Dater Watch - The Twitter Quitter

Adrian Dater has created a commotion in Denver. What's new, eh? Yesterday morning Dater posted a lengthy explanation, prefaced with a strong claim that this was his own doing, about why he is done with Twitter. He deleted his account and says he is done with the whole thing.
You can read his blog post here.
Looking at it this morning I noticed that this post has been retweeted 39 times. Every other post on the page averages about 2-3 retweets. Haha, ah the irony.
Of course there was heavy action on Twitter as the story spread and soon turned into a lot of bashing as locals took their shots at him for being a quitter.
Justin at The Avalanche Guild had plenty to say about it...
Grant at Hockeyism did as well...
Oh, there were a few supporters out there on Twitter, even locals, and a lot of support in the comments section of his blog. Most people seemed to be disappointed that he was bailing on Twitter. You can put me in that crowd. I liked that I could get his tweets on my phone and know breaking Avs news instantaneously.
As I've said before in Dater Watch, he seems to be a very reactive person and rather compulsive. He even says in the piece that it was a spontaneous decision. You would think after a while he would consider things more thoroughly before acting.
His twitpic page is still there, probably didn't delete it cause it was never a problem, or he forgot.
A mere two hours later he posts a blog about the Avalanche injury situation and at the bottom of the post he has this to say: "Oh, and thanks for the supportive emails about the twitter cancellation thing. Maybe I’ll rethink it and start it up again, but as of now it’s still dead to me."
Okaaay...Dater has employed this sort of PR manipulation before. Like I said, I think he is a pretty compulsive guy, so whether it is intentional or not I do not know.
Just a month ago he said he would quit Twitter if he didn't get 1,000 followers within the next couple days, starting a minor war with some single-celled Red Wings fan. He later said it was all a joke, tweeted in sarcasm. You can Red Wing fan's version of things here. But I warn you, it may endanger your Avalanche soul to click that link.
Nonetheless, Dater got his 1,000 followers despite pissing off a lot of people and taking a lot of criticism.
I have every reason think he will be back. We all know that nothing on the Internets is REALLY ever deleted. I would bet he can un-delete his account, get all his followers back and stir up yet another circus in the process. Once again Twitter would no doubt be buzzing about him changing his mind, and no doubt a lot of his followers will un-follow. But when the dust settles he will probably end up gaining more than he loses.
As you can see from the screen capture below, he is still out there in the Internets, floating around...nothing works when you click on it...but...just wait.


-From the Point

Read more...

Dual-Personality Avalanche

The Colorado Avalanche are officially nuts. They have two personalities.

Last Saturday the Avs played the first of four-straight divisional games. Coach Joe Sacco called the game a “must-win”. The Avs failed to even show up for the game, leaving the head coach looking like a big dummy. The Avs went through both goalies and let in 8 goals on 30 shots.

Road trips in the Northwest Division are never easy, but after a terrible game against Vancouver, the Avs were probably ready to get out of town. Two days later the Avs hit the road in Calgary and had a killer game against a red hot team trying to get the lead in the division. The Avs played hard throughout the game and the Flames players even commented that the Avs are a hard team to play against. Music to Sacco’s ears.

...read the reast of this article on HockeyIndependent.com

Read more...

The Sacco Gambit

Joe Sacco said it was a must-win. We are a quarter of the way into the season. We were up 7 points on the Vancouver Canucks, leading the division, second in the conference, top 5 in the league. Sure, the Avs haven’t been nearly as hot in November as they were in October. But pulling out the must-win gambit seems like a rookie mistake.
Today the Avs are on road in Alberta. After that 8-2 debacle, what are we faced with on this road trip?
Let's check the Word thesaurus: “must win” can also be;
have to win
have got to win
be obliged to win
ought to win
should win
be required to win
necessity win
obligation win
Never mind the grammar. That is but a minor concern here!
Add those to your lexicon of lame declarations Mr. Sacco. You can use all of these and more, no doubt. But can you do it without eye-rolling by every guy in the dressing room?
What’s the chance that Sacco lost some of the players with this move? Like Foote, Hejduk, Duchene…? Probably not but was it really smart to call game 20 a must win?
Let's say the game turned out 8-2 in favor of the Avalanche. What would have been accomplished by that? Make the playoffs? Move into first place? What? Wasn't much point to it, was there?
The ‘Nucks are sitting around for nearly a week while the Avs have a chance to go get 4 more points on them. So again, what was the emergency? You would think that a guy like Steve Konowalchuk would have signaled Sacco that this was an apprentice ploy.
Was the incredible start to the season giving Sacco a Mark Messier ego? I am the Sacco! This is a must-win, therefore…WE SHALL WIN!
Whew, talk about laying an egg.
Was he thinking that Luongo was still going to be in early season "form" and let everything but the kitchen sink into the goal?
It's a small mistake for now…for now.
Chances are the exuberant energy that has been a blessing for Sacco so far in the season will work in his favor. The guys won’t think about it much, they just want to play. And they want to win, they don’t need manufactured tactics.
Let's hope he and the team just move on and forget the Sacco Gaffe.
-From the Point

Read more...

Five for Fighting Monday

Definition of a true teammate: anyone that will stand up for Tyler Arnason. Dion Phaneuf knocks Arny on his ass. Never mind that Arny was mesmerized by his own puck handling skills. Haha! But seriously, it was just an excuse for Lappy to go with one of the most hated players outside of Detroit. Thanks for beating the snot outta Phaneuf, Lappy!
Readers, I hope you knock the snot out of your week!

It was the last game of the season and the Avs won, 6-3. Joe Sakic scored the go-ahead goal in the third, giving him 100 points for the season. Sakic, 37 years young, became the second-oldest player in NHL history to reach 100 points. The oldest was some guy known as Mr. Hockey. Joe was the first star, Lappy the second. Those guys are gone, but the Avs will still be kicking some butt tomorrow night.
-From the Point

Read more...

The Shocker has been Reassigned

The Shocker is being reassigned to a minor league blog (can you get any more minor league?)This Budaj bashing has finally gone too far. If you recall, The Shocker was part of the Colorado Avalanche Season Predictions for 2009-2010 Part III. In our first prediction about the season MVP, (Peter Budaj, according to the cards) The Shocker said something in French at the end of the segment. Turns out he said Budaj has a 5-hole the size of a French whore!
Sometimes things go over the line and there is no going back. Comparing Budaj's 5-hole to a French whore is over the line. Whore's have feelings too! This remark disrespects French whores. Unacceptable!
Posting pictures of HUGE, GIGANTIC, semi-trucks driving through Boods 5-hole: unacceptable!
Frenchy called up.
In his stead will be Frenchy, who has already made a few contributions. Oddly, Frenchy is The Shocker's twin brother. I think we know now which one is the eveil twin. Frenchy has assured me he will not make any politically incorrect comments about French whores.

-From the Point

Read more...