Odds and Ends

Will no one rid me of this troublesome Left Wing?: I suppose I could be romanticizing the old NHL a bit, but that's how I imagine Clarence Campbell would have dealt with idiots like Sean Avery back in the day. A few judiciously uncalled penalties, a little extra beating around the face before the fight is stopped, that sort of thing. Instead I see that commissioner Gary Bettman went and did the full-pansy and suspended him. I'm not defending what Avery said mind you, I'm just wondering if there are any players left in the NHL with the stones to put this idiot in his place once and for all. I guess not though, given how his antics also were dealt with back in 2007. Sean Avery rule my ass, he should have just gotten the snot knocked out of him. No wonder I can't stand pro hockey anymore.

Predator: Minnesota and North Dakota will have a new predator in the next few weeks:

Security efforts along Minnesota and North Dakota's border with Canada are being reinforced with an unmanned aircraft that will be based in Grand Forks, N.D., and could be patrolling the region as soon as January, federal authorities announced today.

This is U.S. Customs and Border Protection's first use of the Predator B Unmanned Aircraft System on the northern border. This system has been in use since 2005 on the United States' Southwest border with Mexico.

No mention in the article if it will be equipped with Hellfire missiles so I'm guessing not, and no, I don't see a need for that anyway. It might sound silly to some to guard the northern border, but I know the eastern half of the Minnesota-Canada border pretty well. It would not be difficult, if you know what you are doing, to bring all sorts of unsavory people or items across that border and disappear into the US. Compared to other parts of the US border it hasn't been a priority, though it's good that it's getting a little more attention now.

Waiting: I don't have much to say about the recount process now in progress for the Minnesota 2008 Senate seat. Let everyone do their jobs and we'll see where it ends up. So long as the process is very transparent I don't see the need for anyone to get hysterical. Yet. In the mean time, I will politely say that certain associate professors from New York should mind their own business.

Comments

[Emily]

Yeah, well you can thank the Instigator Rule for that bullhonkey. Nobody will go off on Avery when they know he's just going to turtle like a baby. All you'd be doing is handing his team a power play. The NHL cares more about courting soccer moms than they do about existing fans and even the game itself. It's sad.

[Dave E.]

Emily-I swore off NHL hockey 15 years ago when they allowed the North Stars to move to...that place. I'm grudgingly getting back into it this year, but stuff like this Avery business has me sliding back towards indifference. Maybe even contempt. This is not the NHL I thought I knew.