The Unknown Poster

Winnipeg sun Kyle Connor isn't ready to let himself think, let alone talk, about what the future may bring. It's become apparent that the Winnipeg Jets prospect is going to have an important decision to make once his freshman season with the University of Michigan Wolverines comes to an end. But Connor, who is one of the most prolific scorers in the NCAA this season, is determined to keep that season alive for as long as possible. “It's huge,” Connor said after scoring two goals in a 7-1 victory over the Penn State Nittany Lions at Yost Ice Arena on Friday night. “Obviously, you play out the season. Winnipeg will have their input, then I'll sit down with my family and with coach (Red) Berenson and we'll see what's best for me.” Connor didn't expand on what will factor into his final decision, but he's a bright guy and will give it plenty of thought. With those two goals Friday, Connor now has 28 goals and 59 points in 33 games – with the regular-season finale set for Saturday night. As a point of reference, Detroit Red Wings centre Dylan Larkin had 15 goals and 47 points in 35 games as a freshman for the Wolverines last season and Buffalo Sabres centre Jack Eichel had 26 goals and 71 points in 40 games as a freshman for Boston University. Both made a seamless transition to the NHL. Obviously, all three of those guys are different players but it stands to reason that Connor is going to explore the possibility of signing an entry-level deal and giving professional hockey a shot. For the time being, Connor finds himself right in the thick of the chase for the Hobey Baker Award, given annually to the top player in NCAA men's hockey. “I don't try to think about that at all,” said Connor, who is listed at 6-foot-1 and 175 pounds. “To be in the mix, it's such a prestigious award. I just try to bring it every single day and work hard.” Connor was as surprised as anybody by his omission from Team USA for the world junior hockey championship. “I was a little disappointed, I guess a little pissed off,” said Connor. “I kind of used that as a motivator and I really started to pick my game up (after that).” Wolverines head coach Red Berenson believes Connor's progression has been steady over the course of the season. “What's evolved the most? Consistency is a big thing,” said Berenson. “I can't tell you there's been a dramatic change between October and March. There's a confidence that was growing and now it's consistency. “It's hard to keep him off the scoresheet. Even in tough games, he's making plays. He's as good as it gets with the puck.” In my first live game viewing of Connor, the explosive skating ability jumped right off the page. Think Nikolaj Ehlers fast. And like Ehlers has for a good chunk of the season, Connor plays along the half wall on his off side on the power play. In that formation, Connor jumped down and buried a one-timer after a perfect cross-ice pass from Colorado Avalanche prospect JT Compher for a power-play goal on Friday just 30 seconds into the third period. The offensive numbers make it obvious that Connor can do some dynamic things in the offensive zone. But ultimately, it's his play without the puck that is going to earn the trust of the coaching staff and allow him to move into a top-six role at the next level. Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff was in attendance on Friday night and was quick to point out some improvements in Connor's game. “He has come a long way in his defensive-zone play and awareness from when I saw him play earlier this season,” said Cheveldayoff. This is not to suggest that Connor goes away from his strengths. He's never going to throwing his weight around much, but he'll need to go to the hard areas on a more regular basis to put up points in the NHL and that's something that should come with time. Like most young players, Connor has things to work on, but he's driven to improve. And with a skill-set that dazzles, it's looking more and more like Connor was a steal at 17th overall in the 2015 NHL Draft. And he could be coming to an NHL rink sooner than most people would have thought. Whether it's this fall or next, what's abundantly clear is that once Connor arrives, he's got the ability to bring folks out of their seats and put up some impressive numbers. For a team like the Jets that could use an injection of goal-scoring, you can be bet they wouldn't be overly disappointed if Connor decided to leave school and forced his way into a top-six role come October. Stay tuned. Larkin made right decision Dylan Larkin knows exactly what Kyle Connor will be going through in the coming months. It was just over a year ago that Larkin made the decision that one season with the University of Michigan Wolerines was enough for him and that he was ready to give the pro game a shot with the Detroit Red Wings. After putting up 15 goals and 47 points for the Wolverines last season, Larkin has made a smooth transition to the NHL, recording 20 goals and 40 points in 65 games with the Red Wings while being named to the all-star game as a rookie. “Every player is different, but this was something I wanted,” said Larkin. “I didn't want to go back and spend another year (in college). I wanted to be a professional and take a chance. It was my decision.” Larkin has been to a couple of Wolverines games this season and has been a sounding board for Connor. “It's really impressive what he's doing,” said Larkin. “It will be exciting to see what he does (at the end of the season). I've talked to him and gave him some advice early in the season. I just said to enjoy your time, whether it's one year or two years. Enjoy it, have fun and do things that a student would do. Then on the ice, just be yourself and don't take a back seat to anyone. “He certainly hasn't.” kwiebe@postmedia.com

Hawks will narrowly miss the playoffs but win the lottery giving the jets the first and second overall picks. You heard it here first. Lol

Hopefully he turns pro sooner rather tjsn later and the jets can work with him all summer to help him transition to the NHL and work on some muscle development. Perhaps Scheif can give him some advice.

Calgary let us down tonight.

Is Matthews eligible for the Calder Trophy next season since he played pro hockey this year?

That lawyer is 2 for 2 when it comes to getting Kane's out of trouble!

I hope the NHL exhausts all appeals. Arbitrator was wrong. And this might be the only time i hope the refs call things very ahem strictly against this clown

I want this mother ******* commissioner off this mother ******* plane!

Buffalo choked. But edmonton is winning....

So, basically, the Suns will need a new arena eventually, but, for now, they’re fine where they are. The Coyotes’ needs are more pressing, as their lease in Glendale expires after next season. The team has targeted the end of the current regular season to announce its plans. According to ABC 15 in Phoenix, the “two likeliest scenarios” are a “joint arena in Tempe with the Arizona State University hockey team” and an “arena within the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community in Scottsdale.” ABC 15, citing sources, notes that “the Suns and Coyotes have struggled to reach agreeable terms” on an arena deal.

That ring in the first picture is actually better than some I've seen constructed for the purposes of backyarding! The Hardy Boys were backyard wrestlers. Eventually backyard kids either get bored with it or realise they still love it and go get real training. So realistically, backyarding is fine if its goofing off, its the risk of injury and what that does to the larger industry that can be a problem. Then again, the worst injury I saw locally was a drunk worker who suffered a stinger and his promoter alerted the media thinking it would be an easy hook for publicity and it nearly resulted in the government bringing pro wrestling under regulation again. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed.

There is a difference between "backyard wrestling" and wrestling in a gas station parking lot in front of a lousy crowd. I dont have hatred for backyard wrestling per se because a lot of professional wrestlers "started" out by goofing with their friends. But backyard wrestling can be very dangerous. Goofing off with friends is one thing, but there are kids that charge money to the neighborhood to come watch themselves do stupid things. I remember there was a "backyard promotion" in Fort Richmond years ago, probably 2003/2004-ish and they would "wrestle" in a school field every weekend. A few of the local wrestlers found out and went down there and offered to train them if they wanted to be wrestlers. So that was a good idea in theory. A few of them took the guys up on their offer and trained. A few even went on to wrestler (none very well or with great success). Many refused and wanted to keep doing their backyard stuff. One of them ended up coming to us and asking to train and through that he learned more respect for the business and a few of those guys got the others to stop doing backyard wrestling. The one that came to us is a good guy who wrestled for several years (and still works with us, but not as a wrestler). Every top guy has stories of the worst indy show he worked on. That's the nature of the business. And its all constructive, or most of it. We used to do shows at Rookies Bar in transcona and virtually no one ever went to those shows. Like there were shows with 7 people at it. Some more...some decent. But many awful. But Rookies paid us. And we used the show to develop younger guys. Rookies was the first place I started booking actually, because our booker at the time didnt want to bother showing up...lol And yes, I dont want a thread locked. As I related to Rich, there is relevance even in "arguments" if the discussion is progressing. I would say that is the case thus far with this thread.

Is there a negative blacklash going on? Looks like "cloth" so in that regard I like it. I dont want Spiderman to have armor or a high tech suit.

They call them VIP, or at least the three theatres at that location that are "VIP", meaning better/bigger seats and the ability to reserve them in advance and drink booze etc. The other theatres at that location are regular theatres.

/me puts hand up to absorb blow, hulks up, big boot, leg drop.

The new Cinema City is very successful. Probably for two reasons. One, the VIP aspects and two, the fact its a theatre showing first run movies in the south end of town. That's my go-to theatre because I like reserving seats and I like the big comfy seats. I wish the screen was larger though.

I agree. I actually dont think it would work at those prices. If its a big movie, one that multiple friends would want to watch (and thus, throw in to justify the $50), I'd rather see it in a theater. if its a movie I dont bother to see on the big screen, I wouldnt pay $50 for it. They rush movies onto blu ray pretty fast now and I just cant imagine needing to see a film in my home so badly that I'd pay that. However, it might work down the road. When everyone has a 100" screen and a home theatre. Even if The Force Awakens, for example, was available to me to watch at home for the same price as a ticket to the theatre, I would have chosen the theatre for the experience. And I have a 52" and surround sound so its not overly large but not small either.

Speculation is because the box would have other layers of security. When JJ Abrams screened The Force Awakens early for a dying fan, they brought in their own specialized equipment, not just a DVD copy, to ensure that the broadcast was a closed one, and I imagine the film had some sort of coding that was not apparent to the viewer but would be to the studio had it leaked...

Interesting concept: We knew this time would come eventually. I wouldn't say the writing is on the wall for theaters, but it was inevitable that there would be a service that would give audiences the option to see newly-released films in the comforts of their own home. Understandably, theater chains have been against this whole movement, though Sean Parker, Napster co-founder and tech mogul, may have a plan that will get studios, theaters, and consumers all on board. He calls this new service The Screening Room, Variety reports. "Screening Room would charge about $150 for access to the set-top box that transmits the movies and charge $50 per view. Consumers have a 48-hour window to view the film." This is, of course, a bit on the pricey side, but I'd assume this would result in consumers basically throwing in $5-10 a pop and watching the movie in groups. Looking at it that way, the deal doesn't seem so bad. And as far as the price for the set-top box goes, I'd assume that would either drop in price over time, or would eventually become an app for devices like Roku or Apple TV--but that's just me speculating. Perhaps there's something special about the box that has to do with piracy that makes it impossible to have it in app form. Distributors would get around 20% cut of the profits, and The Screening Room service would get 10%. But how does this appeal to theaters? The Screening Room may actually give theaters a significant percentage of the ticket price--as high as $20/movie of the total $50 price. In addition, the service will also offer two theater tickets. This way, exhibitors can benefit from concessions (because, let's be real, that's where they get their money, anyway). Admittedly, I'm not quite sure how this would work. If I buy the $50 stream, which theater chain gets the money? Will this only work if one theater chain signs on? What if a handful of chains sign on? Is it based on which theater is closest? If this is only a service that benefits theaters that agree to it, then it seems like one that may doom theaters who do NOT sign on. On the other hand, if too many theaters sign on, will it force them to split the profits equally amongst themselves, ultimately making it not worth it? Perhaps they've already figured out this issue, but either way, the future for this service seems bright. According to the report, they are close to closing a deal with AMC, which is one of the largest exhibitors in the world. Read more at: https://tr.im/MQwXz

The Hulk Hogan Gawker trial was better discussed in the wrestling thread anyway although it's a very interesting case for several reasons. I know someone mentioned the Erin Andrews case too and I cant remember if I replied to it or not. But in another forum I frequent there was quite a debate about. Erin Andrews actually sued the hotel and the guy that took the video, not any of the outlets that showed the video. She won $55m (half from the guy himself so she likely wont see it). Hulk Hogan actually settled out of court with Bubba (the guy who took the video) for $5,000 (incredibly low amount). But I believe his ask from Gawker is $100m. Florida is a good state for Hogan and actually Gawker had to sell off some assets because they are required to have the money they might lose. Gawker tried to settle with Hogan because if they lose, they are toast. Today, Gawker made the point that ABC covered the video. That's their attempt to show the video was newsworthy. Personally, I hope Hogan creams them. In other news TNA (the only other promotion besides WWE that is considered in the industry according to *some*, even though they dont make any money) is desperately seeking investment. Rumor has it their parent company Panda Energy has stopped footing the bill. They didnt even announce new TV tapings until this week (for next week) and their ratings on POP TV continue to drop. This week set a new record low and featured Kurt Angle's TNA retirement match. TNA is in trouble. But they have been for a long time.

No, are you that guy? You seem to have similar mindsets. In LARP, the audience takes part in the "show". In professional wrestling, as with most stage performances, the audiences watches. Why are you such a jerk about pro wrestling? You must have failed a try out somewhere. Perhaps one of the "washed up bitter" guys you paid to see in WFX didnt sign your shirt?

So shall we just accept that you know you're ignorant on this subject but also dont have the balls to admit it?

So again you rattle off untrue statements about a subject you clearly know nothing about to try and make it seem like you actually know something. Okay, got it. You associated Flair being on "some podcast" in such a way it appeared you were intimating he needed the gig because he was washed up. I merely pointed out lots of people have podcasts (as well as endorsements as well as make appearances) because they enjoy it and not because they are forced to do so. Yes, I do seemingly know more about the Benoit situation than you because I have studied the wrestling business for a long time and that was obviously a major thing that occurred. But please, dont let me stop you from rattling off half truths and untruths as fact about something you know nothing about. Its rather amusing.

Again, that is factually untrue and you're an ignorant jerk with zero knowledge of the industry. Why do you discuss wrestling when you have such disdain for it? Also, who is Hogan extorting? And how is he working this situation including the FBI and the courts?