The Avs and salary considerations

Once the new CBA is signed, the Avs have a bit of work to do in order to sign the players they need and stay under the cap. TSN.ca has a good overlook of each team's situation. Essentially, the Avs have $22.825 million committed to 11 players, and that's after the 24% salary rollback, and they have about $16.175 million to sign the likes of Peter Forsberg, Adam Foote, Milan Hejduk, Alex Tanguay, David Aebischer, Marek Svatos, plus a few other minor league players and role players (I'm assuming that the Avs and Kariya/Selanne will mutually want nothing to do with each other).

This is quite a daunting task, but consider that the Avs will probably not excercise the option on Chris Gratton's contract, saving $1.9 million, and probably buy out Vincent Damphousse's $1.52 million (this time only, teams will be able to buy out contracts for 2/3 the value without it counting against the cap). I think the question of whether or not the Avs can keep their main core together will really come down to Forsberg. Injuries aside, he's a no-brainer asset to the team, and he's indicated he wants to return to Colorado, but will he settle for a paycut. Joe Sakic and Rob Blake will be making around $6.5 million each. If Forsberg wants that much (there will certainly be other teams with cap space to offer that much, if not more), it would make other stars like Hejduk, Tanguay, Aebischer, and Foote that much harder to sign.

If Peter's the type of player I'd like to think he is, he'll take a pay cut. Consider this he committed to playing for less money in his hometown in Sweden before the lockout, so perhaps he'll demonstrate the same loyalty to his 2nd home and come back to the Avs.

Finally thawing out

Woohoo! It seems that this darn NHL lockout finally has an end in sight, as the NHL and NHLPA agreed to a deal (pending official ratification by both sides). I can't speak for other hockey fans, but I'll be back. Minor league and college hockey held me over somewhat this past year, but their exposure was limited, and team loyalty just wasn't there for me like it is for the Avs.

So what to expect? Well, I'm not sure exactly what rule changes will be made, but any (and I'm guessing they'll be more conservative) will be designed to open up offense. In any event, with the salary restructuring and free agent frenzy that is due to begin, each team will probably look radically different, including my beloved Avs.

The Avs main problem here is they have a bunch of money tied up in Joe Sakic and Rob Blake, need to sign a few key guys like Adam Foote, Milan Hejduk, Alex Tanguay, and David Aebischer, and still (hopefully) need to be able to afford Peter Forsberg. Their core group of superstars in Sakic, Blake, and Forsberg is aging, so a good draft is also a plus. They will have 1/48 chance of landing the 1st overall pick (the inevitable Crosby pick) while a few teams, Columbus, Buffalo, New York, and Pittsburg, will have the best chance at 1/16. We can always hope, can't we?

I'm excited.

Pink Floyd reunion at Live 8

First of all, kudos to my brother for suggesting we tape the Live 8 concert and just search with the remote for the bands we liked instead of having to suffer through the idiotic coverage of either MTV or VH1. Most of us wanted to watch the music, not the on-air personalities. Hopefully they'll have video broken up and sorted so we can catch what we missed online. The highlight for us was definitely the Pink Floyd reunion, 24 years after their last show as a complete group. I only wish they didn't have to cut away, but they did show almost four straight songs --"Breathe," "Money," "Wish You Were Here," and "Comfortably Numb."

The first time in 24 years, and like my brother says, hopefully not the last.

Why, Sandra, Why?

Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announced her retirement today, forming the first Supreme Court vacancy in 11 years. With the highly likely retirement of Chief Justice William Rehnquist in the coming months due to his deteriorating health, this gives Bush enormous power to leave a long-term impression on the country with two Supreme Court appointments.

We already knew a huge battle was awaiting with Rehnquist's seat, now Bush has another opportunity to give a like-minded right-wing justice a lifetime spot on the nation's highest court. This is where the checks and balance system that the founding fathers envisioned comes in grave danger. The Republicans already have a firm grip on the White House and Congress, and with two appointments (which certainly won't be without controversy, mud-slinging, and filibustering), Bush could set up an uber-Conservative court that could last many years.

Now, I admit I'm a liberal (though Independent), and I certainly don't lean as far to the left as some people do, this solidified alignment of the U.S. government on the right side of the aisle represents a threat to many so-called "liberal" ideals, such as women's reproductive rights (don't even bother commenting about this, I'm not looking to start a cyber-fight).

As Harry Ried said in this article, "Above all, Justice O'Connor has been a voice of reason and moderation on the court. It is vital that she be replaced by someone like her."

And with that voice of moderation lost, I shudder to think what rulings will be handed down in the coming years.

...for real

Alright, this is pathetic. But finally, the heavy Taekwon-Do period is over. Last weekend I competed at the USTF Nationals in San Diego, CA, taking a gold medal in the Mens III-IV Dan patterns division. My father, in probably the best performance of his career, took home the gold in Senior Mens III-IV patterns and the gold in Senior Mens Power Breaking. While training never ends (always something else coming up) I'm atleast looking forward to the slowdown.