Cleaning out the Inbox

      We clean out the inbox with some interesting articles from around the world.

We begin with the Athletic's piece on former ABA players who are still trying to receive some pension payments from the NBA, fifty years after the NBA absorbed four ABA franchises.

The current list of twenty-three former ABA players who don't qualify for the "recognition payments" that ABA players agreed to four years ago includes Artis Gilmore, Julius Erving, Rick Barry, and Dan Issel, and they won't get the extra payments because the NBA says they already receive an NBA pension.

The four players I mentioned likely don't need the money, but I'd bet some of the others could certainly use the supplemental help.

The Smithsonian writes of an attempt to help the Eastern Box Turtle by radio telemetry.

The strategy is to track, capture, and release turtles to see how far they travel, and what are some of the issues they face in the wild, to try to figure out a strategy to stop the population decline.

I remember as a child seeing box turtles all the time, but I haven't seen one in the wild for years.

My favorite potato chips in the world used to be Jones Potato Chips, located in Mansfield, Ohio, but a 2017 regulation change forced the company to stop using partially hydrogenated oil, and it changed the flavor.

When I visited Ohio after the change, the chip that catered to Jones's fans was Ballreich's, but in recent years, Ballreich's disappeared from the shelves when I visited and was replaced by Conn's from Zanesville, Ohio, which I thought was even closer to the old Jones flavor.

I buy plenty of Conn's to bring home (Original Wavy for the Boss, Salt and Vinegar for me) on trips, but a Facebook post about an article from the Richland Source grabbed my interest.

Commenters on the article said the old taste was back with Jones (as referenced in the article), and I'm anxious to buy some to see if the former champion has a chance of reclaiming their crown as the best chip in the world!

Our next note comes from the Athletic, which discusses the future of the Seattle Kraken as the NBA expands to the Emerald City in the coming years.

The Kraken have missed the playoffs in four of their five seasons and haven't managed a foothold as an organization, as the Las Vegas Golden Knights have done in their existence.

Seattle is a basketball city first, and the Kraken's best chance was to grab success before the NBA returned.

Cleaning out the Inbox

  The inbox is overdue for a cleaning, so I'll do so here!

Apparently, whether you want to blame it on climate change or a natural coincidence, the range for animals continues to stretch, and when that happens, new breeds can intermix with each other.

Weather.com writes of the new hybrid species, the "Grue Jay," which is a breed comprised of a Blue Jay and a Green Jay.

The Green Jay, a warm-weather bird, has moved a few hundred miles north from its previous northern border along the Texas/Mexico border.

The Blue Jay has extended its range westward, and now the two have started interbreeding, producing birds with mixed characteristics.

NHL.com shares the inspirational story of Seattle Kraken reporter Piper Shaw, who has overcome a challenging childhood to achieve her goal of working in media. 

Shaw's story has to be read to be believed that she survived such awful treatment, and I'd recommend that you do so!

The Athletic offers "Trouble with the Snap, which discusses the tenth anniversary of the Michigan-Michigan State game that saw the Spartans win on the final play of the game when Michigan's punter fumbled the snap, and Michigan State recovered and scored for the victory.

The article also digs into the Michigan-Michigan State rivalry, which is often overshadowed by the Ohio State-Michigan wars but is almost as heated between the two schools.

Cleveland Magazine writes about the retro Pizza Hut restaurants that pop up around the country, yet the chain doesn't actually acknowledge they exist.

The Pizza Huts are decorated and designed exactly as they looked in the 1980s!!

The redesigns were offered for a limited time and aren't available after a change in management.

Devils Krak Seattle 4-2

    Former first-rounder Dawson Mercer scored his first NHL goal as the New Jersey Devils won their home opener 4-2 over the expansion Seattle Kraken at the Rock in Newark.

The Devils received the first goals of the season from all four of their goal scorers in Mercer, Damon Severson, Jimmy Vesey, and an empty-net goal by Pavel Zacha.

The Devils will host Washington on Thursday and Buffalo on Saturday before finishing their five-game season starting homestand next Tuesday against Calgary.

Look at the bottom of the post for some words on this year's Devils coverage.

Hell Raisers

1) The biggest news of this game?

It has to be the injury suffered by Jack Hughes in the first period on a hit by Seattle's Jeremy Lauzon.

Hughes fell hard on his shoulder and didn't return to the game.

Hughes will be evaluated later today and he is listed as day-to-day.

2) The Dawson Mercer goal was a very pretty goal off a two on one break with Mercer taking a saucer pass from Tomas Tatar.

It's the type of goal that you like to see from young players because all too often, the younger players struggle in finishing the play.

Mercer was the second of two Devils first-rounders in 2020 and looks the part of a power forward.

3) Video replay giveth and taketh away for New Jersey in the win as the Devils lost a goal on a review but won an appeal to remove a Seattle goal.

Nico Hischier's short-range tip from a Jesper Bratt pass just missed clearing the goal line at the end of the first period but the Devils appealed a Seattle goal for missing the Kraken being offside on the play.

4) It was a rougher, more physical game than I expected for the second game of the season but in hindsight, I shouldn't have been surprised.

Expansion teams of today, like Seattle and recently Las Vegas, may be more prepared to win immediately than their past compatriots in expansion but they still have players with plenty of proving to do if they want to continue to play hockey in the league, so that leads to some scrappy play that can eventually get to...

5) Let's call them disagreements.

Mason Geertsen took on Jeremy Lauzon early in the second period after Lauzon's hit on Jack Hughes, Michael McLeod fought Chris Tanev in the first, and Jonas Siegenthaler battled Ryan Donato in the second.

Add to that, plenty of pushing and shoving between the teams, and there was plenty of chippy play in this game.

6) Seattle cut the game to one goal at three to two when Jared McCann scored on a five-on-three power play with just over five minutes to play.

Pavel Zacha was called for a slash and seconds later Damon Severson was called for a trip.

The Severson penalty wasn't smart hockey as well as being ill-timed.

7) The Devils power play was zero for three and didn't really have great chances with the advantage.

Some of that was likely struggles with the unexpected loss of Jack Hughes, so one can give them a pass for one night.

8) I thought Jonathan Bernier was good, not great in goal but more than good enough to earn the victory with his performance.

With Mackenzie Blackwood's status in flux, the play of Bernier is very key in the Devils using their five home games to start the season quickly.

9) I kept having a hard time watching the broadcast from a higher angle and not thinking that Seattle was San Jose.

The uniforms didn't look like the Sharks up close but the road whites reminded me of them a great deal from afar.

If you have been reading other than for the Devils posts, you may have seen a reduction in posts over the last few months and my occasional struggles.

My intent is to do as much Devils and Cavaliers coverage as I can and hopefully do a decent enough job with them.

I didn't do season previews for either team (or Ohio State or Browns for that matter) because I didn't want to put out a half-assed effort that isn't something I would be pleased with.

I will likely be covering the Devils next on Tuesday as their game vs Washington is against the Browns and their Saturday game against Buffalo ( as the Cavaliers game against Atlanta) is at the same time as Ohio State after a time change this week.

Hopefully, I'll get enough Devils coverage to make those of you that come for that alone to be pleased with what I write...

Nathan Bastian lost in Seattle Expansion Draft

   The New Jersey Devils placed a few high-priced veterans on the list from the Seattle Kraken to choose from and hoped that the Kraken would oblige them with a selection that would save them some salary.

Instead. Seattle chose a low-cost young player, and while the Devils didn't lose a key player or a highly rated prospect Nathan Bastian was the type of player that expansion teams select and established teams hope not to lose.

Bastian is young (23),  physical, and is solid enough to play right win on a fourth line and play effectively as he did last season on the Devils fourth line with Myles Wood and Michael McLeod.

New Jersey selected Bastian in the second round in 2016 and scored three goals in seven games in 2019-20 in a cameo appearance before scoring the same three goals in forty-one games last season on the fourth line,

Players like Nathan Bastian aren't uncommon and they actually are fairly easy to find.

They play hard, are often fan favorites, are great teammates, can be productive on special teams, and sometimes in their career year can pop a number far beyond their normal number (remember David Clarkson's career year when he scored 30 goals and scored only 29 in the final five years of his career?).

Those players can eventually become far more expensive than their play justifies, which returns us to why Seattle took a Bastian rather than more expensive and formerly more productive players.

As for replacements for Bastian on the checking line, the Devils will likely sign an inexpensive veteran from free agency to compete with Nick Merkley off the roster and maybe Marian Studenic, who played for AHL Binghamton last season