Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Martin Brodeur to miss 3 to 4 months!!

Lots of things to add today with the injury to Martin Brodeur,thoughts on the Seahawks thrashing against Philadelphia and more.....

The biggest news is the loss of Martin Brodeur to a torn bicep in his left elbow last week in the win over Atlanta.
Brodeur will undergo surgery tomorrow and will be out until at least February.
Kevin Weekes will be the man on the spot for the next few months,barring a trade.
Scott Clemensen will step into the Weekes role on the bench as the backup from Lowell and that in turn makes prospect Jeff Frazee the full time starter in Lowell.
That could be a good thing for Frazee,at least as he was sharing time with the veteran Clemmensen for the Devils.

How does this affect the Devils?
Massively.
For far too many years,this team has rode the shoulders of one man-Martin Brodeur.
Now it is time for the Devils to pick number 30 up for a while.
The task will not be easy.
Kevin Weekes has proven over the course of his career to be an average goaltender with occasional hot stretches of excellent play.
Can he hold the fort together for the Devils to keep playoff hopes alive?
Can Zach Parise and basically the same offensive cast from last season keep things together enough until the return of Brian Rolston and Bobby Holik?
Can an average defensive corps improve their play since they no longer have the best goalie in the world behind them to stop their mistakes?
Will Lou Lamoriello make a decisive stroke of action to stem the tide and keep the Devils in the hunt for now and improve them for the long term?

All of these are good questions and I don't have any answers,but here is one interesting thought to think in case the bottom drops from the barrel.
It has been so long since the New Jersey Devils have been bad enough to pluck a true top player from the draft,could a fluke year like this-one that everyone would know was a one year aberration be the one that lands the Devils a long term superstar?
I do not think that happens in even the worst case scenario,but it is an interesting thought.
The New Jersey Devils with a true superstar and yet still the team concept intact..........

The Seattle Seahawks scored the first points of the game on a team record 90 yard touchdown pass from Seneca Wallace to Koren Robinson and hung in the game for a half.
They would score no more in a 26-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Shawn's Thoughts

1) Robinson's numbers look nice,but after the TD pass that was basically due to Brian Dawkins slipping,he would catch 3 more passes for 15 yards.
Credit for the TD,but sometimes you have to look between the lines...

2) This was a very disorganized Seattle team as guys took too long to get on and off the field and generally wasted timeouts......
I could get into more detail,but why bother...

3) One thing the Seahawks need to do in the silly season is come up with a viable backup QB.
Seneca Wallace is not that and with Matt Hasselbeck's back looking worse by the day,this is a must.....

4) This season is lost,I would not rush Hasselbeck back into the lineup in meaningless games.
Besides,similar to the statement on the Devils above-this could be a one year aberration and a chance to get a star caliber player in the draft for a change...

5) The defense did show some life as the Eagles could only muster three field goals in the second half.This was even more surprising as neither Patrick Kerney or Lofa Tatupu played in the game...

The Seahawks travel to Miami on Sunday on the longest road trip in the NFL......

Bullpen Notes

Tennessee forced Phillip Fulmer out as football coach a few days back after signing him to a seven year extension just months ago.
Fulmer leaves Knoxville with a 150-51 record over 17 years and brought the Volunteers the National title in 1998.
Look at Tennessee to make a major run at Texas Tech's Mike Leach as the replacement......

Mike McKain fell short in his bid for Washington County school board.
McKain received some of the 353 write in votes throughout the county.
Don't give up on the Battler though,I have big plans for another run in the next election!

Looks like comedian Al Franken is going to a recount in his bid for a Senate seat from Minnesota.
Franken trails the incumbent Norm Coleman by just 762 votes and that is certain to be recounted.
Recounts rarely change the outcome however.
The difference maker appears to be Independent Dean Barkley,as Barkley grabbed 15 percent of the vote that saw both Coleman and Franken finish with 42 percent.

I am torn on third party runs.
I think that we do need more alternatives and could use some shaking up from the same old party hacks.
However,it seems like they can never win and when they do get solid support,all they do is muck things up.
Confusing....

And finally,Ryan sends me this video from the angry Video Game Nerd on the hardest video game ever-the NES Silver Surfer.
I actually owned this game,played it often and agree with his statements!
I have never played a game that hard EVER!


Photo Credits
Devils:Chris Creamers Sports Logos
Robinson:Dan DeLong-Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Franken:AlFranken.com

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