matt8204

...and a nightmare for insurance claims adjusters.

Brady's retirement finally official. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/33192441/tampa-bay-buccaneers-tom-brady-officially-announces-retirement I wonder if Gronk will follow him out the door. I think Tampa also has a lot of free agents who might walk now too. Has any team's odds to reach the next Super Bowl ever taken such a steep fall? The NFC South is definitely up for grabs now.

Yeah, you don't want to lose the juice, especially with the temperatures that are forecasted.

I'll take a thaw. It's been too damn cold lately.

Wow. I've heard that there was a Little Falls in New York. Interesting how certain town names pop up in multiple states. That was a really good Rangers team in the late 60's and early-mid 70's. The other heartbreaker was losing to the Flyers in the '74 semifinals. They were probably a tough guy or two short of being able to hang with them, although that series did go 7 games. Yes, that was '79 when they beat the Isles in the semis and actually won the first game against Montreal before reality set in. I remember them making a run to the conference finals in 1986 as well after a so-so regular season...but then the Canadiens and a rookie named Patrick Roy knocked them off. I thought 2015 was their year. It had to sting being blanked by Tampa at home in Game 7, especially after how they dominated Game 6. Think they won 7-3. Rangers/Blackhawks could have been an entertaining Final.

What's crazy is that they won three Cups in their first 15 seasons. Totally different game in a far different era but they still count. I remember reading that World War II decimated them, as many of their top players went overseas to fight. They never could seem to catch a break. This was a team that got kicked out of its home arena at playoff time back in the day because the circus brought in more revenue to Madison Square Garden than hockey did. The Rangers also had a history of bringing in big name players who were approaching the end of their careers. Terry Sawchuk, Phil Esposito, Guy LaFleur, Marcel Dionne, Gretzky, etc. It worked out with Messier but you're right; it took every ounce of his determination to raise that '94 Cup.

I'm a Devils fan but I've always respected and feared Lundqvist. Always seemed to bring his A game against Jersey, the same way that Richter did. Could never bring myself to root for the Rangers but it's too bad that he never won the Cup. He could have asked to be traded to a contender when the Blueshirts started their rebuild a few years ago but he stayed until the end. Definitely deserves tonight's ceremony.

I'll take it. Not every storm can be historic.

Time for rally caps?

Feels like the last two minutes of the Bills/Chiefs game.

Big Ben has officially called it a career. End of the line for that 2004 quarterback class (Eli, Roethlisberger and Rivers). It's the end of an era and I officially feel old. I graduated college the spring before their pro careers began.

I'll take it. Can't hit a home run every time to come up to the plate but a single still can get the run in.

Yeah...it'll be a Canary Islands storm at this rate.

I don't like it as much as I used to but it's still exciting to track a storm and see how people get into a frenzy when there's talk of snow. Breaks the monotony of the cold and grey of winter.

How many days until pitchers and catchers?

Absolute misery. Think it was about 12 degrees also.

Is there an analog for a storm that looked progressively worse on the models as we got closer, only to turn back around at the last minute?

Take a timeout...but if you believe in rally caps, now might be a good time to don one.

...and I guarantee that we'd screw that up somehow also.

Yup. Nothing grinds my gears worse than labor disputes in sports. Billionaires vs. millionaires. Maybe I'm oversimplifying it for my argument but I don't think people on either side of the aisle are hurting financially. Figure something out FFS.

Just hoping that the MLB and MLBPA get their act together so we can have a normal baseball season and have something to look forward to. Winter is dead in the water at this point.

Awesome gesture. The Chiefs have good fans and they were also long-suffering up until a few years ago. It took them 50 years to get back to the top of the mountain after winning Super Bowl IV. They had some very lean seasons, followed by a quite a bit of postseason heartache.

The media is always behind the curve.

That's what I don't like. I respect his knowledge of the sport but I don't need the announcers talking constantly. There's something to be said for just taking in the images and crowd noise at certain times and watching the play unfold for yourself.

Market is due for a big-time correction at the very least. It can't go straight up forever.