Rosters Are Set

There was some pretty good buzz about the team selection in the old schoolyard known as the NHL. The 2011 NHL All-Star Game Fantasy Draft, presented by Cisco because you can't undersell yourself, was held, and Team Staal and Team Lidstrom began to assemble as the two captains and their alternate captains went back and forth picking teammates. There were many big questions - who would go first, who would be selected last, would there be teammate versus teammate situations, will the Sedins be broken up for the first time in their careers - and each one would have an answer at the conclusion of the Fantasy Draft. So without further adieu, let's look at the rosters for both Team Staal and Team Lidstrom.

Team Staal

Team Staal, led by captain Eric Staal and alternate captains Ryan Kesler and Mike Green, were given the right to draft first in the Fantasy Draft. With names like Ovechkin, Nash, Toews, and Stamkos available, Eric Staal had a number of superstars to choose. With the first overall pick, Team Staal chose... Cam Ward? Alright, I get it - a little nepotism here as the Carolina Hurricanes superstar chose the Carolina Hurricanes goaltender for the hometown fans. No complaints there, I suppose.

Team Staal continued the nepotism theme as alternate captain Mike Green chose teammate Alexander Ovechkin with the third pick. And Ryan Kesler got in on the action as he chose teammate Daniel Sedin with the fifth pick of the draft. It appeared Team Staal was all about teammates early on, but the seventh pick was one made purely on talent. Zdeno Chara was added to Team Staal, and the ninth pick was another smart one as they added Rick Nash to the team.

Teammates and family played a role in the next two picks as goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was chosen with the 11th pick. Following him was another New York Ranger as Eric Staal chose brother Marc Staal with the 13th pick. Patrick Sharp, Dan Boyle, and Carey Price were selected next by Team Staal before Eric went back to the Hurricanes' roster by selecting teammate Jeff Skinner with the 21st pick in the draft.

Team Staal rounded out their roster with Kris Letang, Claude Giroux, Erik Karlsson, Corey Perry, Patrik Elias, David Backes, and Paul Stastny. If you're keeping tabs on repeat player numbers, Team Staal should have two instances of #10 (Sharp and Perry), two instances of #22 (Sedin and Boyle), and two instances of #30 (Ward and Lundqvist).

Team Lidstrom

Niklas Lidstrom was joined on stage with his alternate captains Patrick Kane and Martin St. Louis as they had the second overall pick in the NHL Fantasy Draft. With Cam Ward already off the board, that left a myriad of NHL superstars to choose from, and Lidstrom jumped at one of the league's best goal scorers in choosing Steven Stamkos with his first pick.

Lidstrom, like Team Staal, decided to use a little nepotism as alternate captain Patrick Kane chose defenceman Duncan Keith with Team Lidstrom's second pick. Martin St. Louis threw a little controversy into the 2011 NHL All-Star Game with his selection of Henrik Sedin at the sixth overall pick. That, of course, means that the Sedins will be playing against one another tomorrow afternoon.

From there, it was all about talent on Team Lidstrom. Shea Weber, Tim Thomas, and Daniel Briere were chosen with the next three picks before Patrick Kane had some say on the 14th and 16th overall picks. Team Lidstrom selected former Blackhawk and current high-scoring Thrashers defenceman Dustin Byfuglien at 14, and then added Blackhawk Jonathan Toews at 16. Team Lidstrom rounded out their goaltenders with the next two picks as Marc-Andre Fleury and Jonas Hiller were selected.

Martin St. Louis and Steven Stamkos got to bring back one of the Lightning alumni with the 22nd overall pick as Brad Richards joined Team Lidstrom. Keith Yandle and Brent Burns rounded out Team Lidstrom's blueline with the next two picks. Burns' teammate and Kane's former teammate Martin Havlat was chosen at 28th overall, and he was followed by Anze Kopitar, Matt Duchene, and Richards' Dallas Stars teammate Loui Eriksson. So who was the last man chosen?

Phil Kessel of the Toronto Maple Leafs. For his wait, Kessel received a Honda CR-Z car and $20,000 to donate to a charity of his choice - not too bad for being the last man chosen. Kessel stated that he will donate the money to a cancer charity after having beaten testicular cancer in 2006. As for being chosen last, what did Kessel think of that honour?

"I don't care one bit at all," said Kessel of being chosen last to The Canadian Press. "When I was a kid, I would never have dreamed of being here. Hopefully the fans in Toronto are happy to see me in the game. I'll play well in the game for them."

If you're keeping track of those players with repeat numbers, Team Lidstrom will have two sets of numbers that will appear twice: #91 (Stamkos and Richards) and #33 (Sedin and Byfuglien).

Just as an added note, Jeff Skinner will officially become the youngest player in any of the four major sports to appear in an all-star game. Skinner is 18 years, 259 days. He officially knocks off Steve Yzerman's 1984 All-Star Game debut by eight days under the current format of the All-Star Game. When the NHL Stanley Cup champions earned the right to play the NHL All-Stars, there are two players who would be younger than Skinner: Toronto's Fleming Mackell in 1947 (18 years, 166 days) and Detroit's Larry Hillman in 1955 (18 years, 239 days).

Teammates that will face one another include Daniel Sedin and Ryan Kesler against Henrik Sedin; Zdeno Chara against Tim Thomas; Kris Letang against Marc-Andre Fleury; Claude Giroux against Daniel Briere; Corey Perry against Jonas Hiller; and, Patrick Sharp against Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, and Jonathan Toews.

The NHL Skills Competition gets underway later today, so get ready for some fun and excitement as your 2011 NHL All-Stars show off their stuff!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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Words to live by

Over at one of the dog posts on Balloon Juice, a commenter quotes the epitaph that Queen Victoria wrote for her favorite dog::

“Here lies Dash, the favorite spaniel of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, by whose command this memorial was erected. He died on the 20th December 1840 in his ninth year. His attachment was without selfishness, his playfulness without malice, his fidelity without deceit. Reader, if you would live beloved and die regretted, profit by the example.”

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Creative Art of Bullish Excuses: Stock Market Still "Good to Go"; Hook Has Been Set

While reading more on the Egyptian riots in a Bloomberg article, I found this nice quip on global equity prices.

European stocks retreated this week as escalating protests in Egypt and an unexpected drop in the U.K.’s gross domestic product offset accelerating U.S. economic growth in the fourth quarter.

Next Plc, Britain’s second-biggest clothing retailer, slumped 7 percent this past week as the U.K. economy shrank.

“Some of the European data was weak and the U.K’s gross domestic product was lower than expected, although the message on the U.S. economy is still okay to good, which should support equity markets going forward,” said Simon Maughan, co-head of European equities at MF Global UK Ltd.

Creative Art of Bullish Excuses

That statement from Simon Maughan is just the kind of "BS" I talked about in Market Participants "Learn the Wrong Lesson" from Bernanke; Conflicts of Interest in "Stay the Course" Advice.

It is more than a stretch to suggest global equities will be fine on the basis of the US economy alone, especially when there should be huge concerns about the imbalanced, stimulus-fed US economy and the unbalanced global economy in general, especially overheating in India and China, and property bubbles in the UK, China, and Australia.

Moreover, Maughan did not mention valuation, or risks. He was simply looking for any excuse to say "buy stocks".

I do not know whether the stock market goes up or down from here, but his statement is absurd from many angles, especially valuation.

Hook Has Been Set

If stocks do head down now, a hook has been set. That "hook" is blaming this all on Egypt, with a message "buy the dip".

One of these "quick, little dips" will be neither quick, nor little. Whether this is the one, remains to be seen.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

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best of wmtc, 2010 edition

Looking through wmtc posts for the annual best-of, I was amazed at how much happened in Canada and in the world last year. Another prorogation, and the anti-prorogue protests. The Collateral Murder video and the explosion of WikiLeaks. G20 government madness and police brutality. The Gaza Flotilla massacre. The demise of Bill C-440.

The following is best of wmtc 2010, the long list.

on becoming a writer, part four, final, for now

the harper attack on canadian democracy, the long version (I didn't write most of this, but it's a very important post!)

where is the outrage? and other thoughts on canadian disengagement

save a little outrage for the real criminals (vancouver)

intellectual freedom in the library: part 1 and part 2

a simple lesson: how to tell the difference between hatred of a people and criticism of a nation's policies

therapists needed to treat quebecers' fear of headscarves

"discover canada": the harper government's vision of canada and of immigrants

report on george galloway in federal court: part 1, part 2, and part 3

we will not stfu: another look at nancy ruth, reproductive rights and the harper agenda

thoughts on george rekers: rent-boys, homophobia and self-hatred

choosing canada: how can self-imposed exile not be seen as resistance?

thoughts on her majesty's loyal opposition, such as it is

on giving up, believing, and what it means to be a fan

becoming canadian: today we take the final step

an all-or-nothing trap: the impossibility of moral purity

reproductive justice and the limits of polls: part 1 and part 2, women speak the fuck up

not all crimes are equal: humans and our rights are more valuable than windows (toronto)

open letter to g20 survivor: there is such a thing as being a victim

july 20 1985

"they didn't build a wall": is israel an apartheid state? a south african perspective: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, and part 5

once upon a baseball game: the corporate takeover of our brains continues

thoughts on roger ebert and transcending circumstance

it is so time to be over 9/11

science proves that men and women are from the same planet

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Mubarak's Acts of Cowardice; Obama Calls Mubarak for 30-Minutes; Cell Service, Internet Total Shutdown; Anarchy in Cairo; How Long can Mubarak Last?

The situation in Egypt has gone from bad to worse. Cairo is in a state of near-anarchy and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's cowardly disruptions to the internet and cell phones have made things worse.

Egyptian citizens unable to get news on the internet or cell phones have only one place to get it now, the street.

President Obama called Mubarak in a 30-minute phone call. Obama's message was "Ultimately, the future of Egypt will be determined by the Egyptian people."

If that was a hint, Mubarak did not get it. Instead, Cairo is in flames as protesters have turned more defiant.

Mubarak Orders Crackdown, With Revolt Sweeping Egypt

The New York Times reports Mubarak Orders Crackdown, With Revolt Sweeping Egypt

With police stations and the governing party’s headquarters in flames, and much of this crucial Middle Eastern nation in open revolt, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt deployed the nation’s military and imposed a near-total blackout on communications to save his authoritarian government of nearly 30 years.

Friday’s protests were the largest and most diverse yet, including young and old, women with Louis Vuitton bags and men in galabeyas, factory workers and film stars. All came surging out of mosques after midday prayers headed for Tahrir Square, and their clashes with the police left clouds of tear gas wafting through empty streets.

By nightfall, the protesters had burned down the ruling party’s headquarters in Cairo, and looters marched away with computers, briefcases and other equipment emblazoned with the party’s logo. Other groups assaulted the Interior Ministry and the state television headquarters, until after dark when the military occupied both buildings and regained control. At one point, the American Embassy came under attack.

Six Cairo police stations and several police cars were in flames, and stations in Suez and other cities were burning as well. Office equipment and police vehicles burned, and the police seemed to have retreated from Cairo’s main streets. Brigades of riot police officers deployed at mosques, bridges and intersections, and they battered the protesters with tear gas, water, rubber-coated bullets and, by day’s end, live ammunition.

Cairo in Near-Anarchy

The Washington Post reports Cairo in near-anarchy as protesters push to oust president

The Egyptian capital descended into near anarchy Friday night, as the government sent riot police, and then the army, to quell protests by tens of thousands of demonstrators determined to push President Hosni Mubarak from office.

By the end of the day-long battle, the protesters were still standing and the police were nowhere to be seen.

It remained unclear late Friday night what role the Egyptian military might play. Mubarak, a former air force officer, draws much of his strength from the military, and any decision by the armed forces to withdraw support would mean the certain end of his reign.

But unlike the police, which unleashed an arsenal of weapons against the demonstrators, the military did not take any immediate action, and protesters gleefully welcomed the soldiers' arrival in a thundering of personnel carriers.

Protesters were honking their horns in celebration and roaming freely through central parts of the city late in the evening, in defiance of a strict curfew. The night air was thick with black smoke, and the sounds of explosions, gunshots, sirens, cries and occasional cheers echoed through the darkness.

Success in ousting Mubarak would be a remarkable achievement for a group of demonstrators who have no charismatic leaders, little organization, and few clear objectives beyond removing this nation's autocratic president and other members of his ruling clique.

Before this week, few thought a mass anti-government movement was possible in Egypt, a country that has little experience with democracy. But after Friday's protests, the campaign to oust Mubarak only seems to be gathering strength.

The Washington Post has a stunning set of 57 Egypt Riot Images, some of the best I have seen yet. Here are a few of them.



Jan. 29, 2011
In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, demonstrators climb up armored vehicles at Square Tahrir in Cairo, Egypt early Saturday.
Cai Yang / AP



A protester burns a picture of Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak during clashes in Cairo on Jan. 28, 2011.
Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Reuters



Egyptian protesters face anti-riot policemen in Cairo on Friday, Jan. 28, 2011. The riots escalated throughout the day.
Victoria Hazou / AP



Army tanks line up in Tahrir Square in Cairo.
Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images



Thousands of protesters gather in Tahrir Square despite a curfew.
Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images

Egypt Cuts Off Most Internet and Cell Service

The New York Times reports Egypt Cuts Off Most Internet and Cell Service

Autocratic governments often limit phone and Internet access in tense times. But the Internet has never faced anything like what happened in Egypt on Friday, when the government of a country with 80 million people and a modernizing economy cut off nearly all access to the network and shut down cellphone service.

The shutdown caused a 90 percent drop in data traffic to and from Egypt, crippling an important communications tool used by antigovernment protesters and their supporters to organize and to spread their message.

Vodafone, a cellphone provider based in London with 28 million subscribers in Egypt, said in a statement on its Web site that “all mobile operators in Egypt have been instructed to suspend services in selected areas.” The company said it was “obliged to comply” with the order.

Egypt, to an unprecedented extent, pulled itself off the grid.

Obama Calls Mubarak, Talks 30-Minutes

Bloomberg reports Obama Tells Mubarak He Must Stick to Pledge of Egyptian Reforms

President Barack Obama told Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak last night he must live up to promises he made about political, social and economic reforms following the fourth day of anti-government demonstrations across Egypt.

Obama delivered the message in a 30-minute phone call between the two leaders that followed public remarks by Mubarak in which he asked the country’s government to resign and pledged to fight poverty, speed economic and social changes, and promote civil liberties and democracy.

In a televised address to the Egyptian people just after midnight Cairo time, Mubarak said he asked his ministers to resign and promised that the new government would speed reforms and promote civil liberties. He defended his response to widespread demonstrations, which has included ordering the army to help police impose a 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew by sending armored vehicles and tanks into the streets.

Obama responded that “this moment of volatility has to be turned into a moment of promise.” He also called on the Egyptian government to end the blocking of the Internet, including social networking sites that protesters have used to organize.

“Ultimately, the future of Egypt will be determined by the Egyptian people,” Obama said. “Governments have an obligation to respond to their citizens.”

At the White House, Obama said the Egyptian protestors were exercising “universal” rights to peaceful assembly and association, free speech and “the ability to determine their own destiny.

“These are human rights,” he said. “And the United States will stand up for them everywhere.”

Mubarak's Acts of Cowardice

Shutting down the internet is an act of cowardice. Firing all your ministers while pledging reform is an act of cowardice. So is ordering Vodafone to shut down cell phone usage. Sending tanks into the street is certainly an act of cowardice.

Not only are those acts of cowardice, they have backfired. People are in open defiance of curfews. After all, they have no way to get the news but see it themselves in the streets.

By the way what is a tank supposed to do anyway? Is it really going to fire on the people? Check out that first image again. Protesters are crawling all over those tanks and armored vehicles.

As I see it, the only thing tanks can possibly do is get people stirred up. Yet, the only thing holding Mubarak's corrupt regime together is the military.

Mubarak came up from the military so there is some loyalty there. However, the military has some genuine support from the people (unlike the despised state police), and I doubt the military will want to lose that support.

How long the military will support Mubarak is the key question at this point. I suspect not long if these riots continue.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

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The scariest thing ever

No, not this one:


This one

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Musical Fun On Non-Hockey Friday

I have to admit that we've seen some good videos over the last couple of weeks. Lee Sweatt's first NHL goal was pretty solid, and the work done by HockeyGods.com is, in a word, impressive. They have some excellent music videos, and we're going to continue down that path today with another band that has made a very good parody video in a hockey theme. I was contacted via email about a band named Subplot A, a Calgary-based musical group that produce pop-rock tunes. Of course, this piqued my interest, so off to the Interwebs I headed as the email stated that Subplot A had "a song about hockey". Music is great, but music and hockey together are like chocolate and peanut butter - it's just so good together!

After checking out the Subplot A website, I discovered that they had a song entitled "Hey There Iginla". Being a Calgary-based musical group, I figured that this may just be some tribute song to their favorite Calgary Flame, but it turned out I was only partly correct. For you see, they have parodied "Hey There Delilah" by the Plain White T's. And it's pretty darn good. Have a listen!

I have to admit that this tune is very catchy! After hearing it a few times, I found myself singing along in parts. Now I'm not saying that I'm some sort of musical guru - my good friend Michael can attest to that - but I find this parody to be very well done!

What say you, readers - yay or nay for "Hey There Iginla"? Let me know in the comments! I can tell you that they already have one "yay" from this writer.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

***Huge thanks to Wesley-Anne for directing me to this band! I'll be checking out more of their stuff as well!***

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