Hughes, Jay Beagle, Troy Stecher, and a conditional 1st round pick​Vancouver Canucks @CanucksAnother trade! #Canucks acquire Jack Johnson from the Penguins in exchange for Sven Baertschi​Vancouver Canucks @CanucksOne more for the road: #Canucks acquire Kyle Turris from the Predators in exchange for Brandon Sutter, Adam Gaudette, and a 2020 2nd round pick.​Vancouver Canucks @CanucksMaking space: #Canucks have traded Loui Eriksson, a 2022 1st round pick, a 2021 2nd round pick, and Olli Juolevi to the Senators for a 2022 5th round pick.​Vancouver Canucks @CanucksCanucks acquire Andrew Shaw from the Canadiens in exchange for Jett Woo and Antoine Roussel​Vancouver Canucks @Canuckscanucks acquire matt benning for josh leivo and nils hoglander​The Canucks, at last, are ready to compete for a playoff spot.JT Miller - Elias Pettersson - Brock Boeser Kyle Connor - Bo Horvat - Mike Hoffman Micheal Ferland - Kyle Turris - Andrew Shaw Tyler Motte - Tim Schaller - Jake Virtanen Alex Edler - Tyler Myers Jordie Benn - Chris Tanev Jack Johnson - Matt Benning Jacob Markstrom Thatcher Demko Sure, haters can say "how they hell will you afford Pettersson's extension with all that money tied up," or "what will happen when those rental contracts expire and you have no internal replacements for them" but that's a next year problem. Benning is pretty sure nobody will care about any of that when the Canucks are coming off the high of a hard fought five game elimination (with one win at home, might I add) in the first round.EpilogueA month later, Benning gets a phone call from Francesco Aquilini, the team owner."Hey Jim, we want to talk about your next contract.""Yes, Mr. Aquilini sir, don't worry, we will make the playoffs this year and I'll earn a new contract for sure. Just give me a chance. Please don't fire me, I promise I'll make the playoffs. Please mister owner sir, please let me stay.""What? No, Jim, we're ready to offer you a multi-year extension right now. Are you interested?"Benning looks at his phone in shock. "Uh, yeah, yes sir, I'd be very happy to. I'll have to review the terms of the contract of course but I would be very much interested in that."A week later, his sleeve covered in ink and his heart full of joy, Jim Benning officially signs a contract extension with the Vancouver Canucks. And at last the world is quiet. (OC) Jim Benning goes All In on the Canucks (An Alternate Reality) Source

[thrashermaxey]

Eastern Edge: Streaming Options for the Stretch Run

  There are about three weeks left before most fantasy leagues see their trade deadline window hit; it’s your last chance to solidify the lineup heading into the playoffs where anything can happen.  If you’re battling for a playoff spot – weekly moves are going to be a must so that you can pick up every last point necessary.  This week I wanted to take a look at the teams and players who will be able to help you most so that those fringe bubble teams can throw one last ditch effort at making the playoffs.

Fortunately, the range of games that teams will play from 2/4/19 – 3/4/19 is only a low of 12 and high of 15 GP.  That being said there are two Eastern teams, the Devils and the Panthers who play 15 games over the next 4 weeks.  Meanwhile the Wings only play 12 times and the Bruins, Hurricanes, Canadiens, and Penguins only place 13 times.  OK so not the most important information but when we’re looking at third wheels on the top line, or second line players, those extra SOG or Assists per game are going to make the difference between 7th place and 8th place in at least one league.  Go get them.

Here is my list of the most important stream/waiver player who should be available in your league and the reason why you should take the gamble.  If you are low on moves, try to avoid players that could be traded like Gustav Nyquist, for example.

  Detroit Red Wings – For shots on goal help I would look to Anthony Mantha, he’s consistently providing two to three shots per game.  There isn’t much else on this roster I would be interested in. As with the opening comments, players from the Wings are not going to maximize your games played unless they fit perfectly in your roster dead space.

Boston Bruins – Jake DeBrusk, call me pathetic but he’s still seeing first unit power play time and is on the second line.  More is expected of him but, unfortunately, he has been ice cold recently.  It would be nice if he could chip in an assist too. I’d still take a swing with this upside if things were desperate.

Carolina Hurricanes – Justin Williams is probably still available in your league, he’s shooting the puck a lot recently and will certainly pad the stats in that area if he fits into your lineup well.

Montreal Canadiens – Jesperi Kotkaniemi has four goals in his last eight game – if you’re in need of a center that fits your schedule well, he’s worth a look.  Paul Byron is another stream-worthy candidate that I would have listed first but you’ll need to monitor him for a lingering arm injury.

Pittsburgh Penguins – a cop out answerm but you have to take the dive on Nick Bjugstad, with Malkin injured, we’re still not sure where he will slot into the lineup.  If he ends up on Sid wings? Why not roll the dice.

Toronto Maple Leafs – With all the off-night games that the Leafs play a great stream candidate is Andreas Johnsson.  As of writing this it looks like he might be relegated to the fourth line but he’s probably being eased back into the lineup after his recent concussion.  Previously though he was seeing time with Matthews – when he’s up there and you’re battling for a playoff spot with a Monday – Wednesday roster spot open – it’s an easy plug.  See Zach Hyman in this spot as well.

New York Rangers – There isn’t much here that I would be interested in, if you’re really desperate Neal Pionk is probably available and at least one of your D spots is likely open for counting stat purposes.

Tampa Bay Lightning – Palat and Gourde should be available in most leagues.   Palat especially slotted next to Kucherov and Stamkos could finish strong; you should at least be able to count on two shots per game.

New York Islanders – Eberle is the safe bet to break out at some point, all of his advanced metrics are cratering with an IPP of about half of what one could expect. The lack of goal scoring from the Isles does inhibit his overall value, but he would be my bet on an available player that could do some damage for your squad.

Buffalo Sabres – I can’t in good faith direct you to any of these players.  Perhaps Sheary/Okposo if you’re in dire straits and one them fits well into your lineup. Look elsewhere.

Columbus Blue Jackets – Josh Anderson is fun to watch, he is an absolute mad man out of the ice and fires close to three pucks per night. He’ll help you in those leagues that still count PIMs as well.

Ottawa Senators– Who knows who will be on this team in the coming weeks, but Bobby Ryan has been playing well leading into the All-Star break. Right now he’s playing at a 52 point pace player – a very decent streaming option.

Washington Capitals – The plug and play option if Washington fits your schedule is Vrana.  He’s playing with Kuznetsov and that is usually good for a point every other game.  This is where I would lay my chips for a stream-worthy Capital.

Philadelphia Flyers – Things are looking up in Philly; for upside Nolan Patrick fits the bill but assuming you already have enough centers – I would look to Travis Konecny.  Konecny has been hot of late, so much so that he’s probably not available in deep leagues.  He could be a strong second half player like last season, picking him up early is worth a gamble.

New Jersey Devils – I’m back to beating the Will Butcher drum – there isn’t much to like in New Jersey with Taylor Hall sidelined; eventually Hall will return (As a Hall owner that is what I’m hoping for). Butcher should see his IPP regress to the 40% and as a result his assist totals will benefit. Stream away when that’s the category you’re chasing.

Florida Panthers – Derick Brassard has to be mentioned now that he is slotted along Trocheck and Hoffman. We’ll see how long he lasts in a Panthers uniform but it sure looks like he’s picked some nice deployment – maybe he’ll pick up some points through osmosis.

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At this point there isn’t much you can do other than increase your man games and see if you can pull off one last buy low option before the deadline. Before you go and make a move for any of these guys make sure they’re actually going to crack your lineup.

  See you next week

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Last week's Eastern Edge: ROS Point Predictions

from All About Sports https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-home/eastern-edge/eastern-edge-streaming-options-for-the-stretch-run/

[go-redgirl]

Democrats Are Choosing Illegal Aliens Over The American People" Jake Hoffman |Posted: Dec 21, 2018 5:35 PM

We are witnessing a truly historic vote in the U.S. Senate today.  Democrats are openly choosing to side with drug cartels, human traffickers, terrorists and the destruction of our national sovereignty instead of keeping the American people—their actual constituents—safe and secure.

I never expected growing up that this is how low the Democrats would sink.  Have they been petty, hypocritical and partisan for the entirety of my life, yes, but have they been outright and openly anti-American, no.

What’s worse is that they are creating this dog and pony show in opposition to an exceedingly reasonable request by President Trump for five billion dollars—less than the U.S. reportedly spends on subsidizing sugar—after having turned down multiple, more-than-generous compromise offers from the White House over the last two years.

To put this in greater perspective, the Democrats are refusing to allocate the $5 billion to begin building the wall, while at the same time the U.S. has $14 billion in seized assets from notorious drug cartel kingpin, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.  In a stroke of political and actual genius, Senator Ted Cruz has proposed using the El Chapo assets to fund a significant portion of the border wall, and let’s be honest, can you think of a better use for those funds?

Yet like all other proposals to secure the border, Democrats have flatly rejected even the mere consideration of the creative solution Cruz has offered up.

The reality of the situation is that Democrats are committed to executing a radical open borders agenda that will leave our nation vulnerable to a continued flood of illegal, deadly drugs, and human and child trafficking, not to mention terrorism and the tens of thousands of other crimes that are committed each year at the hands of illegal aliens.

Think I’m exaggerating?   Think this is all hyperbole?

Let’s look at just a few of the facts:

This year alone, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has deported more than 256,000 illegal aliens, including approximately 6,000 suspected or known gang members.

On a recent tour of the unsecured southern border with a high ranking Border Patrol official, he shared that, when surveyed, 95% of Border Patrol agents supported building the border wall because it will help them do their job.

In my home state of Arizona, for example, an illegal alien is twice as likely to commit a crime compared to a natural born citizen. Each year 90% of all heroin and fentanyl and more than 10,000 child sex slaves are trafficked across our southern border.

Nationally, there are more than 50,000 illegal aliens in America’s federal prison system and illegal immigration as a whole financially burdens our nation to the tune of more than 100 billion dollars annually.

Illegal immigration makes our nation less safe and plagues our streets, schools and neighborhoods with drugs and crime.

There is no excuse for the votes being cast by Senate Democrats today.  They should be ashamed of themselves and their constituents should be demanding their resignations.