Lowdown BlogCast: September 28, 2011

With the 2011-12 NHL season set to kick-off in a week’s time, we’re back with out annual Lowdown NHL season preview podcast. In this edition of the show, the boys start by picking the top fantasy hockey players for the upcoming seasons, some sleepers for the later rounds and where to draft injured players like Crosby and Kesler who will get you a point per game but might miss a significant portion of the season. The talk then turns to the alleged link between fighting and player deaths and discussion as to whether the connection is there or this is the media trying to make money without substantial evidence. Entertainment is up next as Jackie previews the new fall TV season while getting sidetracked constantly by Steve. When Steve takes over entertainment, he leads the discussion about nude celebrity self-portraits that mysteriously “leak” to the internet. After that, we’re back to hockey as the boys pick their division and conference champions and predict the individual award winners. They also talk in-depth about the playoff chances of the Flyers and Maple Leafs. At the end of the show, things go off-track again as Steve and Jackie talk about who would win in a war between zombies and vampires.

In total it’s a whopping 162 minutes of Lowdown action for you to digest. That’s nearly two-and-three-quarters hours of the classic Lowdown fun and frivolity in one podcast.

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The 20 Ugliest NHL Hats

A couple of weeks ago, Baseball Nation looked at the ugliest hats licensed by Major League Baseball. A few days before that, I paid a visit to the Hockey Hall of Fame and it was plainly clear that the NHL doesn’t exactly screen what its apparel manufacturers make. The likes of Reebok, Zephyr and more NHL partners are pumping out awful examples of headwear. So here are the 20 ugliest hats you can buy from the National Hockey League. Continue reading

NHL Power Rankings: Week 26

A week and a half is all we have left in the NHL regular season so we come to the final NHL Power Ranking of the 2010-11 season on The Lowdown Blog. It’s been a long run that has trailed off as of late but that’s what happens when life gets in the way. That doesn’t mean that I don’t have all 30 NHL teams ranked from top to bottom for you once again. We have a new team atop the rankings this week and it really shouldn’t surprise anyone. Continue reading

Wednesday Link-Off: When Life Interrupts

It’s time for the Wednesday links. Here’s Kat Dennings who is in the upcoming movie Thor… Yeah, that’s all I’ve got on her.

Tom Bissell was an award-winning writer until he fell into a slightly Grand Theft Auto lifestyle. This is his story. (The Guardian)

As is increasingly becoming the case, social media keeps getting in the way of real life. (Wall Street Journal)

And I thought this was an interesting article. Romantic breakups and rejections actually register in the same part of the brain as physical pain. (Fox News)

After the jump, Chris Pronger is winning, your perfect Facebook girlfriend and the Mighty Ducks rap. Continue reading

NHL Power Rankings: Week 25

Another week, another dose of the NHL Power Rankings. With two and a half weeks left in the season, the Western Conference playoff picture is just as cloudy as ever. But there’s still the stand out Vancouver Canucks atop the standings. However, leading the Presidents’ Trophy chase won’t get them on top of the Power Rankings. Continue reading

NHL Power Rankings: Week 24

It’s back to the well once again with another edition of the NHL Power Rankings. For the third straight week, a different team sits atop the rankings. While that’s starting to change on a regular basis once again, the bottom of the Power Rankings remains the same. Continue reading

NHL Power Rankings: Week 23

For the first time in a while, there’s a new team to top the Power Rankings. I don’t just mean that Detroit has fallen off the top of the rankings but this week’s #1 gets their first #1 ranking of the season. Unfortunately, I was very busy this week so I didn’t get around to stories about all 30 teams. They’re ranked but not necessarily analyzed. I’ll try to do better next week. Continue reading

NHL Power Rankings: Week 22

The NHL’s trade deadline has come and gone with far more fanfare in the run up to the big day than on deadline day itself. What resulted was TSN’s six-minute deadline day recap which was equivalent to watching auto-fellatio. I’ve been using that word a lot… Probably because I sub-consciously think that the Power Rankings are slightly auto-fellatious. Anyway, the Western Conference gets a lot of mention up top this week in the PR and we have a repeat #1. Continue reading

Steve’s Ridiculous 2011 NHL Trade Deadline Predictions

Every year, I do my ridiculous NHL mock draft which is half serious and half satire. I figured that it would be fun to do the same at the trade deadline. After all, when experts and reporters talk about deals at the trade deadline, they always think that teams will make deals that make sense for all involved. In reality, the NHL doesn’t work that way. Players have no-trade clauses in their contracts and some GMs have no sense whatsoever. So let’s take a fun look at this year’s NHL trade deadline. Continue reading

NHL Power Rankings: Week 21

It’s the last set of Power Rankings before the trade deadline. The problem is that the activity from the last couple of weeks would make you think that the trade deadline is earlier than February 28th. Short of Brad Richards getting traded, I’m not sure if there’s any major moves left to be made. Anyway, there’s a new team on top of the Power Rankings this team but it’s not like they haven’t been there before this season. Continue reading