Gabriel

Tree keeps on giving. The contract is seven years at seven million per. Lots of people are saying it's too much and too long, but with the cap going back up, it's a legitimately good calculated risk. The dollar amount is absolutely fine for the next couple years, and depending on how quickly Kadri loses value, may not ever be a problem for the team if the cap increases at a faster rate than Kadri depreciates. He's a huge upgrade down the middle. Lindholm, Kadri and Backlund as our top 3 centers is a solid group. AND, to make the deal work, Sean Monahan is headed to Montreal. It would have been easy to tear everything down after Tkachuk and Gaudreau bailed, but Treliving has done a fantastic job of ensuring that our opening night roster is every bit as good as last season, if not better. If we can afford to keep Lucic, I would imagine that the locker room gets a huge boost over how it was last season, and it's those types of intangibles that can push a team from pretender to contender.

New Beavis and Butt-Head has been fantastic so far. First three episodes are up on Paramount+, which is finally starting to have enough content to feel worthwhile.

In a bit of a head scratcher, the Jays just got Whit Merrifield from Kansas City. He doesn't really fit any needs that should be getting addressed today... and Max Castillo was part of the package heading back. I have no problem moving Castillo, but maybe for something we need? Not another right hand bat who is an extra piece on the bench. He's versatile, but Merrifield typically plays second and the outfield. If he were a lefty, he'd be a great fit.

Jays pick up relievers Zach Pop and Anthony Bass from the Marlins for prospect Jordan Groshans. Groshans was highly touted, but he's fallen off hard. Losing Bass last time was a tough pill to swallow, so it's nice to see him back. Still would like a starter and a left-handed bat before the deadline though.

Well, until the deal is official, there's still room for someone else to sneak their way in. It's a good prospect package from the Padres, but if someone else is willing to bid higher and/or can get Hosmer to sign off, there's still the possibility that Washington sends him somewhere else. I can't imagine how Josh Bell is going to feel though, if Hosmer nixing his inclusion means that Bell is also out. How do you keep playing for a team that tried and failed to move you?

Hosmer has refused to waive his no-trade. The Padres are still set to get Soto, but the pieces are being re-worked.

Rob Zombie's brother, Spider-One (of Powerman 5000 fame) wrote and directed a horror movie called Allegoria. It is available on Shudder currently. While I can't say that the movie was awesome, by any means, it was definitely worth a watch for me and I am incredibly excited to see what Spider does with his next film. There's clearly a very strong understanding of the genre and what he wants to accomplish, but he needs some polish. The movie felt disjointed, but the ideas were strong. He even got Zombie alum Scout Compton to be in the flick, and I honestly think that an entire movie based around her character would have been a much better and coherent film. If you like to deep dive into horror, I recommend checking Allegoria out. There's lots to like and look forward to from Spider-One as a filmmaker. If you're more of a casual horror fan, you'll probably feel like you wasted your time.

Has there been any information released about a streaming release yet? I'm in a similar boat. My partner has MS and has a severely compromised immune system. So, I basically go to work, the grocery store and then come home. Because of that, I have really appreciated the quicker turnaround on getting movies from the cinema to the streaming realm.

We just upgraded our Plus to play Stray, and while there are a lot of cool games available, I'm really hoping for MLB The Show, NHL or WWE 2k to wind up there or just as free "regular" Plus games.

Shudder has added a new movie called Bloody Hell, which was just absolutely awesome. Basic premise is that there is a war veteran who flees the States due to past troubles, only to wind up being captured and tied up by a family in Finland. It's hard to divulge more without entering spoiler territory, but I definitely got some Hostel type vibes from certain scenes... another major influence though would be Daniel Isn't Real or maybe even Fight Club. As a veteran, he suffers from PTSD and sees and speaks to another version of himself. It's actually quite funny, but it was just surprisingly good. Two bloody thumbs up.

Similarly for Nightmare on Elm Street, there is Never Sleep Again, which does a deep dive into each film. I preferred NSA to Crystal Lake Memories, but both were fantastic looks at franchises that we love even though they make us scratch our heads quite often.

Tree did it! Dealt a real shit hand, he managed to get Huberdeau (who tied Gaudreau in points last season), Weegar (solidifies the defense), prospect Schwindt (19 goals in first AHL season) and a 1st round pick for Tkachuck from the Panthers. Great haul, AND it sent Chucky as far away from us as possible. Won't have to play against him often. This leaves the Flames with about $5.75 million in space and the need for two or three forwards. I'd take a run at a free agent with a chance to pot 15+ and give some opportunity to younger guys on league minimum deals. I'd also do my best to move Monahan, even if we need to eat some of his cap and just send a team a 3rd or 4th to take him, if it means that we can take a run at signing Kadri.

The return for Tkachuk won't bring back the same expected dollars we would have spent on him this year. Maybe Kadri gets his money on a medium term deal with Calgary after Chucky is moved. It sure sounds like Tkachuk is moving within the week. Tree wants to start working on next year's team and it would be nice to know what we'll need after looking at whatever pieces come back in a deal. St Louis is the obvious suitor, but it seems like every time I check the news and rumor sites, there are other teams joining the mix. If interest is high, the return will be very good.

The Flames filed for club-elected salary arbitration with Tkachuk. Basically, this means that he cannot be extended an offer sheet from another team now, which is great... because if he wants out, he could have accepted an offer sheet for a one year deal to walk him to free agency and either left Calgary or had Calgary match it knowing that he's likely gone after the season. I do believe that if he were offer-sheeted, he wouldn't be able to be traded until January, which would be a problem. So that's out of the way. That said, if they were close on a long-term extension, I'm not sure that this would have happened. So I don't believe they are close currently. Filing for arbitration will at least give the Flames a couple of weeks to either hammer out a long-term deal, or send Tkachuk somewhere else for his last RFA season. Treliving needs to start a bidding war here. Sure, if you're not his preferred destination, you're likely only getting one year of Chucky... but one year of him could be enough to persuade some teams into giving up a good haul... especially if his preferred long-term destinations are in on the bidding. Tree's gotta get something for him though. You absolutely cannot allow your two top players to just walk away in back to back off-seasons. Losing both of them this year will be a hard pill to swallow, but Mangy wants a long-term deal regardless of what happens with the other players, and if you pull the trigger on a Tkachuk trade before the season starts, maybe you can bring in pieces to help keep the team from regressing.

I hear these people at Rogers have some money... It's way out of character for the team, but throwing a truckload of cash at Soto wouldn't make me upset with the Jays... especially if they can get out from the Ryu or Kikuchi deals in the process. No knocks on either guy... Ryu's had some tough luck the last couple years and arguably was paid for what he'd done previously, not what he was expected to keep doing. Kikuchi just hasn't worked out. He needs some time coming out of the bullpen in low-stress situations to re-build his confidence. Both guys are high-potential bounce-back properties to have, but if the Jays are serious about being "next level" now, they need to add pitching and an impact bat with good consistency before the deadline. Deadline wants: at least 2 solid starting pitchers (minimum of 1 with options to bounce back and forth), 3 or 4 solid to game breaking bullpen arms, and 1 Juan Soto please.

How is the show? I'm excited for it, but we've got a few other things on the go at the moment.

My theory on the Leafs and Murray is that Kyle Dubas is aiming to stockpile draft capitol from any and all rounds so that he has more trading chips come deadline day. If they looked at the market and didn't think they could get what they wanted at a cheaper price, and the addition of Murray's contract and the picks they got were more appealing, then it makes sense... but they just signed Samsonov for $1.8, and they probably could have grabbed another UFA goalie with breakout potential or even just a consistently decent performance record and paid the pair less than what Murray makes. It's gotta be about acquiring draft capitol. At least Murray's only on the books for two seasons though. So, if it's a bust, it's an easier contract to move out. Jack Campbell signed with the Oilers for five years. I think I'd personally rather take a flyer on Murray for two than the Soup Man for five.

There has been no consistency whatsoever this season. When the bats are hot, the pitching is the shits... and when the pitching is hot, the batters are swinging at everything like they have the shits and are desperate to get to the bathroom. The accumulated talent on the field should be yielding better results. I don't put the blame on Charlie though. I think he did a great job, and I think he's a scapegoat for the underwhelming performance. Ross Atkins should be taking the heat for this. Bats go cold. You have to plan for that. What he gave Charlie to work with from the pitching mound lacked any kind of depth. Atkins gave him a fantastic looking roster of pitchers to start the year, but the depth chart falls straight down to hell after the obvious roster pitchers. If you plan for the best case scenario and put your pieces in place for that, you can't blame the manager or the players when injuries pile up and the lack of depth shines through like a ray of light inviting other teams to pick up easy wins. Ryu's injury was unfortunate, but long-term could be the thing that gives him the time to correct his issues and earn the rest of that big ol' contract. Yusei Kikuchi has been a bust so far, but if you look at past Jays reclamation projects, they weren't forced to endure a starting role during poor stretches of performance. They were more insulated until they gained their confidence. Kik's never had a chance. This is a Ross Atkins problem that Charlie Montoyo is paying for.

To be fair, Atkinson has said that he is done with Mr Bean. He doesn't want to do that character anymore. It was an enjoyable little show. Nothing groundbreaking really, and I wouldn't tell most people to go out of their way to watch it, but we enjoyed it for what it was.

I don't need a second season, for sure. What I do need though, is more Rowan Atkinson.

SportsNet is reporting that the Penguins have re-signed 35 year-old, oft-injured Kris Letang to a SIX YEAR deal worth $6.1 per season. Why would you handcuff your team like that as a GM? I'm a big fan of Letang, but this just seems like a boneheaded move.

Revenge is one that really did get a lot of play from me. Probably more than WrestleMania 2000, but not as much as No Mercy. I particularly enjoyed editing the attires and watching through the opening cinematics.

We started Only Murders in the Building last night, after reading about it here and seeing the reaction. Two episodes in, and I'm already feeling like Charlie Day connecting the dots. Great recommendation, EWB. Also, I am interested in The Orville, but if we aren't Trek fans, are we going to enjoy it? I enjoyed the new Star Trek movies enough, but they didn't really feel like Star Trek. My partner hasn't liked anything Star Trek, ever. But we're really big fans of Seth's other shows.

Y'all are forgetting about the best SNES wrestling game... SATURDAY NIGHT SLAM MASTERS! I definitely got the most play out of No Mercy on the 64. Played that for years before I finally upgraded to a newer console. I know we hear it a lot, but really... an updated version of No Mercy would be prime. It's creation suite was fairly good, story mode was a ton of fun and the gameplay was just solid. I feel like with the newer games, the depth of the creation suite is actually prohibitive. Of course, we have these absolutely amazing CAW's that we can donwload, that often look as good or better than in-game characters... but almost anybody could sit down and hammer out their favorites in No Mercy's CAW suite. More options would be necessary, but the depth of it was almost perfect. Not too much, but room for additions.

First round of the draft is on Thursday and the Flames haven't moved an inch since the end of the season. I'm terrified right now. EDIT: Gaudreau can walk to free agency and we can lose him for nothing. Tkachuk could accept a qualifying offer for one year and essentially tell the team he'll be doing the same if they don't trade him. Our third pairing out-priced themselves from being re-signed unless cap space is made. The two contracts that we'd like to move out to free up space would be Lucic and Monahan. I can see a team with tons of room being willing to take on Lucic to be a leader on their team (Seattle, maybe?), but unless we sweeten the pot, I don't think anyone takes Monahan's $6.5 million hit. Really, the only area that I'm comfortable with right now is in net. Markstrom and Vladar are a solid pairing, and Darth Vladar should see more action next season to help keep Marky fresher for the playoffs. But if we lose Gaudreau AND Tkachuk, it's going to take a lot of magic from Treliving to keep this team competitive. Plus, Mangiapane is in for a heck of a raise. This is stressful.