shooter27

In general US NCAA colleges do not hold open tryouts, either at D1 or D3. They do have "walk-ons" but the vast majority of those walk-ons are recruited players that simply don't get scholarship money (at the D1 level at least, D3 players don't get scholarships for athletics). Its not unheard of for a player who talks to the coach to at least get a cosmetic try-out, but it is extremely rare (not impossible, but rare) for those players to actually earn a spot on the team. In fact, its not unheard of for those recruited walk-ons I mentioned to not earn a spot on the team at the D1 level. At the D1 level, I'd be surprised if a coach is going to let someone who doesn't have AAA or some kind of Junior's experience attempt to try out, but I've never actually heard of anyone attempting that. That being said, it can't hurt to try to talk to the coach, worst he can say is no. At the D3 level, I think most coaches would at least let you show up at the first couple skates of training camp. We had a kid attempt to do it one year, though he was in way over his head and only lasted 2 or 3 practices. My knowledge of the ACHA (club) level is not as detailed, but I do believe that ACHA programs (even the high end ones) have at least some form of open tryout where players do have a legit shot at making the team.

Mathematically you're correct of course, but it was meant to be humorous, not necessarily mathematically rigorous.

Not sure if this should go here or in the venting thread, but here goes... Proof that girls are evil: Start with the obvious statement, girls require time and money, therefore: Girls = Time x Money As we all know, "time is money", therefore: Time = Money By substitution: Girls = Money x Money = (Money)^2 Money is the root of all evil, therefore: Money = √Evil By substitution: Girls =[√Evil]^2 Therefore, we are forced to conclude: Girls = Evil

How do you like that X:60 girdle? I'm thinking about getting one.

I'm guessing he got it from the TeamLA store at the Toyota Center. I was there today and they had probably 4-5 of those, along with a bunch of other Kings game used sticks and non-game used sticks.

Word on the news in LA is that John Wooden is on the verge of passing on. They officially termed it "grave" condition.

There were guys that used to use them - I know Tkachuk and Lindros both wore them at certain points - but I wouldn't say it was a lot of guys that wore them and I doubt anyone does today.

well if you're looking to get rid of them, PM me. Nope - they're hockey-specific shoulder pads. Douglas used to make a hockey shoulder pad as well, although they no longer do.

I loved the TPS Elbows that matched those Shoulder Pads - Wish I could still find a pair.

Damn - I was hoping I'd be able to snag one from you when you updated the list.

I like the look of the curve too - whats the lie like? Where'd you get the stick? I also really like the look of the chick in your avatar, probably more than the stick.

He's one of those players that you hate when he's on the opponent but love when he's on your team. The Devils have had their fair share of those guys over the years - Claude Lemieux comes to mind quickly. There were others, but he stands out above the crowd. That being said, I just don't see the Flyers being able to win 4 out of 7 given the way they've played lately. Yet another year that starts with promise and ends up with disappointment.

I had never heard that, but it certainly makes sense given whats gone on in the past and doesn't give me much hope for the future.

We're Flyers fans - we've got a long history of goalies being solid to spectacular in the regular season and then flaming out in the playoffs - Roman Checkmanek comes to mind initially, as does Hextall in a number of years other than his rookie year. We also have a history of bad luck with goaltending when its actually going good - see: the end of Parent's career and Pelle Lindbergh as examples of that one. When you've been scarred as many times as we have, its tough to put a lot of faith in a goaltender until he actually proves he can win a Cup. I still don't think the Flyers will make much noise in the playoffs, but goaltending is just part of the reason, I'm still suspect of the team defense and number of penalties they take.

This is where we differ. I agree with your other points, particularly about Pronger, but I just don't see them being a legit contender this year, goaltender or not.

Sorry - I just don't buy that you trade a 25 year old center who scored 46 goals last year and already has 30 this year for a 33 year old goaltender that is 3-8 in 11 career playoff games. I don't care what your organizational depth is, thats just not a trade of equal value. If you had told me the deal was Giroux for Vokoun, thats much closer to fair value for both sides. You're point about the goaltending is well taken, but trading Carter for Vokoun doesn't make them a contender this year anyway. So why throw away your future when you don't have a chance to win this year anyway?

Regarding the rumors of a goaltending deal at the trade deadline - I think the Flyers actually made the right move in this case. I'm of the opinion that moving either Carter or Giroux is pretty much a non-starter at this point in time. I also find the Panthers asking for Carter in exchange for Vokoun (if that is indeed the case) to be nothing short of egregious. Vokoun is a solid netminder, but nothing particularly special and, as far as I know, has never had any success in the playoffs, not to mention he's 33. Carter is a 35-45 goal guy that does just about everything and will be making that contribution for a long time to come. If you're giving up him, you're pretty much ending any chance you had of advancing the playoffs, making Vokoun a useless trade anyway. The team is definitely not a contender this year, they'll be one round and out, but I think they're getting closer. I still don't know what to make of the Pronger trade. Its time to get rid of Hartnell. I really think they made a mistake of giving up Lupul in the Pronger deal, despite his injury issues this year. And I'm starting to worry that Gagne's best years are well behind him, which is a major concern to me. That being said, I still think the core, other than Pronger, is young and still improving and with the addition of a goaltender they could start to capitalize on that potential next season. Man, that sounds really familiar being a lifelong Flyers fan.

From the looks of it, it appears that this sharpening is going to result in edges that are completely perpendicular to the ice. I wonder how that will feel and how much an adjustment it will be coming from edges (either traditional sharpening or FBV) that are angled in relation to the ice.

Quick question - What happens when a customer needs a re-bake on the skates? If they bought from you originally do they now get hit for the baking fee? What about if they didn't buy from you but paid a baking fee for the first bake, do they get hit again?

Quick story. A buddy of mine bought some skis from shop A. He brought them to shop B to have the bindings adjusted and the edges done (shop B close to home and trusted we their techs). The owner of shop B wouldn't do it and told him to bring the stuff back to shop A. Neither me or my buddy purchased anything from shop B again. Shop B lost thousands of dollars in business over $50 in tech work. So it's not that I don't understand it, it's I don't think it makes very much business sense. I didn't buy the skates there, so what. I'm in your shop now looking to do business. If you're gonna turn me away or charge me triple, I'll probably never shop there again. So not only did you lose out on the skate purchase, you're gonna lose out on the stick purchase, the glove purchase, monthly sharpens, ect.. ect.. Imagine if auto dealers did this with repairs and service, you'd be looking at a $100 oil change. Hey if you bought the car from them it would have been free. When it comes to baking I understand the charge. It's time consuming and it's part of the fitting process. So the shop should donate services to you, somebody who bought elsewhere due to marginally lower prices already even if they knew any service they got would be crappy, just in the hope that you MIGHT return and spend money at their shop in the future. Which you wouldn't. You demonstrated that when you bought elsewhere for a buck or two less on a thousand dollar piece of equipment. Why in hell would they cater to you? I dont see it as them wanting the shop to cater for them. Its more the fact that the shop owner wouldnt even do the work. It could have been a brand that shop didnt carry and couldnt get, it could be a variety of reasons why he went to another shop to get his product. In the end I cant blame the guy for not going back and spending money at shop B for the simple fact they refused to do the work, even though it seems this guy had no problem paying for it. To me thats the equivalent of me going into my LHS and them refusing to sharpen my skates because I didnt buy them there. I completely disagree with the concept of refusing to do the work, but they are performing a service and should charge an appropriate fee. If the guy had said he would do it, but he was going to have to charge you $50 (or whatever was reasonable for that kind of work) would you still never have shopped there again?

No argument wiht trying to save a buck, but if you save $20 by buying the skates online, you still need to have them baked and sharpened. Most places I know of will charge you at least $45 for a baking and first sharpening, sometimes more, on skates that are bought outside the store, but do that stuff for free for skates bough from them - and imo $45 is a completely reasonable price for those services. So you saved your $20, but after having them baked and sharpened you actually spent $25 more than you would have if you had bought the skates at the store. The point is that you have to take into account those ancillary costs when determining whether or not you actually saved money, which many people do not.

Gagne has always had top end, 40-50 goal talent. However, when Hitchcock was coaching the Flyers he spent quite a bit of time trying to do with Gagne what he did with Modano in Dallas and turn him into a 2-way player who can score. Since Hitchcock was the coach during most of Gagne's truly formative years as a player that is the type of player he has become. I can't speak to this year as I haven't seen the Flyers play, but I've personally always been very high on him, though never really thought of him as a "superstar."

I wanted to see what people's opinion was of window tinting? I have to have it done bc I live in S. Cal now and my interior gets too damn hot, but I need to decide how dark to get and whether to go with ceramic or metallic tint. I'd appreciate any opinions on the subject.

I have a 2004 sedan and it is THE best car I have EVER had. My only advice, in addition to for sure getting into the sedan, is make SURE you get the X model that has all wheel drive. That will give you max versatility for all season. If you eventually acquire the means to have a winter car and a summer car that its not as big of a deal but I would love to have that set-up right now. I bought the car new when I was in Cali, but have since moved to Denver. They didn't have any in Cali, but in CO most of the G's are all wheel. Check out this forum www.g35driver.com There are over 83,000 members there and there is literally nothing that can be found there about the G. Good choice! Thanks for the info - I'm moving to Southern Cal so I don't really need the AWD. If you're looking for another website, try www.myg37.com

Does anyone know of a place in the Los Angeles area that has FBV? I'm moving out there in a couple weeks. Thanks.