NHL

Leave a comment Posted on January 31, 2016January 31, 2016 by Steve Murray Link-Off

Sunday Link-Off: Hey Now! You’re an All-Star!

Well, I don’t know about the rest of you but I’ve had a busy couple of weeks. I’m sure you’ve noticed that by the content on the blog. I’m still playing Rise of the Tomb Raider for review. I’ve started writing my Until Dawn review as promised on the last podcast. I’m also doing a story on the Fine Bros react bullshit and will run that on here because it’s a big deal to the YouTube world. So I’m still writing but it’ll be a bit hit and miss.

Anyway, it’s Sunday which means that you’re here for the links. Let’s kick things off with Emily Ratajkowsi.

Another charity has been accused of being a waste. Wounded Warriors has been accused of blowing millions on admin expenses and executive. (CBS News)

Saudi Arabia is supposed to be helping matters in the Middle East but a UN report says that they’re busy bombing civilians when they’re supposed to be fighting rebels in Yemen. (The Guardian)

Add the World Bank to groups who don’t see a benefit to the TPP. They say that the Trans-Pacific Partnership will have a minimal impact on Canada, Australia and the US. Oops. (Tech Dirt)

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Leave a comment Posted on February 15, 2015February 14, 2015 by Steve Murray Link-Off

Sunday Link-Off: Valentine’s Hangover

Good news, guys! Valentine’s Day has come and gone and it’s safe to come out of hiding again. Hopefully you didn’t screw it up and if you did, we’ll need your ex’s phone number. For research purposes only, of course… I think everyone bought that.

Anyway, it’s Sunday which means that it’s time for the links. Let’s continue going through some of the SI Swimsuit issue with Canada’s Kate Bock.

Global News was going to run a report on the Koch brothers’ connections to Canada. Then it was suddenly killed. What happened? (Canadaland)

Even more of Brian Williams’ reports are being questioned in the aftermath of his suspension. (Gawker)

How much is the legal weed market in Colorado? Only $700 million. (Washington Post)

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Leave a comment Posted on February 11, 2015February 10, 2015 by Steve Murray Link-Off

Wednesday Link-Off: Lies, Damned Lies and Isn’t There Anything Else to Talk About?

I know I’ve mentioned how some weeks are easier to find weeks than others. Sometimes, though, it’s nice to have links about new stories. As much as I’m sure Brian Williams interests most of you, there has to be other things in the world that are worth writing about. I swear the media finds one bit of clickbait to latch onto and it doesn’t let go.

Anyway, it’s time for the links. Since she’s on the cover of the SI Swimsuit Issue, here’s Hannah Davis.

Quiz time: Would you rather spend $1 billion on the Iraq War or on infrastructure? Independent Senator Bernie Sanders is trying to push through an infrastructure bill that would almost equal spending on the Iraq War. (The Hill)

Brian Williams is being whipped from pillar to post after it came out that he lied about being shot down in Iraq. The story’s traction might come more from the public spectacle than the principle of the matter. (Bloomberg)

The spectacle doesn’t change the fact that NBC news is in complete disarray at the moment. (The Daily Beast)

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Leave a comment Posted on January 26, 2015January 25, 2015 by Steve Murray Sports

The Lowdown 2015 NHL All-Star Game Results

Since the introduction of the fantasy draft format in the NHL All-Star Game, we’ve been having fun with the format by drafting our own teams. Let’s cap off our coverage with a statistical analysis of who would have won if our two teams had actually faced off. Our readers were pretty split as to whether Jackie or Steve had selected the superior group of All-Stars. But let’s dissect the teams with some fancy maths to find out whose team was most likely to win the big game.

Let’s take a look at the two rosters and their stats from the real NHL All-Star Game.

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Leave a comment Posted on January 25, 2015January 25, 2015 by Steve Murray Link-Off

Sunday Link-Off: Let’s Get Ready to Rumble

A little late but not any links short, it’s time for the Sunday edition of the links. I’ve been busy working IRL and on the blogs yesterday and I didn’t have as much time as I’d like. But for only a few more hours in the day. Star Trek said there were 26-hour days. Can we do that now?

Anyway, no more waiting. Let’s kick off today’s links with Jennifer Lopez.

Another week, another story about the CBC from Canadaland. This time, we learned they stonewalled Edward Snowden’s story. (Canadaland)

The Beer Store claims that it operates on a breakeven basis. Technically, that’s true. But it’s not like the owners aren’t making money hand over fist. (Toronto Star)

Modern technology was supposed to make life better for all of us. In many ways it has. However, the modern world is taking a toll on your brain. (The Guardian)

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Leave a comment Posted on January 23, 2015January 25, 2015 by Steve Murray Sports

2015 NHL All-Star Game Mock Fantasy Draft

It’s been three years since the last NHL All-Star Game. Thanks to the most recent NHL lockout and last year’s Winter Olympics, the NHL hasn’t held their All-Star Game since 2012. One thing that hasn’t changed since the All-Star Game’s return is that we will precede the All-Star festivities with our very own NHL All-Star fantasy draft between Jackie and I.

So how did our mock draft play out? Our draft results after the jump.

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Leave a comment Posted on January 21, 2015January 20, 2015 by Steve Murray Link-Off

Wednesday Link-Off: The State of Every Other Union

I know on Sunday that I said that the hardest part of doing a linkdump is coming up with a title but doing these intros isn’t much better. That’s especially true when you have to think of a bunch of links that really have nothing to do with each other. So I just killed a little bit of time by rambling on about that.

So that means we can get to the links. Here’s Canadian actress Shay Mitchell.

Justin Trudeau is ramping up for his first campaign as Liberal leader. Here’s a look at the economic advisory team he’s assembled that will likely prove the key to any success. (MacLean’s)

Fox News is being taken to task. The City of Paris is planning to sue Fox News over statements it made about the city. (CNN)

Printed pornography is dying. The likes of Playboy are being replaced by magazines that push art over just straight titillation. (New York Times)

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Leave a comment Posted on October 12, 2014October 11, 2014 by Steve Murray Link-Off

Sunday Link-Off: Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving

Good news! It’s Thanksgiving weekend in Canada which means copious amounts of turkey. Bad news! We have to sit through the Yanks doing the same in a month-and-a-half. It’s probably a good thing to space out Thanksgiving and Christmas like us Canucks because 1) that means that you’re not freezing during Thanksgiving weekend and can actually go outside; and 2) there’s not a run on the turkeys all at once.

Anyway, since The Walking Dead is back this weekend, here’s Lauren Cohen. Has the show gotten any better since early Season Four? I kind of wish I abandoned it earlier than that.

Ebola is something that should be scaring governments worldwide. The number of people infected is doubling every three weeks right now and is showing no signs of slowing down. (Washington Post)

Two Nation editors interviewed Edward Snowden. The preview includes some interesting quotes already. (The Nation)

Paul Krugman was one of President Obama’s biggest critics at first. Now, he’s changed his tune and thinks that President Obama is a success. (Rolling Stone)

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Leave a comment Posted on October 8, 2014October 7, 2014 by Steve Murray Link-Off

Wednesday Link-Off: Puck Drop

It’s not often that I run a bunch of sports links in one of my linkdumps but it’s not often that a new NHL season starts. It only comes around once per year and it gets pretty close to a national festival in Canada. Basically, it’s the Canadian equivalent to the start of the NFL or EPL seasons.

So let’s start this post off with a good Canadian girl. Here’s Nina Dobrev.

The story of the 2014 NHL offseason was the analytics boom. While fancy stats are common place in baseball and pretty common in basketball and soccer, hockey lagged behind those sports until now. (MacLean’s) I told my Leafs loving associates about things like Corsi, Fenwick and PDO last year and they ignored me right until the point where the Leafs crashed out of playoff contention and realized I explained what would happen all along.

The NHL’s move to Sportsnet has seen many changes. The biggest change is in the host’s chair which see Strombo replace Ron MacLean whose contentious relationship with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has seen him pushed aside. (The Globe and Mail)

For all the talk that fighting needs to be legislated out of hockey, it appears that the three minutes of ice time per game enforcer may be going the way of the dodo. Less than half the teams will open with an enforcer on their 23-man rosters. (CBC Sports)

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Leave a comment Posted on July 27, 2014July 26, 2014 by Steve Murray Link-Off

Sunday Link-Off: All The Write Stuff

No, that title isn’t a typo. I’m just back to making bad puns. What else do you expect from me on the weekend? I know! Links! And since today is Sunday, it’s probably a good idea to bring you the links. We start with some writing and transition to the downfall of sensibility in the NFL and the confused sustainability priorities of the NHL.

But before we get to all of that, let’s kick off with South African model and blog favourite Genevieve Morton.

TMZ might be the biggest player in celebrity gossip today but no one is entirely sure how it became a seemingly overnight success story. Here’s a look at the gossip site’s history. (BuzzFeed)

And since I just ran a BuzzFeed link, one of their lead writers is a serial plagiarist. (Our Bad Media)

After a couple of days of controversy, BuzzFeed undertook an internal review and let Benny Johnson’s for plagiarizing over 40 times. (BuzzFeed)

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