I forgot to mention this earlier, but Kate Crandall of the Colorado Springs Gazette left the newspaper to work for Teach for America. Kate wasn't at the Gazette for a really long time, but did a nice job getting a lot of information online in blog-form, which was extremely helpful to people like me.
On Frozen Blog had a very nice write-up on Air Force's success.
I hate being the anti-Air Force guy, because I really would like to see them succeed. I think it'd be incredible if they won their league's autobid and made a deep run in the NCAA tournament. But the idea of a team that will play just two games against teams that finish in the top 25 in the country getting an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament doesn't sit well with me at all. Even if they really are one of the best teams in the country, they'll have done little of significance to prove that.
I feel kind of the same way about INCH putting Jacques Lamoureux on their Hobey Tracker. Lamoureux overcame some pretty incredible odds just to make it into the Air Force, and for that alone, at least deserves some consideration. He's like the anti-Gerbe candidate. He's got the off-ice stuff in spades, but does his play merit consideration? After getting shut out last weekend, it's pretty likely he won't score a point against a single top 25 team. You don't hear much about Case Keenum being a candidate for the Heisman Trophy, even though he leads the NCAA in passing yards. Why? Because he plays for Houston.
On the plus side,Air Force joined Bemidji as the only non-WCHA/CCHA teams to get their own tag here, so they've got that going for them.
Denver's Tyler Bozak is one of the best free agents out there for the NHL right now. You could hold a pretty interesting debate on whether Bozak gained or lost money by coming back this year. On one hand, he'll likely be in the NHL from the start, possibly on a one-way contract(EDIT: All rookie contracts are two-way, but he'll likely spend way more time at the NHL level), meaning he'll get NHL dollars the whole year, as opposed to possibly spending a good chunk of time in the AHL. On the other hand, it's going to take him a year longer to reach his second contract, where he won't be bound by rookie salary limitations. Either way, he's got himself in a pretty good position.
On Frozen Blog had a very nice write-up on Air Force's success.
I hate being the anti-Air Force guy, because I really would like to see them succeed. I think it'd be incredible if they won their league's autobid and made a deep run in the NCAA tournament. But the idea of a team that will play just two games against teams that finish in the top 25 in the country getting an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament doesn't sit well with me at all. Even if they really are one of the best teams in the country, they'll have done little of significance to prove that.
I feel kind of the same way about INCH putting Jacques Lamoureux on their Hobey Tracker. Lamoureux overcame some pretty incredible odds just to make it into the Air Force, and for that alone, at least deserves some consideration. He's like the anti-Gerbe candidate. He's got the off-ice stuff in spades, but does his play merit consideration? After getting shut out last weekend, it's pretty likely he won't score a point against a single top 25 team. You don't hear much about Case Keenum being a candidate for the Heisman Trophy, even though he leads the NCAA in passing yards. Why? Because he plays for Houston.
On the plus side,Air Force joined Bemidji as the only non-WCHA/CCHA teams to get their own tag here, so they've got that going for them.
Denver's Tyler Bozak is one of the best free agents out there for the NHL right now. You could hold a pretty interesting debate on whether Bozak gained or lost money by coming back this year. On one hand, he'll likely be in the NHL from the start, possibly on a one-way contract(EDIT: All rookie contracts are two-way, but he'll likely spend way more time at the NHL level), meaning he'll get NHL dollars the whole year, as opposed to possibly spending a good chunk of time in the AHL. On the other hand, it's going to take him a year longer to reach his second contract, where he won't be bound by rookie salary limitations. Either way, he's got himself in a pretty good position.