badams

Way to go Joey

I like the trade as well

Pat Burns Pat Burns, who enjoyed instant success wherever he coached and who capped his tumultuous career by guiding the New Jersey Devils to Stanley Cup glory in 2003, has died of cancer. Burns passed away Friday at the age of 58. The former NHL coach battled cancer of the colon and the liver in 2004 and 2005 and hoped he had beaten the disease, but in January 2009 doctors found it had spread to his lungs. The third time, he initially opted to forgo any further treatment, but then decided to go with chemotherapy to try to extend his life as long as possible. Burns remained as a consultant to the Devils for some time after being diagnosed with the third cancer. And, even though his voice had weakened, he did some morning hockey commentaries on CKAC, a French-language Montreal radio station. Burns was the only coach to win the Adams Trophy as the NHL's top bench boss with three different teams -- Montreal in 1989, Toronto in 1993 and Boston in 1998. "We are all deeply saddened by the loss of Pat Burns," said Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello. "Pat was a close friend to us all, while dedicating his life to his family and to the game of hockey. . . Today, the hockey world has lost a great friend and ambassador." His last official public appearance was in early October, when he attended the groundbreaking ceremony for an arena to be named in his honour in Stanstead, Que. The wise-cracking Burns couldn't resist a jab at the media, some of whom had reported a few weeks earlier that he had died. "I'm not dead yet," he told journalists in a hushed tone, his frail body and sunken cheeks showing the physical toll the lengthy battle had taken. "I'm still alive." After Burns admitted at his previous public outing last March he likely wouldn't live another year, an online petition gathered thousands of names urging that he be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. New Jersey's general manager had said categorically Burns would be inducted "in the very near future," but when 2010 inductees were announced his name was not among them. It was while coaching the Devils that Burns discovered something was wrong in the weeks leading up to the 2004 NHL playoffs. He announced the day after the Devils were eliminated that he'd been diagnosed with colon cancer. "For those who know me well, I've never backed down from any fight, and I'm not going to back down from this one," he said after finding out he was sick. He received hundreds of cards and emails from well-wishers, but it was a tough year: Burns' wife, Line, also underwent surgery in 2004, and their Florida home was damaged by a hurricane. He let Lamoriello know the team should replace him, and Larry Robinson was named head coach. Then, hopeful he'd kicked the dreaded disease, the second body blow was delivered -- liver cancer. That forced him to have surgery and retreat to his lakeside home in New Hampshire to recuperate and undergo yet more chemotherapy in Boston. He was speaking enthusiastically of returning to work when cancer struck a third time. It was then he admitted the end was near. A big, robust man in his heyday, Burns was already thin and frail as he travelled last March from his home near Tampa, Fla., to southeastern Quebec for the announcement that the Pat Burns Arena would be built at Stanstead College and open in 2011. "I probably won't see the project to the end, but let's hope I'm looking down on it and see a young Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux" skating on the rink, he said at a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Stephen Harper. "I know my life is nearing its end and I accept that. "As for my career, I always said to my kids, 'you don't cry because it's over, you're happy because it happened.' That's the main thing. I'm happy it happened." He was a sharp dresser and, away from the rink, he got around. He once sat in with a band and played guitar, he wheeled around on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, and he moored a speedboat at a lake north of Toronto. Burns was the youngest of six children born into a working-class family in the St-Henri district near the old Montreal Forum. His father died when he was a boy and he moved with his mother and stepfather to Gatineau, Que. Inspired by his cousin Robin Burns, a former NHL player who would act as his agent during his coaching career, he played hockey but wasn't good enough to make it to the NHL. So, he became a police officer and began coaching in minor hockey. He worked his way up in both endeavours. He became a detective in Gatineau and head coach of the local major junior team, which was then called the Hull Olympiques. He took the Olympiques to the 1986 Memorial Cup final and was an assistant coach of Canada's junior team at the world tournament in Piestany in what was then Czechoslovakia. Faced with choosing between policing and coaching, Burns chose hockey at the urging of the new owner of the Hull team -- none other than Gretzky. "I flew to Edmonton to see Wayne about it," Burns recalled in Dick Irvin's book, "Behind The Bench." "He said, 'Look, you're gonna coach in the NHL one day.' "I sort of laughed and said, 'Yeah, sure. Easy for you to say.' He says, 'I'm telling you, you're a good coach and someday you'll be in the NHL. So why don't you quit the police force? I'll give you the same salary you're getting as a policeman. Even a bit more if you want. Stay on for three years and I guarantee you someday you'll be in the NHL. You're a good coach.' "So, I resigned from the police force and signed to work full-time for Wayne." He was on his way. Burns moved up to the Montreal Canadiens' AHL farm team in Sherbrooke, Que., and after only one year in the pro ranks was promoted to the big club. "Six years before, I had bought scalpers' tickets to watch the Canadiens play at the Forum," recalled Burns. "The first time I walked into the dressing room when the players were there, I was shaking." He soon gained the confidence he needed to succeed at the big-league level and he led the Canadiens to the championship series in his first season in 1988-89, losing the Stanley Cup final to the Calgary Flames. He won more games than any other coach in the NHL (174-104-42) during the four-year span spent behind their bench. Burns eventually got fed up with being under the microscope in the hockey-mad city. "In Montreal, the rap was I couldn't handle superstars, which was not true," he told Irvin. "The fans got impatient, I think the media got impatient, and I got impatient with the media. It was time for me to go." He jumped at the chance to coach Toronto when then-general manager Cliff Fletcher offered him the job, and he took the Maple Leafs to conference finals in 1992 and 1993. He was fired after his fourth season but he'd left an indelible impression. But he knew he wouldn't coach the Leafs forever. "I think after you're four or five years in the same town, even if you have a lot of success, and I had a lot of success in Montreal, I think it's time to move on -- unless you win the Stanley Cup every year," he told Irvin. After a year on the sidelines, he returned to the NHL with Boston. Eight games into his fourth season there, he was fired. He often left the impression that he felt the world was against him, and had a rage to strive for success against all odds. His emotional style was a trademark. He sometimes came across as being gruff or surly, mainly because he would not take guff from anybody, and he often spiked his comments with dark humour. In talking about the amount of physical play in the Boston-Buffalo playoff series in 1999, he offered, "If this is World War Three, then what's going on in that other series (Colorado-Detroit) is the end of the world." He'd yell at referees, hoping to stir up his players to greater efforts. Asked his view of the ramifications of criticizing NHL referees, he once suggested, "You either get suspended, fined or have to give your first-born child to the league."< Burns did some radio and television work before Lamoriello called in the summer of 2002. Once again, he was front and centre with an NHL team.< "I owe a lot to Lou," Burns would recall. "I was out of the game for two years and I read a lot of articles saying I was done and I wasn't the style of coach people wanted. He believed in me." Burns rewarded Lamoriello's faith in him by using a tight-checking style that helped the Devils win the Stanley Cup. He was always defensive about his reputation as a defence-first coach but it was a way to win -- and he took it.< "I coach hard work," he once said. And he loved to coach. Feeling better again, he put the word out that he was ready to get back behind the bench, and was named to the coaching staff of the Canadian team for the 2008 IIHF World Championships in Halifax and Quebec City. He also attended Patrick Roy's jersey retirement ceremony at the Bell Centre in the 2008-09 season at the request of his former star goaltender. After it was reported he had been diagnosed with cancer for a third time, he asked for no one to pity him and kept up as many of his daily activities as possible, including scouting games in Tampa Bay near his home. "I miss the practice times; I miss the morning skates," Burns told the CBC. "There was something about before a hockey game -- that electricity that existed -- that I really, really miss and probably that's why I like going to games because I can feel some of it, anyway." After his triumph with the Devils, he took the Stanley Cup to his cottage at Magog in Quebec's Eastern Townships, held it aloft while standing in the back of a pickup truck during a police-escorted parade, had a party at the yacht club and celebrated with his wife, son and close friends. It was one of the most memorable days of his life.< After coming close so many times but never going all the way, Burns had the title he most craved.< He said later the Stanley Cup was the crowning achievement of his career. "He definitely was the best coach I had in my career," said former goaltender Felix Potvin, who played for Burns in Toronto. "He was hard, but honest." In 1,019 games as an NHL head coach, his teams won 501 games, lost 353, tied 151 and lost 14 in overtime. In 149 playoff games, his teams won 78 and lost 71. He is survived by his wife, a son, and a daughter.

I guess I better start paying more attention to this league... I'm not used to being so low in the standings. All trade offers will be considered.

I'm loving the Habs right now!

Excellent... I have him in my Keeper Fantasy pool! He should be good for at least 3 goals this year

Congrats!!

I'd like to throw my name into the draw... No need to say why I need the device... I'll just hope luck is on my side

It's cute that you still have pictures from your Formal in 1986... your date was a real looker.

Just glad to see your on here today Booche

because our Men's team is a mess... CANCUN, Mexico -- Captain Christine Sinclair scored on a second-half penalty as Canada capped off a flawless campaign at the CONCACAF World Cup qualifier Monday night, defeating Mexico 1-0 in the final. There was little more than bragging rights on the line, given both teams had booked their places in the 2011 Women's World Cup by winning their semifinals. Still, the Canadians had to survive their stiffest test of the tournament. Canada blanked Mexico 3-0 when they met in the opening group stage but the hosts offered stiffer resistance this time until Sinclair broke the deadlock following a wild sequence in the Mexican penalty box. As a result, the Canadian women and coach Carolina Morace leave the Mexico resort as champions of Central and North America and the Caribbean. Canada did it in style, winning all five games at the tournament while outscoring its opposition 17-0 Canada also claimed the CONCACAF championship in 1998, defeating Mexico 1-0 in the final. The U.S. did not contest that tournament since it hosted the '99 World Cup. Earlier Monday, the U.S. kept its World Cup dreams alive by beating Costa Rica 3-0 in the third-place game. The American women advance to face Italy in a two-leg playoff in late November. Canada, ranked 13th in the world, beat No. 47 Costa Rica 4-0 in one semifinal while No. 22 Mexico shocked the top-ranked Americans 2-1. The United States had won 24-of-25 previous meetings with Mexico, outscoring them 106-9. It was the first loss for the U.S. in 35 games and more than two years. Perhaps buoyed by that result, Mexico came out full of confidence Monday, looking to pressure the Canadians when they had the ball. Still Canada had the first chance, hitting the crossbar in the sixth minute on a looping Melissa Tancredi header off a long free kick. Erika Vanegas, one of three goalies the Mexicans have used in the tournament, may have got a hand on the ball. Canada began to take control after an even 20 minutes. Sinclair forced a fine save from Vanegas in the 21st minute on a Mexican defensive miscue. The Canadian captain dispossessed defender Natalie Vinti and fired a left-footed shot which a diving Vanegas palmed away. At the other end, the Mexicans probed the Canadian defence but didn't manage to threaten until the 38th minute when an alert Karina LeBlanc had to deflect a raking cross from Maribel Dominguez. A Canadian shout for a penalty was ignored in the 41st minute when Josee Belanger went down in the box. Belanger went down after contact with Vinti but apparently it was deemed accidental. Not willing to roll the dice any further, Mexican coach Leonardo Cuellar immediately substituted Vinti. LeBlanc stopped a shot from Dominguez in the 49th after the striker battled defender Candace Chapman. The breakthrough came after a 52nd-minute corner. A Sinclair shot deflected off a defender to Sophie Schmidt, who hammered the ball off the post. It went to Belanger who fired back a high shot on target that Mexican defender Veronica Perez, making like a goalie, pushed over the bar. Peter was sent off for handball and Sinclair slotted home the penalty in the 54th minute. It was her sixth goal of the tournament and the 108th of her international career. Canada had a chance to make to 2-0 in the 82nd but Tancredi could not convert a fine cross from the left. Canada came into the game with a 5-0-0 record against Mexico in the finals of a CONCACAF women's championship or World Cup qualifying competition. Mexico, meanwhile, was unbeaten in nine of its last 10 games at home in World Cup qualifying matches. Canada is looking forward to its fifth straight FIFA Women's World Cup, missing out only on the inaugural competition in 1995 when the U.S. was the lone CONCACAF representative. Mexico will be taking part in its second Women's World Cup.

One very lucky Habs fan!!! LAS VEGAS -- Quebec poker professional Jonathan Duhamel said he worked a series of bad jobs before getting into cards and making his living online at tables with $5 and $10 minimums. Now -- if he wants -- he might never have to work again. Duhamel won the World Series of Poker title and $8.94 million on Monday night, becoming the first Canadian to take down the no-limit Texas Hold 'em main event in Las Vegas. "It is surreal. I could never dream of that. It's so huge -- so big -- it's a dream come true for me," Duhamel said after winning the gold bracelet. "I don't know what to think right now, I don't even know what I feel. It's just -- it's amazing." Duhamel, who said poker has been his primary income for the past two years, was spending the night partying like a high roller with 125 friends and family in an unrentable suite at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. [color:red]Many in his group donned Montreal Canadiens jerseys in an ode to their hometown and national pastime. The Sin City suite reserved for celebrities and gamblers who easily lose tens of thousands of dollars in a single blackjack hand is a far cry from the Montreal suburbs, where the French speaking, NHL-loving Canadian said he plays hockey several times a week and hones his poker skills online. "I was aggressive on the final table, so I wanted to mix it up a little bit," he said. "I didn't fold at all, but I limped a little bit just to try to confuse him and have a good balance in my game." It didn't hurt that Duhamel started the night with a big chip lead and put away John Racener before the 24-year old tournament specialist could pick up good cards. "He was patient and kind of threw me off a little bit," said Racener, of Port Richey, Fla., who got his start in poker by turning a $50 stake from his mom into $30,000 within six months. "I was like, 'Wow, you know, this is going to be harder than I thought," Racener said. With many of poker's biggest names watching, Duhamel took the last of Racener's chips after 43 hands. Racener was never better than a 4-1 underdog in chips in a session that lasted just over an hour -- the finale for a tournament that started July 5 with 7,319 players paying $10,000 to enter. On the last hand, Duhamel pushed Racener all-in and Racener called with a suited king-eight of diamonds. But Duhamel had an unsuited ace-jack, giving him a 60 percent shot to win. A flop of two fours and a nine helped neither player; and Racener didn't improve with a six on the turn and a five on the river. Duhamel won the hand -- and the tournament -- with an ace high. "The only thing that I was thinking for the past four months was to be sure that my game is sharp and that I play good on the final table," Duhamel said. Racener won $5.55 million for second place, never finding real traction in the biggest heads-up card match of his life. Racener said his only good hand was pocket queens and he didn't pick up anything besides that better than an ace-deuce. "I could never get anything going," he said. "It was unfortunate and he played it well." Duhamel had nearly 90 percent of all the chips in play when players took a 10-minute break after 36 hands. He put the pressure on after that, pushing all in on three straight hands and dropping Racener's stack to just above 16 million chips. When Duhamel pushed again, Racener unsuccessfully tried to make a last stand. Racener began the session a 6-1 underdog in chips, with just 26 big blinds in his stack. Chips have no monetary value in the tournament, and Racener had to lose all his chips to be eliminated. [color:red]Now, Duhamel can think about a bigger future in poker and buying Canadiens season tickets -- or perhaps dropping a [color:red]ceremonial first puck before a game. "To drop the puck would mean so much to me, I mean, 'cause since I'm two years old I've watched the Montreal Canadiens on TV," he said. "I played hockey all my life." Duhamel, who left the Universite du Quebec a Montreal during his second year studying finance, said he doesn't know how he'll spend most of his winnings, but pledged $100,000 to a foundation for kids in Montreal. Duhamel worked a series of odd jobs before playing poker full-time, mostly in cash games. The score was Duhamel's third in more than a dozen tournaments at the summer series, a 57-event spectacle that attracts big-time rounders, wealthy amateurs and smaller tournament winners. But Monday's win -- worth $8,944,310 -- dwarfs the $43,000 he won in three earlier events this year. Duhamel hopes that money and the prestige of being a champion will help take his young career even further. "I'm going to be playing all those big tournaments and try to make other big scores," he said. "I'll be there next year in the World Series and try to do my best again."

Me too. Wanna fight about it? lol Can we at least agree The Leafs Suck!!!

I don't really see where I am questioning my decision. I know it's a good trade. I was just making a comment... maybe I'm bragging... I don't know... I'm just at work looking for something to do.

Of course getting Crosby is a good thing but Backstrom is no slouch and is the same age. Just trying to wake you morons up! Good to see Booche and Low Roller are up and at it this morning.

Easy there Booche... I'm just trying to get some chatter going on this BORING board

What do you guys think. Keep in mind this is a Keeper League where we keep 6 players at the end of the season. I get... Crosby Pitt Frolov NYR Luongo Van Schneider Van I give... Backstrom Was Gionta Mtl Nittymaki SJ Niemi SJ I made the trade last night. I think I came out pretty good.

I wonder how long he'll last there?

NHL Sens 4 Leafs 3 Montreal 5 Columbus 3 Vancouver 3 Edmonton 2 NBA Miami 111 Minnesota 89

I finally had one today. I wish I could say I either loved it or hated it. My reaction is... meh

4-0 on the road' date=' 0-3 at home. Go figure.[/quote'] I know, it's an odd record. Hoepfully they keep it up in Baltimore this week, though that is going to be a very tough road game.

I am loving the NFL this season! Go Phins!!!

Thanks for the memories Halak and good luck!

That's right bitches... at this exact moment the Habs are the #1 team in the NHL.

I think more drunk posts will help as well. Everyone crack a beer now and post back around 11pm. I'll have a few during and after curling so I should be primed by then.