Below are the 8 most recent journal entries recorded in kingsgleason's LiveJournal:

Monday, January 29th, 2007
6:55 pm	Game Day: Kings at Canucks Finally, some real hockey getting played tonight at the Garage as the boys return to action and take on the Los Angeles Kings. Going into the All-Star break, the Canucks, of course, were one of the league's hottest teams. They had gained 21 points in their last 12 games; they had also won eight consecutive games at home before a loss to the Minnesota Wild snapped that streak. Here are some links and stuff to get you ready for the game: Tonight's game features Marc Crawford's first game back against Vancouver. Wouldn't it be great for his favorite whipping boy, Brendan Morrison, to have a big game? - Ben Kuzma (Vancouver Province)In hindsight, the Crawford/Canucks split was probably one of the best things to happen to both parties. - Iain MacIntyre (Vancouver Sun)While the Canucks are battling for first place in the Northwest Division, the Kings are battling for first place in the draft lottery. - Ed Willes (Vancouver Province)Even after a week's rest, Willie Mitchell isn't ready to play; the Canucks have recalled Yannick Tremblay from the Moose to replace him. - Jason Botchford (Vancouver Province), Brad Ziemer (Vancouver Sun)After playing his best game of the season, it's back to the end of the bench for Dany Sabourin. - Grant Kerr (Globe and Mail) ______________ Comments/Questions: Feel free to post in the comments section or email me at gocanucksgo10 (at) hotmail (dot) com. Technorati Tags: NHL, hockey, Vancouver, Canucks, Los+Angeles+Kings, Marc+Crawford (Comment on this)
Thursday, November 2nd, 2006
1:19 pm	A Look At Tonight’s Opponent: The Los Angeles Kings Tonight the St. Louis Blues will try to build on the many positives, and correct the mistakes, from their lost against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night. While it is true that the Blues face their weakest opponent on this three game, West Coast road trip, one cannot dismiss the rebuilding Los Angeles club. King’s coach, Marc Crawford, utilizes the young legs and skating ability of his team. Several times during their 4-3 lost to the Anaheim Ducks last night, the Kings utilized the elimination of the red line, making long passes. The Blues’ defense must be careful, and not be caught flat-footed against a quick team that will look for the “home run pass.” An opposing player to watch tonight is Anze Kopitar, a nineteen-year-old rookie from Slovenia. This 2005, first rounder (11th overall) declined to play in the AHL last year, opting to play pro in Sweden. Despite only being eighteen years of age, he had success playing against men. A mix of skill, size and speed, he was very impressive last night against the Ducks, scoring two goals. Though one of his goals was of the fluky variety, he demonstrated tremendous skill on his first goal, burning Chris Pronger and patiently waiting for the goalie to make his move before burying the puck. An excellent talent. Even if the Blues contain Kopitar, they must watch for his linemate Alexander Frolov, as well as Patrick O’Sullivan, Mike Cammalleri and Craig Conroy. The Blues must also beware of the Kings’ defense, especially on the powerplay, which utilizes Rob Blake, Lumobior Visnovsky, and even ex-Blue Kevin Dallman on the 2nd unit. One would hope that the Blues will take advantage of the fact that the Kings played the night before, and use their veterans to punish and frustrate some of the Kings’ younger and inexperienced talent. Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post has reported that Manny Legace will be in net against the Kings. He may have to prepare himself for the offensive onslaught, as the Kings recorded 44 shots against the Ducks’ defense which included Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger. Luckily for the Ducks, Jean-Sebastien Giguere played an outstanding game, and the Blues will likely need a matching effort for Legace. The Blues’ may have lost another defensemen, as Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post has also reported Eric Brewer is doubtful for tonight’s game because of an injury to his back. If he cannot take the ice, the Blues will have to insert Roman Polak into the lineup and be without three of their top four defenseman. UPDATE: According to Andy Strickland of Hockey Buzz & ESPN 1380, Eric Brewer will play tonight. Discuss this article and the events of the game at the Let's Go Blues forum. (Comment on this)
Friday, August 18th, 2006
11:44 am	Griffins' coaches retained through '07-08 The Grand Rapids Griffins have announced that head coach Greg Ireland and assistant coach Jim Paek have signed contract extensions through the 2007-08 season. Under their guidance, the Griffins captured the AHL’s 2005-06 Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy as regular-season champions, posting a 55-20-1-4 mark and setting franchise records for wins, points (115) and winning percentage (.719). Following a regular season in which it earned the third-most victories in league history, Grand Rapids defeated Toronto (4-1) and Manitoba (4-3) in the North Division playoffs before falling to Milwaukee (0-4) in the Western Conference Finals. Ireland, 40, was elevated to the head coaching position on Feb. 10, 2005, after having served as the team’s assistant coach since the start of the 2003-04 season. Despite recording an impressive stretch run (17-13-1-1) under their newly-named coach, the 2004-05 Griffins became the only team in the AHL’s 70-year history to win more than 40 games (41-35-2-2) and still be excluded from the playoffs. Paek, 39, begins his second season behind the Griffins’ bench. He won consecutive Stanley Cup championships as a defenseman with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991 and 1992, and tallied 34 points (5-29—34) and 155 penalty minutes in 217 NHL games with Pittsburgh, the Los Angeles Kings and Ottawa Senators. Born in Seoul, South Korea, Paek became the first Korean to both play in the NHL and have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup. In recognition of those accomplishments, Paek’s Penguins jersey is displayed in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. (Comment on this)
Friday, August 11th, 2006
11:05 am	Ron Hextall Assisstant GM of Kings Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - The Los Angeles Kings have named Ron Hextall as assistant general manager and general manager for their AHL affiliate Manchester Monarchs. "I am honored and extremely excited to be a part of the Los Angeles Kings organization," said Hextall. "I look forward to working closely with Dean Lombardi and the entire Kings staff toward the ultimate goal of bringing a Stanley Cup to Los Angeles. It was a difficult decision considering my history with the Flyers organization, but moving forward with my career I thought it was the best move for myself and my family." He spent the last four seasons as director of pro hockey personnel for the Philadelphia Flyers. Hextall, 42, was a goaltender for the Flyers, New York Islanders and Quebec Nordiques in his 13-year career. He won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's best netminder and the Conn Smythe Trophy for the Stanley Cup MVP, despite losing to Edmonton in seven games, in his rookie season of 1986-87. He played in 608 regular season contests, compiling a 296-214-69 record with 23 shutouts, a 2.97 goals-against average and an .895 save percentage. In the playoffs, Hextall went 47-43 with a pair of shutouts in 93 games. (Comment on this)
Thursday, August 3rd, 2006
6:03 pm	Kings Acquire Goalie Today, the Los Angeles Kings got a little stronger adding former starting goaltender, Dan Cloutier, from the Canucks for a couple of moderate draft picks. Cloutier, a 30-game winner three times with the Canucks is a strong regular season goaltender who can earn you all sorts of wins, will more than likely prove to be a strong character for the Kings in their run for a Pacific Division title. An injury-riddled season kept Cloutier from the Canucks' crease in 2005/'06, but some solid rehab all year and the summer should make him a healthy candidate for the starting job in LA, in front of Mathieu Garon. He should be a second-round to high third-round pick in any pool still. A small cry from his first-round potential, but there is no reason why he couldn't be there again in the regular season. Technorati Tags NHL Hockey Pool Trades Los Angeles Kings Vancouver Canucks (Comment on this)
Monday, July 31st, 2006
10:02 pm	EDSBS Roundtable Since I'm one of the few that have to work today and with no real work to do what better time to do another Roundtable, this one from EDSBS. I'll discuss the Lakers signing of Vladimir Radmanovic later in the week. 1. Education. List the region of the country you were born in, what universities you attended and at least one other you would have attended if your alma mater didn’t exist. I was born and raised in Southern California and I attended the University of Michigan. I never really liked the local schools, except UCLA, but I knew I'd live in So Cal for the rest of my life so I wanted to experience something different for college. If Michigan didn't exist I probably would have ended up at North Carolina or Texas. 2. Sports Affiliations. List your top 10 favorite teams in all of sports in decending order. For instance, your alma mater’s football team may be number 1, but perhaps there is a professional team that squeezes in before you get to your alma mater’s lacrosse team. 1a. Michigan Football 1b. Los Angeles Lakers 2. Michigan Basketball 3. Michigan Hockey 4. Los Angeles Dodgers 5. Oakland Raiders 6. North Carolina Basketball 7. UCLA Basketball 8. Los Angeles Kings 9. Whoever is playing Notre Dame, Ohio State, USC, Nebraska or Tennessee 10. Georgia/Texas/UCLA Football 3. Movies. List the movie you’ve watched the most, your favorite sports related movie, the movie you secretly love but don’t like to admit it (possibly a chick flick or b film), and the movie you were (or still are) most looking forward to from this summer’s season. Not really a movie person but the movie I've watched the most would probably be The Mighty Ducks. Growing up I was really big into hockey with Gretzky in LA and watched the movie so much that I ended up memorizing the entire script since I watched it so much. Favorite sports related movie would probably be Rocky IV or Friday Night Lights. Movie I love but don't like to admit: Can't Hardly Wait Movie I was looking forward to: Nacho Libre, and it met my expectations. 4. Music. List your favorite band from middle school, high school, college and today. Also, as with the movies, include the song you secretly love but don’t like to admit. If Nickleback is involved in any of these responses, please give a detailed explanation as to why, god, why. Middle School: Boyz II Men, Hootie and the Blowfish, Bryan Adams High School: Tupac, Gangstarr, Wu-Tang Clan, Brian McKnight College: DJ Quik, Tupac, The Roots, Jay-Z Song I secretly love but don't like to admit: O-Town - "All or Nothing" 5. Books. Favorite book you’ve finished, worst book you’ve finished and the book you really should read but haven’t gotten around to it. Favorite Books: "Holla If Ya Hear Me" a book on Tupac and "Fab Five" Worst Book: anything I had to read for school Book I should read: the GMAT Prep books that are sitting at home 6. Travel. Favorite city you’ve every been to and the one place you still must visit before you shuffle off this mortal coil. Vancouver/Victoria Island, I think that's what it was called, went there a long time ago with my family but it was real nice. Place I must go: Brazil, I second EDSBS's statement. 7. What do you love most about college football in 20 words or less? The connection with my school, the unparalleled highs and lows that no other sport can match. (Comment on this)
Saturday, July 29th, 2006
4:54 pm	Tagliabue meets with LA officials Commissioner Paul Tagliabue headed an NFL delegation that met with leaders of the Los Angeles business community Wednesday night, and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa expressed optimism about the return of a professional team to the area. "We're farther along than we have been at any time since professional football left Los Angeles," Villaraigosa told reporters with Tagliabue at his side before the parties had their dinner meeting and reception at Getty House, the mayor's formal residence. Fantasy Football League 2006 The greater Los Angeles area has been without an NFL team since the Raiders left the Los Angeles Coliseum for Oakland and the Rams departed from what is now known as Angel Stadium in Anaheim for St. Louis before the 1995 season. NFL owners decided last month at an owners meeting in Denver to give $5 million each to Los Angeles and Anaheim to explore the amount of support, especially financial, that each community can supply to help build a new stadium. Fantasy Football League The NFL group will meet Thursday for lunch with Anaheim officials. Getting a team back in the area does not appear imminent. No team has been designated, nor has a decision been made whether Los Angeles or Anaheim would get an existing franchise that relocates or an expansion team. Los Angeles officials hope to build an $800 million stadium inside the Coliseum, which would be leased to the league. Anaheim officials have proposed a new football stadium for the parking lot next to Angel Stadium. "This is about creating a partnership," Villaraigosa said of Wednesday night's get-together. "It's incumbent upon us to make a case. On both sides, there's a willingness for a partnership." Tagliabue said there are several pieces that must be put in place for a team to return to Los Angeles, one being a satisfactory agreement with Southern California, one of nation's top college football teams that's played its home games at the Coliseum for 83 years. Fantasy Football USC President Steven B. Sample expressed concerns in a letter to the NFL last month, but was among the guests at Getty House. Tagliabue expressed confidence things could be worked out. A state-of-the-art Coliseum for an NFL team would probably seat less than 70,000, with USC wanting a home that would seat at least 80,000. Tagliabue said other issues involved the costs of a new stadium, how it would be financed and support of the business community. "What we're addressing tonight is one of those pieces," he said, referring to the business community. "We look forward to this partnership becoming a reality. We're determined to get a team here." 2006 Fantasy Football Whether that means Los Angeles, Anaheim or both at some point in time has not been determined. Among those attending the dinner were team owners Michael Bidwill of the Arizona Cardinals, Pat Bowlen of the Denver Broncos, Steve Tisch of the New York Giants and Jed York of the San Francisco 49ers. Among local business leaders attending were billionaires Eli Broad and Ron Burkle, who have both been involved in trying to bring the NFL back to Los Angeles in the past; Peter O'Malley, former owner of the Dodgers; Casey Wasserman, owner of the Los Angeles Avengers of the Arena Football League; Peter Chernin of News Corp.; Tim Leiweke of the Anschutz Entertainment Group, which owns the Los Angeles Kings and several Major League Soccer franchises, and former NFL players Rodney Peete and Danny Villanueva. 2006 Fantasy Football League The NFL was close to returning to the nation's second-largest market in 1999, when league owners approved a resolution to put an expansion team into the area. That plan fell through when two conflicting groups could not agree on a site and financing. The NFL also wanted to get Houston businessman Robert McNair into the league. When he upped his bid to $700 million - some $150 million more than either of the Los Angeles groups offered - for the new team and a new stadium, the league's owners awarded Houston the expansion franchise. The Texans began play in 2002, replacing the Oilers, who had moved to Tennessee and become the Titans. (Comment on this)
Thursday, July 27th, 2006
10:53 am	Kings continue to pursue Luongo This is hardly new news, as it's been speculated all week that Los Angeles Kings GM Dean Lombardi has been in trade talks with the Florida Panthers for star netminder Roberto Luongo. Still, here it is confirmed in the Los Angeles Times from late last night: The Kings are believed to be discussing a multi-player package, with forwards Alexander Frolov and Dustin Brown and goaltender Mathieu Garon among the names being discussed. Dean Lombardi, the Kings' general manager, declined to comment... The Kings attempted to land the All-Star goaltender before the trading deadline last season, but the Panthers balked at all deals. Now they may be forced to make a deal since Luongo will be an unrestricted free agent after next season. The Panthers have received calls from a handful of teams and interest is expected to increase at the NHL draft in Vancouver this weekend. That may lead to a bidding war, orchestrated by the high-profile Keenan.Which is exactly the scenario I laid out a few days ago and exactly the scenario Keenan wants. Also in pursuit of Luongo — and not far behind the Kings — are the Vancouver Canucks, who have been rumoured to be offering Dan Cloutier and Todd Bertuzzi. (Comment on this)