wrote:

On Tuesday, August 25, 2015 at 8:52:51 AM UTC-5, Nyssa
wrote:

I'd heard about OV and his claim about the Olympics. I'm
wondering if Bettman would fine him or something for
going with the Russians if the NHL doesn't participate.
That could very well drive him to the KHL instead of
staying with the Capitals, with the NHL losing one
of its top-drawing stars. (Although my opinion of him
is less than stellar because of his hot-and-cold attitude
about playing at his best every game.)

There was a brief discussion on Sirius radio yesterday
about how Bettman may be pulling the same trick as he's
done before, mainly holding out for a better deal for
the NHL before agreeing to participate. It worked last
time, and as you point out NBC has a big reason to want
the NHL there too so they may put some pressure on as
well.

I'd bet along with a bigger slice of pie from the Olympic
committee, the players will get some concessions over
lodging, meals, and so forth. I remember the jokes about
the short beds in the Olympic village from a couple of
cycles ago (Japan?). And I can't see the players going
for cafeteria style kim chee this time either.

So dry your tears, that elopement may be on after all.

I agree about the advertising on the sweaters. Talk so
far has only small, unobtrusive logos such as the ones
already there for Reebok or Nike. But as with everything,
it's all about the money, so once it starts we risk
ending up with the billboards like they have in many of
the European leagues. ick! The word is, if advertising
goes on, fans will still be able to buy non-advertising
sweaters for their own collections though. I still don't
like the whole concept. It's not like revenues aren't
already rising and they need the cash to pay for ice
time.

I'm wondering about those temperatures you've been
posting for Pyongyang. When I was in South Korea in
August, it was hot and extremely humid during the days
with cooler temperatures, but high humidity levels at
night. You couldn't walk a block down the street without
needing a shower and a change of clothes. 70s in August
in Pyongyang? Maybe at night. It's not that far north of
Seoul to drop twenty degrees in temperature on hot August
days.

Meanwhile, shifting topics entirely, I'm just getting
ready to post a review to Amazon for "Allegiance" by
Kermit Roosevelt. It's a historical fiction novel set in
WWII about the workings of the Supreme Court. It covers
the Japanese internment camps issue as well as some nice
background to how the Court chooses cases for review. It
might be of interest to some of the posters and lurkers
here.

Nyssa, who needs to catch up on writing her other
reviews, but the other reading (and yard work) seems to
get in the way

Ovechkin is great but I'm puzzled by his tendency to
coming up small
in big situations - the Winter Olympics in Sofia leap to
mind. The table was set for the Russians to finally bring
home the gold but their performance was dismal.
Considering he is pals with Putin who also dearly wanted
the championship I thought Ovy would provide the
leadership and make it happen. Alas, it didn't happen.
Speaking of Ovechkin, did you catch this
story?http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.../despite-alex-
ovechkins-leadership-team-russias-bad-sportsmanship-draws-fine/

Yes they are claiming that the sweater ads will only be
small ones. Yeah for the first year or two. It is the
proverbial camel's nose under the tent scenario. Next
it will be two small ads and then three. Can we look
forward to NASCAR types uniforms in the year 2020 where
they are covered from head to toe? Stop this nonsense
before it starts! There are just some things where it
is the principle of the thing and this is one of them.
Continually compromising the integrity of the game must
cease before the league becomes the WWF on ice.

I can't verify the temperatures in Pyongyang but can
tell you my source. It is
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldcloc...orea/pyongyang
Gee whiz next you will be claiming the year 104 is
wrong! Perhaps El Nino has something to do with the
change in temperature?

Planning on checking out your review and will give you
a favorable vote regardless of what it says. Will do
the same for your other Amazon reviews as time permits.
There is nothing I won't do for my future ex wife.

It is currently 12:31 p.m. and 72 degrees in
beautiful Pyongyang this 26th day of August in the
year 104.

If you voted for more than four of my reviews, Amazon will
label you as a fan and your votes will not count. In fact,
they will take them off of my totals and your votes won't
count (either way) in the future.

It's their way of making sure friends and family don't
"stuff the ballot" box, but it also means that people who
find a reviewer *very* helpful in finding items and might
have similar tastes are penalized.

It's amazon's playground, so it's their rules...even when
they don't make them clear to their customers.

My big gripe about OV is his inconsistency. He tends to
go all out for *some* games, then coasts for others, often
for weeks at a time. Yes, he's talented, but without the
drive and leadership, he's not in my list of top stars.

As for the fine from the Swiss, it was Ilya Kovalchuk
(the guy who bailed on his contract with New Jersey and
left them in the lurch to skip out to the KHL) who was
the captain of the team, so it should have been up to
HIM to keep the team on the ice. He's been in enough
international games to know the drill. But since he has
a history of not living up to his commitments.....

Nyssa, who liked Kovalchuk until he showed his true colors