The Good, the Bad, and the Funny

Maybe this fall wont be so boring after all...

GOOD:
After almost 302 days of lockout, the NHL owners and the Players' Associaton have finally decided on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement! Yes, this does mean that the 2005-06 season is a GO. Now, I do not necessarily agree with all the terms of the new deal, and I am sure most of the players don't either, but the Commish did warn them that any deal reached at this point would never be as good as the offer that was put on the table in February. Despite some of these aspects, I am THRILLED beyond comprehension that this great game is back on the ice. The Avalanche is in a pretty decent spot up to this point. They have some salary cap room to spare, so a trade and/or farm system callup might be in order. Peter Forsberg could still come back. Goaltender David Aebischer has had a year to perfect his already promising skills as the backstop. Blake and Tanguay are also two big guns that will be back(if they are re-signed to new deals, which most of the experts are saying they will). Then there is the Jedi, Joe Sakic. Could this be the guy I want to see play the most? Uhm, yeh. That's an easy one. Avs are poised to do it again, people.

There will also be some rule changes to make the game more exciting, such as more tie-breaking shoot-outs. Good idea? Hell yeh, it is. I've seen an AHL game with a shoot out. It's definitely more exciting than ending in a tie. There are other possible rule changes, but I'll talk about them later when they are finalized.

BAD:
Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that the shuttle launch today was scrubbed. There was a faulty low-level fuel sensor, and that's a definite must-have for a launch. I'm not really that upset though, as this is a testament to the diligent work that has been and will be done to Return to Flight. I'm glad someone finally said, "You know what, we can't really go without this. Let's hold off until we get it right," and someone listened to that person. There has definitely been a change of culture in the Administration, and that is a good thing.

The higher-ups say Discovery could launch by Monday. Hopefully they will get this baby off before the July window ends. If not, we'd have to wait until September(that, of course, might not be too bad, cuz I'd be at JSC during that time period).

Remnants of Dennis continue to provide plenty of clouds and rain around NW Tennessee. It sucks so much. I wanted sunshine and breezes, not overcast and precipitation! I mean, it's great to relax, but I wanted to be doing that OUTSIDE. Oh well. Despite the uncooperative weather, Mal, Travis, and I decided to get in the pool today. Yes, it was quite cold, but we were bored. Mal was able to capture some of the moments, though....

FUNNY:

I am displaying the Heisman pose while Travis attempts to tackle me....all in midair.

Second half of the baseball season starts tomorrow. Yankees @ Bo Sox, 7pm EDT. Watch it on ESPN. I know I will be.

Just some FYI, the game on Saturday is on FOX, and the sunday night game is also on ESPN/2.

-H