RogersTowell

I figure we're most likely 3rd-5th in the division and strong probability of making the playoffs. EP should break a point a game average this season. If healthy he'll have 82+. The improvements made in the forward positions will help the overall defensive stats for the team as will a new D assistant coach, a few new faces and some balance in terms of skill and physicality. 1st or 2nd in the division are possible as is 6th, but none of those are likely. We're no longer candidates for the cellar. Podz performance will be dependent on both himself and Coach Green. If he earns Green's trust he could have a heck of a season. He'll have to work as hard as Hoglander in order to gain that trust, but if he does, watch out. OEL should have a bounce back year with a change of scenery with no baggage and hopefully a coach he can connect with better. For sure having a better team around him will help that. Demko should continue to impress with strong performances. We'll see if Halak has anything left in the tank but don't hold your breath. I'd say 1 in 3 chance Halak plays well enough to push for more than 20 games.

The longer things move along the more I'm happy with Purple Maroc as my choice to grow this year. It looks like we might be done by the end of August and should avoid the mouldy months, which was the goal going in to this year. Even the timewarp is going to be ready by mid-September if all continues to go well. We'll have to see how it all finishes but so far I'm very happy with it. No worrying about powdery mildew or bud rot.

Without checking the correlations between oZS% and CF% it's kind of only half measures to make your lines like this. Almost everyone on the roster who had good CF% had high oZS%, I'm not sure it's a terribly good metric.

On paper the Canucks look better than they have for a while. The forward group is top notch. They are a hard working high skill group that should be able to compete with any team in the league. On paper the defence has some good offensive potential but lacks significantly on the defensive side. Goal tending looks pretty solid. Over all, this should be a significant improvement over last year, but of course this is only 'on paper'. I'd say 2nd-5th in the division are the likely range, though first and 6th-8th are possible. You just never know for sure. There are some other changes that I think should make a difference as well. New D-coach should help individual players improve and meet their potential. Having a stronger and harder working forward group should also help in the d-zone. Hopefully we can work at pressuring the puck more and creating turnovers as a unit instead of merely passively keeping the other team more to the outside like last year. Defence as a 5 man unit and not get so many shot blocking injuries. In the end though, there are some risks to this season. Injuries are always the elephant in the room - they can happen to anyone any time like Pettersson last year. At least this year we have a few guys on the bubble that have a bit more NHL experience and should be more ready to fill in - guys like Gadjovich for example. I've played enough sports to have learned that you never know how a group of guys is going to gel until you see them in action for a while. As Forest Gump's mom used to say.....

Advanced analytics have one major flaw - they are much more difficult to use in hockey in isolation. In Hockey you are always on the ice with a 5 man unit. Your possession numbers, shot suppression - literally everything - is strongly affected by your team mates. You want to make a great player look bad? Put him on a crappy team and crunch the numbers. His passing suffers, his shot suppression suffers, his ability to clear the puck from his zone suffers - all because his team mates are crap. At best, you can compare them to team mates - but even then if the player in question is considered one of the better defenders, he'll get the tough opponents every night while some of his less capable team mates get o-zone starts and easy opponents. Advanced analytics can give you some interesting insights, but are generally useless in isolation. It will be interesting to see what Shaw can get out of Poolman (and our entire d-corps) as the season progresses.

Another heat dome building. This isn't looking good for the coming week.

Amen.

I'm pretty conservative on my pruning. Next year I might get more aggressive with a plant or two to see how it goes. Things are coming along fine with the marocs and my timewarp started stretching and showing signs of flowering about a week ago. Timelines are looking good. I read up a bit more on the purple maroc and you are correct, it's about 2% ruderalis and about 50/50 mix of sativa and indica (minus the 2%). One of them grows very differently from what I'm used to and branched pretty much on it's own after being fimmed into a sea of green with dozens of colas racing to the light. The new growth on it stays very bright green for a couple weeks before darkening up. The leaves and growth patterns on all of my marocs are very much sativa ifluenced while the timewarp is very strongly indica. Such an enjoyable hobby. When my phone starts behaving again I'll post a photo or two.

Phoenix is one of the few places I've been in the world where I was a bit concerned for my safety - and I've been in the worst neighbourhood in Mexico City and felt fine. E. Van Buren between 24th and 32nd is a nightmare at night despite having a lot of the airport area hotels.

You can't score if you're mostly being used on PK and defensive zone work.

Any minute now......

Just remember what they say about the door on the way out.

Mikita had the best career, but Forsberg was best in his prime.

You really give 'em buzz cuts! It would freak me out taking that much off the top, I'd be worried they didn't have enough leaves left to power the growth engine.

Before trimming things back a bit the other day:

You are correct. It's a bit dense right now and has a lot of lower and inner branches I should take down tomorrow. I found one reference stating that they will start flowering mid-July - so not too far off the mark. I guess this is why I got purple maroc this year anyway - I wanted to have a plant that would harvest earlier and not have the same problems with mildew and bud rot I had last year. Looks like harvest time will be some time in the first week of September if things continue as expected weather wise. I had been thinking they might flower late July if I were lucky =)

Thanks for the information. All I know is what is on the various seed sites that state that purple maroc is a cross between maroc and purple power and state they are very early harvest outdoors. The plants are about 60" right now.

I think my three marocs started budding out of nowhere as well. I'm not sure what's going on but I'm just going to let them do whatever it is they've decided to do.

There is information on the cause of death for many of the indigenous children. A great many died from disease, but those deaths were dramatically increased by the neglect in terms of nutrition and health care. The abuse led to many deaths as well, not just directly, but also in terms of inter-generational trauma. It was a horrific period in Canadian history that we should all be ashamed of. The Catholic church has hidden records relating to the circumstances surrounding many of these deaths and those responsible. They have also reneged on an obligation to pay (was it) 28 million in reparations, claiming financial hardship. In the meantime, one of their congregations has built religious edifices of a greater value. Their behaviour has been more than deplorable. While I don't agree with the burning of churches or statues, neither will I judge someone who's pain drove them to such desperate measures. For sure the church could have done much in terms of reconciliation in order to avoid this anger. Here's hoping that moving forward we will have fewer platitudes and more action to bring reconciliation and healing on a subject that should rightfully horrify any Canadian.

My Marocs are coming along nicely in large pots (at least 50L). 55", 57" and 50" (the latter one was fimmed early on - not as tall but much bushier). The two taller plants got transplanted into their final containers a couple of weeks ago, but I over fertilised the soil and am having a bit of nutrient burn. On the plus side, the burn is mostly affecting the lower growth so they are naturally lollypopping. The timewarp had a tough start. The guy my friend got the clones from had basically just stuck them in a 7-11 drink cup and fertilised and watered them for a week. It took weeks of babying to get it established so it's well behind the rest at abot 14". The Marocs are about 6 weeks of growth ahead of last year's plants, which I suppose is good. They might get too big to hoop for flipping but whatever happens, I'm sure it will be a fun adventure. I'll try to post some pictures later in the week when the risk of spontaneous combustion has dropped when going outside.

This is the "show me" year for Benning. If we don't see a solid step forward it's time to get somebody who can. Honestly, I haven't thought he's done too bad a job for the most part in his tenure to date, but at the same time I don't want to be wallowing in mediocrity any longer. We made the playoffs in the first covid season (albeit partly through the back door). Last season we didn't in another weird covid season and divisional alignments. That was ok, some times you take a step backward before a big step forward. This season is, in my humble opinion, a do or die season for JB. I've really liked his drafting. His free agency signings have been lacklustre to say the least. Overpaid and underperforming efforts from ageing athletes. His trades have been a mixed bag and some might think he's not done a good job of retaining a few good players lately. You can't argue against his infusion of young players with the exception of possibly Virtanen. Hughes, Petterson, Hoglander, Rathbone and many more will make up the team going forward. Miller, Myers and Schmidt have been good additions. If his plan starts to come to fruition and we see a solid step forward this year I think he has done enough. It's nice to see some of the dead weight contracts coming off the books.

I'm ok with either the Habs or the Jets winning the division and the cup.

So he's not big on guys like Tryamkin, Gadjovich, McEwan or Podkolzin? Huh, who knew.

For a 6th round pick, he seems like a steal so far.

This year I tried to get Early Maroc (by Philosopher Seeds) but couldn't find any available. Instead I went for one of it's relatives, Purple Maroc bought through Northern. I got 4 seeds, but they threw in three bonus seeds. All 7 popped fine and are growing strong. Sharing them with a friend who also has Texada Timewarp. I'll be growing one Timewarp and three Marocs. I tried making clones in case any of my other friends wanted with mixed results. I learned too late that I should have covered them with a clear bowl or similar to keep the moisture in. Live and learn. I'm hoping these two strains started early might be able to finish by the end of September.