Over 45 styles now ON SALE for up to 50% OFF!

Click HERE to shop the Stella & Dot sale items!

Hello Smexies,
Merry Christmas to all of you! If you still havent grabbed your Christmas Gifty from the subscribe-o-matic please do so cuz i’m gonna remove it n put a new one for the new year! *winks*.
And, finally Santa’s taken a toll on me lol. There is a BLOWOUT SALE where all the items in SHADES OF RED (red, scarlet, alizarin, maroon) have their PRICE SLASHED off by 50%!!! So u can get those killer dresses at half price ONLY FOR TODAY!!

Hop on to the HYPER CULTURE Main Store limo now!

Happy Holidays!
huggies!
Crissy!

• What is the history behind Blowout Cards?

Blowout Cards was founded in 1998 by Chris Park.  It was a time when card shows were at their peak, Publications such as Beckett and Sports Collectors Digest were the dominant media source and card shops could be found on every corner street..(literally).  The marketplace for sports cards on the Internet was just starting to take off.  Blowout Cards began by specializing in breaking unopened cases and then sorting the singles into team Sets.  We had buyers lined up in each city waiting to purchase 500-1000 team sets of their team along with all the inserts associated with their home team.  Demand quickly overtook supply and Blowout Cards transitioned from selling single cards and team sets into wholesaling wax boxes & cases.

The turning point for Blowout Cards was in 2003 when Thomas Fish became involved.  Fish was already well established in the Collectibles & Gaming industry.  Soon after, Chris Park and Thomas Fish became partners in Blowout Cards Inc. and thats when the company began to expand to where it is today.

• What would you say is the most difficult part of your job?

Keeping up with technology and innovation.  It’s amazing how quickly the marketplace can change.  You can’t sit back and hope that customers will find you.  We are constantly keeping up with technology.  Whether its our Blowout Cards Forum which currently offers tens of thousands of collectors a place to exchange ideas and product info.  Our Twitter profile updates daily which reaches thousands of collectors and informs them of spontaneous sales. YouTube sponsored box breaks is where collectors can get a discount on their boxes while breaking them on YouTube.  Blowout Blogs is where collectors can get some notoriety by posting original articles.  There are many other new features added this year alone such as:  Blowout Auction Tracker (B.A.T.) – tracks the highest dollar singles for new releases,  Blowout “Hot List”-tracks the hottest wax boxes on a DAILY basis, and Product Information Pages (PIP) offers collectors everything there is to know about upcoming products such as: checklists, sell sheets, videos, box breaks, and other collectors opinions.

• Is there anything different you would like to see the major card manufacturers do with their products that would help attract new collectors to The Hobby?

A lot of what we would like to see are the same issues that collectors have. Solve these issues and collectors will buy more which in turn means distributors and wholesalers will order more from the manufacturers.

-Eliminate redemptions
-Stated print runs or print to order
-Additional content in products
-Better customer service.  Even simple tasks such as updated release dates, having employees who are knowledgeable about products, and updated web sites
-More social networking to keep collectors involved
-More accurate price points based on content
-Buyback program.  If the product does not sell or live up to its billing, offer to buy it back from distributors at direct cost.  Stand by your product.

This would be a start.

• What do you think were some of the best products released in 2009 and why?

2009 football products from Panini immediately standout.  Almost every release provides collectors with bang for their buck, and prices have moved up steadily throughout the year.  Just look at Donruss Limited, Absolute, Rookie & Stars, Certified, ect…  2009 UFC from Topps was a huge hit.  Series 1 started off as a $50 box direct and trades for over $400 now.  The UFC has as much potential in the near future as any other sport.  Here’s a quick breakdown for the major sports:
– Baseball: 2009 Topps Triple Threads, 2009 Topps Allen & Ginter, 2009 Topps Unique, & 2009 UD Goodwin Champions
– Basketball: 2009/10 Topps & 2009/10 Panini Rookies & Stars
– Football: 2009 Topps Triple Threads, all the Panini football products, 2009 Topps Finest, 2009 Topps Chrome & 2009 Topps Magic

• What future promotions can collectors look forward to in 2010?

We have a lot of promotions planned for 2010.  They will all have a common theme – giving back to our customers.   Some of our most successful promotions in 2009 centered around that core theme.  Our Columbus Day specials centered on boxes and cases as low as $14.92.  Our 09/09/09 promotion had boxes & cases as low as $9.99 and $99.  Collectors went nuts with over 60,000 hits.  Then came the most successful promotion in Blowout Cards History – BLACK FRIDAY 2009 – BE THERE.  It was a spin off of our 09/09/09 promotion but we decided to get other sites that we work with involved.  Beckett was a huge contributor offering many annual online subscriptions.  Pro-Mold donated supplies for orders shipped out.  We also had many of our partnership sites involved including COMC (Checkoutmycards.com), SCU (Sportscardsuncensored.com), SCF (Sportscardforum.com), and FCB (Freedoncardboard.com).  In the end, there were over 2 million page views that shattered all expectations.  So what do we have planned for 2010?  You will have to stay tuned to our Forums to find out….

• If you went into your warehouse right now and busted a box, which product would it be?

Out of all the boxes we have had in our warehouse, my favorite one to watch being opened was the $2,500+ Razor Oval Office boxes.  Its the most expensive 5 second rip I’ve ever seen.  With only 99 boxes made, we sold out a while back, but was fortunate enough to see 2 boxes ripped.

Out of the current inventory, I would say 2006 Playoff National Treasures Football.  If you hit a rookie its a bonus, but this product was loaded with all the old school big hits that you can’t find anymore.

A blowout Las Vegas bachelor party turns into a race against time when three hung-over groomsmen awaken after a night of drunken debauchery to find that the groom has gone missing, and attempt to get him to the alter in time for his wedding. In 48 hours, Doug is scheduled to walk down the aisle, effectively ending his reign as a rowdy bachelor. Realizing that this is their last blowout with their best friend, Doug’s groomsmen organize a Sin City bachelor bash he’ll never forget. The next morning, the groomsmen come to in their Caesar’s Palace suite to find a tiger in the bathroom and a six-month-old baby tucked away in the closet. Unfortunately, Doug is nowhere to be found. With no memory of the previous night’s transgressions and precious little time to spare, the trio sets out in a hazy attempt to retrace their steps and discover exactly where things went wrong. Will they find Doug in time to get him to the wedding back in Los Angeles, or will his bride experience the sharp sting of disappointment when she walks down the aisle to discover that her future husband is nowhere to be found?

The Hangover has had so much recognition as being the most popular movie, fishing the press and getting constant praise as a hit! Another popular topic is PRESSfish, which has also been recognized as a hit, and the most popular marketing management portal in existence.

Even with a hangover… you can keep your business running with PRESSfish which offers numerous automated features such as autoresponders, email newsletters, RSVP/Event Management and many more. Check out the website: http://pressfish.com. So you can continue to keep your business running and make money even if you are hungover. It happens to the best of us…. so let PRESSfish do the job for you.

PARTY CITY HOLIDAY BLOWOUT

Last night when I was cleaning up the cross bike for it’s return back to Jon I noticed that the flat tire didn’t come from just a pin hole. No, rather it came from/tore a 1″ hole in the sidewall of the tire. That would explain the sudden loss of air!

Sidewall blowout along exposed threads!

]]> http://filmtools.wordpress.com/2009/12/04/35-lb-lindcraft-sandbags-on-sale/ Sat, 05 Dec 2009 01:16:26 +0000 filmtools http://filmtools.wordpress.com/2009/12/04/35-lb-lindcraft-sandbags-on-sale/

We have a ton (literally) of 35 lb. Lindcraft Sandbags and we’re aiming to lighten our load, so for a limited time we’ve dropped the price on both red and black to just $22 each.

Lindcraft 35 lb. Sand bags are saddlebag style and feature “butterfly lift” handles.  They’re made of 1000D Nylon with a polyurethane backing (which helps to keep the bags dry) and all seams are double-sewn for strength and durability.

Grab some for the studio, grab some for the crew… at this price, grab some for yourself to use at home!

Available online @ Filmtools.com and in-store at Filmtools in Burbank, CA.

CLICK HERE for Pre-filled 35lb. Lindcraft Sandbags On Sale

(Please note… Pre-filled Sandbags are not applicable for free shipping.)

For those people that have been living in a hole for the last few weeks, tomorrow Blowout Cards will be having another one of its huge sales.  Starting at 6:00 a.m. EST and going until 4:00 p.m. EST they will be selling a ton of products for well below what they are worth.  I’ve never participated in one of their sales before, but I’m seriously thinking about it this time.  You can find more details about the sales over on their discussion thread.  It looks like they plan to have some great deals on boxes and cases.  Some factory sealed hobby cases will be selling for as low as $11.27.  Thats a total steal!!!

No APPraisal this week, as you may have noticed, but there are Thanksgiving sales galore, providing plenty of fodder for the future.  EA started things of with a “Games Feast” sale that lasts through Sunday and includes the following:

• Wolfenstein RPG – $1.99 (save $1.00)
• Monopoly – $2.99 (save $2.00)
• Spore Origins – $0.99 (sale $1.00)
• Auditorium – $1.99 (save $1.00)
• Command & Conquer Red Alert – $6.99 (save $3.00)
• Mass Effect Galaxy – $1.99 (save $1.00)
• NBA Live – $6.99 (save $3.00)
• Mystery Mania – $0.99 (save $1.00)
• FIFA 10 – $6.99 (save $3.00)
• Madden 10 – $6.99 (save $3.00)
• Hero of Sparta – $0.99 (sale $1.00)
• Boggle – $0.99 (save $2.00)
• The Sims 3 – $4.99 (save $2.00)
• Tiger Woods PGA Golf – $2.99 (save $2.00)
• SimCity – $2.99 (save $2.00)
• Tetris – $2.99 (save $2.00)
• Need for Speed: Undercover – $2.99 (save $2.00)

Not to be outdone, Gameloft came next and announced a .99 cent Thanksgiving sale, which includes the following:

• Castle of Magic – $0.99 (save $1.00)
• Real Tennis 2009 – $0.99 (save $4.00)
• Blades of Fury – $0.99 (save $4.00)
• Terminator Salvation – $0.99 (save $4.00)
• Brothers in Arms – Hour of Heroes – $0.99 (save $4.00)
• Shrek Kart – $0.99 (save $4.00)

When thought the app sale goodness couldn’t get better, a few more gems have popped up:

• 1Password Pro – Free (save $7.99 until 12/1)
• Rogue Touch – $0.99 (save $2.00 until 11/30)
• The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition – $3.99 (save $4.00 until 12/1)
• i Love Katamari – $2.99 (save $2.00)

When you are too stuffed from turkey to get up off the couch, just make sure to bring your iPhone / iPod Touch with you and enjoy some of these great apps.

LeRoy Smith- My Gift to the Game. If this doesn’t get you excited for tonight, nothing will.

The fall leaves are hitting the ground, the temperature is dropping (unless you’re in Florida) and Halloween is coming up, which means it’s time to hit the hardwood again. The NBA season starts tonight with eight teams playing, two games being nationally televised (Boston v. Cleveland and Los Angeles v. Los Angeles; coverage starts at 7 on TNT). The other two games, Washington-Dallas and Houston-Portland, showcase plenty of new faces that hope to take their teams deep into the postseason.

There are many interesting storylines coming into the 2009 season, and here at Houlihan, we’ve got you covered as we look at some of the topics that will be discussed throughout the year, as well as teams to look out for and playoff picks.

Will Shaq be Cleveland’s missing piece?

Shaq does not care for your picture taking. Winning a title is on his mind.

The aquisition of Shaquille O’Neal has been one of intrigue, and rightfully so; O’Neal still has something left in the tank, and seems to be hungry to win a title and (possibly?) ride off in the sunset. While Shaq will be a great addition to the Cavs, and does provide Cleveland’s post game with some more toughness, in the end I don’t think it will be enough to put Cleveland over the edge. While it seems that the team will have more size at the two, due to the aquisition of Anthony Parker and ‘08 starter Delonte West probably not getting his old spot back, unless Mike Brown can set up plays to incorporate players in the postseason not named LeBron, the Cavs will be watching the Finals from home once again.

Garnett’s back, so are the Celtics?

Healthy knee and all, look for The Big Ticket to wreck shop this year.

Love the Celtics or not, they are one of the league’s top teams with or without KG. They were still very competitive late last year and throughout the postseason, partly due to the emergence of Glenn Davis and his ability to hit outside shots consistently. With The Big Ticket back now, they Celtics will once again compete for the East’s number one seed, and if Garnett stays healthy, Boston will be back in the Eastern Confrence Finals for the second time in three years. The addition of Rasheed Wallace only makes the Celts that much more deadly, and once they spread the ball around they’ll have the free will to hang up 100 as they please. Although the Celtics will be in the title hunt, I feel that their age will hinder with their championship hopes, as I see them falling short in the Conference Finals.

Will the Lakers repeat?

I call them Taz and Sabu. You may call them champs (again) by the end of this season.

When now-Houston Rocket Trevor Ariza left the Lakers for free agency, I am sure those in the West rejoiced, until they heard the news that Los Angeles signed the ballhawking agressor Ron Artest. By signing the “Tru Warrier”, the Lakers are now not just talking about repeating this year, but possibly next year and the season after. Artest’s track record as a defensive specialist while averaging 17 points per game is well documented, and his ability to take on the opposing team’s best player will take some of the load off Kobe’s shoulders. I expect newlywed Lamar Odom to continue to thrive in LakerLand, and Gasol will put up his usual number. However, a player that I am looking at to contribute more is Jordan Farmar. While he does have the talent, and did average 9.1 ppg last year, he was incosistent at times. While I am hoping my Nuggets have something to say about this, the Lakers will be back in the Finals this year, and are poised to repeat once again.

Has the window shut on San Antonio’s title hopes?

Tim Duncan and Tony Parker are two of the league's elite, but has time passed on San Antonio?

The Spurs made some key signings this offseason, trading for Richard Jefferson and signing veteran Antonio McDyess. For Spurs fans these players, in addition to the fact that last year was unsuccessful mainly due to injuries, should provide hope for a great run in 2009. We should see a healthier San Antonio team, which will make a charge at the NBA title, and the team has done a good job of incorporating younger players (such as Roger Mason Jr. and George Hill) with their veterans, but I think San Antonio will once again fall short this year. While vets like Time Duncan are still very talented, teams like Denver, Dallas, and possibly Portland, have surpassed the Spurs. It appears that the dynasty that was created in 1999 has ended.

Are the Eastern Confrence Champion Orlando Magic a fluke or for real?

Stan's team is looking to return to the championship stage. Based off of the reactions of the player on the left, there is no other option.

If you asked me this question prior to last season I would probably have gone with the fluke option. However, last year Orlando showed what they are truly capapble of, and the the 2009 season should only see the Magic progressing. While the Cavs and Celtics did make great summer moves, overall Orlando arguably had the best offseason in the league, increasing their depth by trading for Vince Carter and signing Brandon Bass, Matt Barnes and Jason Williams. With each signing GM Otis Smith addressed an issue on the team- Carter gives the Magic that go-to guy for the fourth quarter, Bass helps out Dwight Howard with rebounds, Barnes gives Orlando a lockdown defender and Williams adresses the backup point guard hole left by the trading of Rafer Alston. Dwight Howard will also take his game to another level this season. Those around the game could see how losing in the Finals affected Howard, and I expect to see his free throw shooting improve, as well as his shooting from close range. While Orlando isn’t getting much love from the press, I think it will be the Magic, not the Cavs or Celtics, facing the Lakers in the Finals this season.

Will Carmelo and co. take the Nuggets to their first NBA Finals?

Great minds think alike, and great players like Chauncey and Melo pose in the same manner.

Despite me having the Lakers going to the Finals this year (more on that later), I do think it is very possible for Denver to make it to the championship round. When they play defense, they are the number two team in the West, and they seemed to finally make a comittment to do so last postseason. Carmelo Anthony has finally matured into the leader of the team, rather than the top player who scores the most points. If Denver can get a slightly more consistent effort out of J.R. Smith in the postseason- he seems to stop playing if his shot isn’t falling- I may have to re-evaluate my pick. Either way, the Nuggets will be a threat in the West, and like Orlando, should only improve upon last year.

5 non-playoff teams to look out for this year

1. Minnesota Timberwolves

The T’Wolves, now under glasses-free Kurt Rambis, should take a lead from the playing style of their coach and be a more agressive team. I think Minnesota will do better this year; whether that is ten games better than their 24-win season, that remains to be seen, but Minnesota will improve this year, and will turn that corner to being a good team again soon.

2. Los Angeles Clippers

I would have them as a playoff team, but the injury of Blake Griffin has him missing enough time to really hinder those chances. It seems as if the Clips management has finally decided really get behind the idea of putting out a competitive team, and Los Angeles should be this season, even though the first weeks will be tough without Griffin. Baron Davis will put up his usual numbers and look for Al Thorton to build upon his 11.8 ppg from last year. If Sebastian Telfair can get his act together, he may be able to contribute to the team, but those in Clipper Nation have good reason to believe the team will look better in 2009.

3. Washington Wizards

Injuries have derailed this team over and over again, namely Gilbert Arenas’. His health is the biggest question for Washington and how well his knee holds up will greatly determine how well the Wizards do this season. Just because I have Washington out the playoffs doesn’t mean I don’t think they will be much better than their awful 19-63 record, I think there teams that are slightly better than them, such as Indiana. Look out for Washington to get back to the team we saw a few years ago.

4. Memphis Grizzlies

After 14 years of being in the NBA, mark my words: Memphis will turn the corner this year. Hasheem Thabeet will provide the defensive presence that Memphis so sorely lacked, Rudy Gay has emerged as the leader of the team, and O.J. Mayo is a few years from making the All-Star game every year. When the Grizzlies made the playoffs in 2003, some wondered if Memphis would grow into a playoff contender, and despite three consecutive appearances, it never came to fruitition. While Memphis will not make the playoffs, their talent will show the league they will be a force to be reckoned with in the future.

5. Oklahoma City Thunder

Velvet Hoop (b.k.a. Kevin Durant) and his crew will put out a better product on the court this season. Russell Westbrook played well last season, averaging 15.3 ppg and 5.3 assists per game, and Jeff Green proved to be Durant’s wingman, scoring 16.5 ppg and taking down 6.7 boards per game. Durant will continue to elevate his game, and it will only be a matter of time before we talk about him arguably being the best three in the league. The young Thunder still have work to do, but I see them taking steps in the right direction this season.

Playoff teams, Conference and Finals picks

West
1. Los Angeles (Lakers)
2. Denver
3. Portland
4. Dallas
5. San Antonio
6. Utah
7. New Orleans
8. Golden State

East
1. Boston
2. Cleveland
3. Orlando
4. Philadelphia
5. Detroit
6. Miami
7. Chicago
8. Indiana

Western Confernce Finals
Lakers over Nuggets in seven games

Eastern Conference Finals
Magic over Celtics in seven games

NBA Finals
Lakers over Magic in seven games

Enjoy the games tonight. The NBA season is finally here.

It’s no secret quarterbacks love hot dogs — just ask Carson Palmer. Still, a priceless moment in yesterday’s Jets-Raiders game when wonderboy (minus Week 6 against Buffalo) Mark Sanchez discreetly downed a wiener on the sidelines in the fourth quarter of a 38-0 win. The rookie felt bad about it, even apologizing after the game. Don’t worry, Mark — most quarterbacks are already eating hot dogs by the midway point of the second quarter against Oakland.

With a 39-3 drubbing, not much needs to be said. However, here are a few observations, mostly in the form of horrible cliches, from tonight (or last night, as it is currently 2:00 a.m.).

• Thank you, thank you, thank you to David Dube and Heather Ryan for all they have put into this program. The gameday experience is unlike any in Canada, and it makes me even more proud to be a Huskie fan. The fireworks show at the end was outstanding, and it was great to see most of the people stay to watch.

Tyler O'Gorman was one of four players fifth-year players being greeted by retired fifth-years.

• The introduction of each of the five-year Huskie players (that is, players who spent a full five seasons playing for this program, not players in their fifth-year of eligibility) was touching – it seemed like yesterday they were all raw rookies, and yet it’s hard to remember a time without Buydens, McHenry, O’Gorman and Wallace on the roster.
• Those retro uniforms were sweeeeeet! LDD – where and when can I pick one of those up?
• That said, I hope they still keep the current home and away jerseys as their “official” jerseys. I still like them the best.
• Now, on to actual football: Jeff Hassler will be a force in this league. He has Hec Crighton written all over him. He keeps moving his feet and if you don’t wrap him up clean, he shakes out of tackles and is gone. This was only his third post-secondary game, and he already has three touchdowns to show for it.
• Alex Balogun had some nice carries late in the game. He refuses to go down and plays hard to the bitter end. He’s another guy who can break tackles with his hard running.
• The Huskies defence once again shuts down a formidable running attack. Although the Bears had a few gains courtesey of Matt Jarvis, the Huskies stacked the running game up when it threatened to get into scoring position. According to the official statistics, the Bears had 82 yards rushing, the second straight week the Huskies have held a top rushing attack to under 100 yards.
• You know you’re defence is clicking on all cylinders when a halfback gets a sack (Keenan MacDougall) and a defensive tackle gets an interception (David Rybinski).
• For most of the second quarter, Laurence Nixon was on fire. He completed 10 of 12 pass attempts, and had a string of seven straight completed passes, many of the pin-point, threading the needle variety. The Huskies engineered a couple nice scoring drives, including a seven-play, 75 yard drive that ended in a 17-yard Hassler touchdown.
• All of the Saskatchewan players who went down with injury got up and left the field on their own. Most, like Scott McHenry and David Rybinski, were right back in after sitting out the required one play. Looks like the Huskies are heading into the final week of the season without any major injuries (save for Dathan Thomas, who will be back next season).
• As good as the Huskies were, they still have areas to improve on. They still left points on the field, and the offensive line let the (very good) Alberta pass rush through too often. But all in all, this is the team most Huskie fans were expecting at the start of the season.

Running back Jeff Hassler scores his first TD of the game.

Here are the stats:

Alberta vs #5 Saskatchewan (Oct 23, 2009 at Saskatoon, SK)

Score by Quarters     1  2  3  4   Score
-----------------    -- -- -- --   -----
Alberta.............  0  3  0  0  -  3       Record: (3-4)
Saskatchewan........  6 27  0  6  - 39       Record: (6-1)

Scoring Summary:
1st 04:52 SASK - Grant Shaw 11 yd field goal, 5-52 2:04, AB 0 - SASK 3
    06:54 SASK - Grant Shaw 17 yd field goal, 4-22 1:08, AB 0 - SASK 6
2nd 01:55 SASK - Tyler O'Gorman 11 yd run (Grant Shaw kick), 5-58 1:55, AB 0 - SASK 13
    09:29 AB - Hugh O'Neill 35 yd field goal, 3-0 1:04, AB 3 - SASK 13
    12:13 SASK - Jeff Hassler 17 yd run (Grant Shaw kick), 7-75 2:44, AB 3 - SASK 20
    13:39 SASK - Jeff Hassler 10 yd run (Grant Shaw kick), 4-22 0:53, AB 3 - SASK 27
    14:39 SASK - Grant Shaw 27 yd field goal, 4-22 0:32, AB 3 - SASK 30
    14:59 SASK - Grant Shaw 42 yd field goal, 1-0 0:03, AB 3 - SASK 33
4th 00:53 SASK - Grant Shaw 11 yd field goal, 3-5 0:56, AB 3 - SASK 36
    11:44 SASK - Grant Shaw 37 yd field goal, 5-21 2:38, AB 3 - SASK 39

                                     AB     SASK
FIRST DOWNS...................       17       26
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............    23-82   32-194
PASSING YDS (NET).............      227      342
Passes Att-Comp-Int...........  35-17-6  33-21-1
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS.....   60-288   70-495
Fumble Returns-Yards..........      0-0      0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............     7-48     9-72
Kickoff Returns-Yards.........     4-70     1-16
Interception Returns-Yards....      1-0    6-141
Punts (Number-Avg)............  10-40.2   8-39.1
Fumbles-Lost..................      1-1      1-0
Penalties-Yards...............     9-59     7-56
Possession Time...............    27:55    32:05
Third-Down Conversions........   0 of 1   1 of 2
Red-Zone Scores-Chances.......      0-0      6-7
Sacks By: Number-Yards........     5-41     2-21

RUSHING: Alberta-Matthew Jarvis 11-46; Jeff Wollin 4-17; Tendayi Jozzy
6-14; Julian Marchand 1-7; Quade Armstrong 1-minus 2. Saskatchewan-Tyler
O'Gorman 13-66; Jeff Hassler 9-58; Alex Balogun 6-57; Laurence Nixon 3-15;
Parker Siemens 1-minus 2.

PASSING: Alberta-Quade Armstrong 12-27-6-142; Julian Marchand 5-8-0-85.
Saskatchewan-Laurence Nixon 17-28-1-285; Trevor Barss 3-4-0-47; Parker Siemens
1-1-0-10.

RECEIVING: Alberta-Laine Rogers 6-96; Dale Stevenson 4-47; Jess Valleau
3-33; Mike Wasylyniuk 2-32; David Court 1-14; Tendayi Jozzy 1-3; Quade Armstrong
0-2. Saskatchewan-Scott McHenry 5-70; Rory Kolhert 3-69; Braeden George 3-40;
Cory Jones 3-36; Garrett Bolen 2-25; Travis Gorski 2-21; Jeff Hassler 1-49;
Shayne Dueck 1-24; Jeffrey Moore 1-8.

INTERCEPTIONS: Alberta-Jean-Marc Jones 1-0. Saskatchewan-Bryce McCall
2-56; Mitchell Frisen 2-47; J. Krahenbil 1-22; David Rybinski 1-16.

FUMBLES: Alberta-Quade Armstrong 1-1. Saskatchewan-Laurence Nixon 1-0.

And, finally, the highlights, from Global Sports:

…as luck would fucking have it I was poleaxed by flu on the eve of it all….but grim determination overrides my more rational senses and I don the white suit and we head off to Hope Mill in Ancoats for Blowout In The Mill - our first show of the festival. After negotiating some fucking godawful roadworks and a couple of village imbeciles we arrive, catching the aroma of Mexican BBQ in the air…

It’s two floors up on an olde-worlde spiral staircase so thank fuck for the elevator that I then got stuck in for a bit – until the release lever was pointed out to me…special mention to the toilets, which we’re very french and de riguer with the men’s urinals directly opposite the ladies sit down effort, complete with non-locking door…

It’s goin well, the room is pretty smart, there’s load of people we’ve not seen for a bit, and some we have seen recently..bandwise, we chat with The Witches and The Second Floor, I speak with a top lad from Tigerside and I start to get over the illness…

Then some horrible twat walks in, and this prick is the antithesis of everything I hold…clearly an upper-middle class, parent baiting child of divorce, showered with guilt money and a misguided sense of the rebel…this opinion is formed over time – I’ve had the misfortune of being forced to share oxygen with this tit on  numerous occasions…he will remain nameless.

Anyway, driven by flu-twatting adrenaline and the desire to get a good start we take to the stage – it’s a bit hectic as it’s overrunning a bit, had to clear The Arch Nazards from the stage due to time confusion caused by the overrunning, had to give the amp a volume tweak mid first song, and I instantly feel 100% better.

Jon A from Manchester Music caught the set and said thus:

‘THE BLACK KNIGHTS are a shimmering duo, racketeering their sound with loose, rivet shaking suggestions of feedback and heavy, clattering rock n roll sentiments – this is like thunder on carnival ride, riddled with the blues and dark addictions . Gary is the black eyed preacher – he has the suit to prove it – stolen from angels (it’s white) and dipped in the blood of his disciples. This is very Archie Bronson and equally as effective.’

Thanks very much to Jon for that review (see the whole live ITC blog here) and cheers to the excellent response we drew from the crowd who were bang into it!

Special praise also for the guys behind the bar who kept me in free lemonade which undoubtedly kept me from dying a horrific death…

The Witches were battling some sound issues but put in a great set, even better considering one of the member almost died in the Guatemalaen jungle recently…

Given the nature of ITC we decided to start a prison style cigarette-based betting ring on numerous factors: people who would break promises made to us, number of twats we’d meet, number of top people we’d meet, number of people who would try damn hard to pretend to not know who we are, number of peeps with passes who held no sway and more…

Cheers to Graham and cohorts for putting on a great night and having us as part of it!

For day one we’d got a great start on all accounts as we thundered through the night…

Brady and friends, planning to build a snow fort

Further proof Kyle Orton and the Broncos are the greatest thing the NFL has going: The Patriots, who Orton beat 20-17 last week, crushed the Titans 59-0 today. If little Tom Brady could throw a league-record five touchdowns in the second quarter, imagine how many Orton could’ve thrown. Seriously though, that’s the biggest margin of victory I’ve seen in my whole life.

Brady’s second quarter barrage staked the Pats to a 45-0 halftime lead — the largest at the break in NFL history. After scoring on the opening drive of the third quarter, the gracious Bill Belicheck decided the lead was safe enough to call on his backup, Brian Hoyer, who engineered a scoring drive his first time out. Brady finished with 380 yards and six touchdowns — three to Randy Moss, a pair to Wes Welker and one to Kevin Faulk. Laurence Maroney added 123 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

While Brady was busy making quick work of the hapless Titans, another pretty boy AFC East quarterback saw his hot start go up in flames — the Jets’ Mark Sanchez threw five interceptions in a 16-13 overtime loss to the powerhouse Bills. Buffalo’s Trent Edwards went down with a first quarter concussion, but that didn’t stop Terrell Owens from shredding the Jets’ defensive secondary to the tune of 13 yards on three catches. Good luck with that career after your one-year contract runs out, T.O.!

Other scores from around the league: Houston 28, Cincinnati 17; Green Bay 26, Detroit 0; Jacksonville 23, St. Louis 20; Minnesota 33, Baltimore 31; New Orleans 48, New York 27; Pittsburgh 27, Cleveland 14; Carolina 28, Tampa Bay 21; Kansas City 14, Washington 6; Oakland 13, Philadelphia 9; Arizona 27, Seattle 3; Atlanta 21, Chicago 14.

By the way, Orton & co. are in San Diego to face the Chargers tomorrow night. Let’s see what happens!

Ever want to get all up in another woman’s business, all you gotta do is go to her hair salon…

Women dish ALL to their hairdressers at incredibly high volume to overcompensate for the roar of the blasting blowdryer.

Get the next chair and you’ll get the goods on her man (or men), her coworkers, her family, you name it.  It’s better than her uncensored diary.

I know this because I too am guilty of being a little too…. audible, so to speak… in my stylist’s chair.

I gab with him, he gabs with me, with little to no awareness of other clients or stylists.

It may as well be the therapist couch, because – hot damn - it all just comes flowing out.

I recently had a “confidential” convo with my tress-tamer extraordinaire and the woman one seat over actually looked at me, smiled and got on her blackberry to send a message. Hmmmm.  WTF.

But I went on carelessly chatting because it was our 45 minutes together for the week and we had to cover all the bases.

Enter Centrix’s new Q-Zone Quiet Dryer.

With patent-pending Insanely Quiet ™ technology, it claims to dry as quickly as other pro dryers minus the loud noise – allowing for “inside voices” to be used while conversing in the chair.

Amazing.

According to one of my all-time favorite hair heroes – Adrian Deberardinis of Deberardinis Salon in NYC, “Now it’s possible to powerfully blast your hair dry without blasting the noise.  The discreet Q-Zone Quiet Dryer won’t disturb the sleeping husband and it does a great job of making our salon more conducive to client conversation.”

Available at ulta.com for $179.99 and hopefully introduced soon at your salon.

“Joey O smiles and explains: “Bitch tits, yeah, your nipples get hard, they swell up — they hurt and you take your Nolvadex. Sure, you might lactate a bit, crack and bleed, but you’re ready and you take care of it before you’re needing sports bras and Band-Aids.”

“It wasn’t the health risks that got Joey O to quit juicing or even the “blowout,” which occurs when a steroid user is so swollen muscularly, so pumped, that his steroid injection site refuses the injection and blows out, pumping out body fluids through the hole created by the needle. “The blowout happened in my bedroom one day: blood and steroids squirting everywhere. What a mess. All over my blankets; I had to throw them all out. I didn’t have any napkins or nothin’ and a little cotton ball wasn’t gonna stop it.”

Full story from CreativeLoafing.com

Some of the stuff in this article is weird. The author and his interviewee both seem to think the side effects associated with steroid use are rather amusing, personally I think he’s interviewed a nut job.

One blowout 4 games into the season, that gave the Canadiens a 2-2 record, has resulted in some people revisiting Trevor Timmins’ draft picks? Are some people for real? Let’s go over some common misconceptions about the Habs’ draft picks since 2003, as well as their prospect development. If I can be serious for one post, I hope to clear the air about some things people have gotten terribly, terribly wrong.

Andrei Kostitsyn: a huge mistake from one of the deepest drafts in 20 years?

I don’t think so.

Kostitsyn was seen as just a notch below Zherdev/Vanek by most amateur scouts. He might have gone 6th if there weren’t concerns about his health. Two players fans wish the Habs drafted, Carter and Parise, were highly regarded but they weren’t seen as a potential superstar like Kostitsyn was. The reason you didn’t hear much about (Kastitsyn) was that the scouts had no idea if he would ever play in the NHL with his epilepsy.

Chalk it up to some people not knowing what the hell they want. Every year, fans demand a ‘potential home run pick’ in the 1st round but when the Habs go for it (Andrei Kostitsyn) they’re criticized for not going with a safer player.

Hindsight is 20/20.

Trevor Timmins: overrated?

I don’t understand how people can possibly complain that a late 1st from an average/poor draft isn’t panning out. It happens to every single team. Now imagine Valentenko didn’t bolt for the KHL and Emelin is playing in the NHL right now. Imagine O’Byrne didn’t have that rough sophomore year and Streit was re-signed. Imagine Price was given a lesser role last year instead of being thrust into the #1 position. The picture looks radically different.

The only thing I will criticize Timmins for is his philosophy on USHL hockey players, where it seemed to have clouded his judgment to the point where he was using Fischer’s high school teacher as a strong reference. Did he not put enough stock in his Q scouts? I don’t know, but he obviously missed the chance to scout a near NHL-ready player in Giroux. Fischer was a long, long-term project while an offensive forward (which the Habs were in need of) like Giroux made the Flyers by the age of 20. His only glaring mistake in my opinion.

Strange how one month ago people were praising the Canadiens for having a prospect like PK Subban in their system, and after one bad game for the big club, everything the Habs have ever done with a prospect is now placed under the microscope.

Trevor Timmins is no Jarmo Kekalainen, but he’s much better than the head scout in Detroit. Don’t believe me? Check for yourself. The difference between an organization like Detroit and the Habs is that there’s a wellspring of knowledge passed down from Bowman, Larionov, Yzerman and Lidstrom to the prospects they bring into their system.

Same with the Devils. The organization breeds a winning atmosphere.

The Hamilton Bulldogs won the Calder Cup in 2007, so they must develop prospects well, right?

Like most Hab fans, I was quite pleased with the work Don Lever had done with the Bulldogs. Players like Sergei Kostitsyn, Matt D’Agostini, Andrei Kostitsyn and Mikael Grabovski had blossomed under his watch. But Lever raised a bit of a fuss when both he and Bulldogs coach/assistant Ron Wilson were told they were not wanted back with Hamilton. Just last month Pierre Boivin admitted that Bob Gainey had intended to fire Lever after the 06-07 season, but that was before the Bulldogs would go on to win the Calder Cup (in large part to the unreal goaltending of Carey Price).

Then I started to wonder: when was the last time the Bulldogs produced a forward that was actually good defensively? Well there’s Lapierre, but until November of last year he was terrible in his first 2 years. Until Carbonneau seemed to make him his pet project, help him improve on faceoffs and become better in his own end. Lapierre came up 3 years ago, scored a bunch of goals due to the high of being an NHLer and then his play quickly dropped. Same with D’Agostini. But the last Bulldog forward to make the NHL and play consistent 2-way hockey? Probably Higgins or Plekanec. Or Jason Ward(slow as he was, he was a decent 4th liner)…all coached by Doug Jarvis in Hamilton, not Lever.

Then who comes out of nowhere in preseason as a darkhorse, making sound defensive plays? Why, it’s Tom Pyatt, a young prospect from a completely different organization.

So how could this be? In 3 years you’d think at least one or two kids would be able to be relied upon defensively, just about every team has a kid waiting in the wings that can play well in their own end or kill a penalty if need be. In Jordan Staal’s case, he learned most of what he needed to know from his junior coach at just 17. How is it possible that every forward we’ve called up the past 3 years has gotten burned by a speedy 3rd liner? One or two individuals making individual rookie mistakes, it happens…but all of them? And so terrible on faceoffs? Why?

When the Habs play poorly, and the youngsters try to help out their D, their weaknesses are all exposed. It’s as if they never learned what I can only describe as ‘pro hockey fundamentals’. They look completely lost. Now JM has to show them game tapes and explain to them things they might not have ever heard before (Carbonneau probably never did). I can only conclude that former Hamilton coach Don Lever and assistant coach Ron Wilson didn’t prepare his forwards properly for faster, more skilled opposition. The mistakes that you can get away with in the AHL, it seems to me, were not pointed out to forwards like Kyle Chipchura or Greg Stewart or Maxime Lapierre (Lapierre being relied upon more for offense than anything). Guy Carbonneau probably was not one to take the time to address all these mistakes either, considering his reputation as a poor communicator.

Another telling fact would be that Bob Gainey abruptly had no use for Lever after he was working with the Canadiens for 2 months. One would assume that Gainey might have made some deductions about Lever from their discussions about the club.

Bob Gainey, can’t manage his prospects properly (Streit, Hainsey, Perezhogin)?

• Streit was asking for around 2.5 mil for 3 years after just 2 months of production. Do you know how insane it is to offer a 7.5M contract to a player that’s only been producing for 2 months? When Streit’s offensive proficiencies continued on the power play well into March, well you can pretty much guess he’d be an idiot to not want to test the free agent market.
• Ron Hainsey was NOT the stellar prospect everyone seems to remember in his final year with the Habs. Hainsey was abysmal in preseason with Habs in 05, after the lockout. The Canadiens were even desperate for a 7th defenceman at the time, and wanted him to perform well as he was now waiver eligible and they could lose him for nothing. Still, Hainsey played his way off the team and Bob Gainey offered him around the league for a draft pick. There were no takers. I watched him with the Bulldogs in their season opener. He was atrocious. On the power play he was hesitant, afraid to shoot, and even coughed up the puck and fell on his ass as he skated backwards. I can’t remember if they scored a shorty on it though. What happened with Hainsey next was that the Habs had a few injuries and needed to call him up. Finally his big break, right? Wrong. You see, Columbus had similar injury problems of their own…even more so. They picked up Hainsey on re-entry waivers and he benefited from the change of scenery.
• Perezhogin found his way into Carbonneau’s doghouse by constantly taking lazy penalties. He decided to take his puck and go home, where he made substantially more in the KHL (see Radulov)

What’s say we have both confidence and a lot of patience with young players such as Latendresse, Pacioretty, O’Byrne, Weber and Subban? No, the Habs haven’t drafted a superstar(unless you want to count Price), these days they’re usually found in the top 5 picks of a draft. But what the Habs have done is built up a healthy stable of young players and trade-able assets. Let’s see if one of these young guys surprises. I think exciting times lay ahead.

Carey Price got railed harder than a supple boy in a monastery. The worst/best part? I don’t think any of the goals he allowed were his fault.

Should make for some good Photoshop inspiration tomorrow though.

Sloppy game by the Habs, and the Canucks capitalized on just about all the mistakes with some pretty goals. Nothing worse than looking like a team that played the night before and facing a team that looks like they’re desperate to break out. Because break out they did. It was like the 6th grade all over again.

Carey Price got railed harder than a supple boy in a monastery. The worst/best part? I don’t think any of the goals he allowed were his fault.

Should make for some good Photoshop inspiration tomorrow though.

Sloppy game by the Habs, and the Canucks capitalized on just about all the mistakes with some pretty goals. Nothing worse than looking like a team that played the night before and facing a team that looks like they’re desperate to break out. Because break out they did. It was like the 6th grade all over again.

Submitted by: Burgle_Burgle via Submission Page