Hurlshort

Eh, Libby was just a scapegoat anyways. I've seen enough conspiracy movies to know that! Clinton probably can get free cocaine for life with all those pardons! Party at the Clinton's house!

Hmm, Preissing went to LA. I'm a bit surprised, I know he probably had a relationship with Dean Lombardi, but you are jumping from a team that went to the Finals to a team that probably won't make the playoffs. Was Ottawa not making any attempt to sign him? I'd rather take less money to play for the Senators. Eh, maybe he just missed California.

I played the demo on my 360 and the camera controls were a headache. I'd assume that aspect alone would make the PC version a better experience.

Well, they signed Rivet, which I think is a much better choice if you can only keep one. I liked Hannan, but I don't think he's irreplaceable. Vlasic showed he could play huge minutes in difficult situations last season, so he immediately steps into that slot. So Rivet and Vlasic become the top defensive combo, and McLaren, Carle and Errhoff round out the top four. Carle and Errhoff are offensive defensemen, but I see Carle getting better defensively this season and being a better top four fit. Errhoff hasn't really shown enough defensive skill, so he probably won't crack the 20 minute mark very often. So the Sharks really don't need a top two defensive guy. They need a stay at home guy who can play on the PK and keep the top four from logging too many minutes. They have a few farm guys, but none have shown staying power. So I really have no clue who they will try and get, but it's not a pressing need. I'm not sure the Sharks need to grab any big names. They need some more character guys, and they need the young guys to improve. They were the youngest team last year. They have talent, they just need it to show up more consistently. Edmonton grabbed Nylander. That sounds like a good choice.

That's good to hear, I haven't seen enough of Weight, but he always seemed more of a power forward to me. But I'm glad to hear the Blues will have a decent first line, maybe I can pull my jersey out of the closet finally. I'm still not sure if they will be a playoff team, but they might threaten. It was a busy first day. I'm not even sure who is still available. Almost all the marquee names are signed.

The Bourne movies are loosely based on the Bourne books. The books were Cold War era spy novels, whereas the movies have been updated. I only read the first Bourne book, but the character was a lot more hardcore than the Matt Damon one. More neutral in his attitude towards being an assassin, less tormented soul.

your goalie sounds really unreliable He is, and he's really not that good, and he's got a bad attitude. He's let in a lot of bad goals over the last two seasons, and he's always looking for someone else to blame. We kept him because he was going to pay his share this season (which is rare for a goalie) but he's late on paying and I think we made the team decision to bring on someone else. He's French Canadien, for pete's sake, but he's no Patrick Roy. Well...maybe Roy right before getting traded to Colorado when he started yelling at all the Montreal fans after a 10 goal shelling.

Who is going to feed Kariya the puck on the Blues? Weight never struck me as a premier passer. I can't believe the Caps still pay for Jagr, that's terrible

I still hear people talk about the fallout "feel" to a game. Did Fallout Tactics have the Fallout feel? It was a lot different, but I still enjoyed it. I guess I just don't see why the fallout "feel" needs to be rigidly defined by certain gameplay devices. I think it's more about the wotld that is created than anything else. I also loved the dancing minigame in Pirates!. Heck, that was just a series of minigames, and I thought it was awesome. But I didn't like the dialogue system in Oblivion, more because I thought it was clunky and too superficial. I'm not sure I've ever seen a dialogue system that I really thought captured the art of conversation. Vanguard's card system was kinda entertaining.

I spent my Canada day putting up a hat trick and a couple helpers in my hockey game. Our goalie didn't show up, so we put out six skaters and managed to win 8-3. The team we played was pretty bad, but I think we play better without a goalie. We've one two games and tied another over the last couple seasons when we get stuck in that situation. I guess it helps that they can't really dump the puck without us transitioning it back extremely fast.

Holy moly, NYR grabbed the two best Free Agents in Drury and Gomez. That's an incredible move. How can they even afford it? They are paying Gomez 10 million, Drury 7 million, and then they have Jagr and Shanny, who must earn a pretty penny. I guess it helps that they don't have any high paid defenseman and a young goalie. Still, the Rangers are now definitely a cup contender if they can stay healthy all season. No other big surprises, the Avs got a bit stronger.

I'm a bit confused how you can pick up on the dialogue from a few screenshots. I'm also not sure where level scaling (partial?) and radiant AI suddenly make the game Oblivion. Radiant AI sounds like a good thing if it's done well. And there are quite a few games with minigames. I just think you should wait for some actual gameplay videos before making snap judgements about a game.

Huh...those screenshots don't really remind me of Oblivion.

I think Briere is being overpaid by Philly. I like the idea of a contact that tapers out towards the end of a career, but I don't see how Briere warrants 10 million for next season. Thornton just signed an extension that nets him 7 million a season, and I don't know how you pay Briere more than guys like Thornton and Jagr. I don't even see Crosby making that much in a few years, at least if he wants to play on a team with other top guys. Edit: Iginla is also making 7 million. Briere put up great numbers with a great supporting cast, I don't see him putting up another 90 points in Philly. I see this as a bust in a year.

Psh, you are too young to drink.

Surprise, AZ - Surprise, you are in hell.

Vice City is the best one That's 3-2. Bored me too much. I preferred regular 3. Clearly you either didn't live through the 80's, or you are in denial about what an awesome decade it really was. Flock of Seagulls FTW!

They'd probably be inducted no problem any other year, but it was pretty stacked and there are only 4 slots. Ah, I just noticed Gilmour was left out before, I wonder what that's about? I see Stevens, MacInnis, Oates, and Gilmour in the same class of players. They all deserve to be in the Hall and will get there. If this was the NHL HoF, I wouldn't argue for Larionov ahead of those four, but it's the Hockey HoF, and the KLM line should be a first ballot group all around.

Tough Hall of Fame vote yesterday, there seems to be a big bunch that deserve to get in. I probably would have put Larionov in on the first try, but he'll get it next year.

GTA's are always great.

It's been 85 with a nice breeze all week here. Of course, there have also been a ton of minor brush fires, so I guess you pick your poison.

I think that's just being male. Seriously, most women I know work way harder than any guys I know.

I'm not meaning this as a personal attack, Sand, but I know you've been fighting hard to lose weight over the last year. That sounds like an addiction right there. Everyone has addictions, it's a part of human nature. The key is to recognize them, keep them in check, and choose positive conduits to direct your energy into. I consider gaming a rather minor addiction, and it's fairly easy to keep in check since there are only a few games every year that really spark my addiction.

You must be a Canucks fan I think Nashville will drop to the middle, but I don't think they'll be totally irrelevant. They still have Trotz behind the bench, and they still have a solid core. They will be fighting for a playoff spot, but they might be at an advantage due to a weak division. This is the reason Detroit keeps winning all those president's trophies. I can see Chicago fighting for a playoff spot. I still think they are a year or two away from being real competitive, and they might sabotage themselves along the way.

Ouch, Tale, why don't you tell me how you really feel about my idea? I suppose the aging would have to be based on time in game. If the game is a skill based game, like Ultima Online or Asheron's Call, then you aren't developing any skills being afk and therefore are simply wasting the early years. I wouldn't say it's a perfect idea. It obviously has a lot to iron out, but I'm tired of the whole levelling treadmill. It's never been all that fun to me. There are a ton of people that reach the end of the treadmill and quit, so how is that any different than doing so after your peak years? I'm just trying to make it a more a natural curve, or enhance the experience of multiple characters, or at the very least change something of this constant treadmill every MMO seems to be locked on.