TruePensFan1981

Amen to that! My friend Craig and I used to play each other in Madden games on the PS2 with random teams. We would start on the Chicago Bears and hit the randomize button. Whichever team it gave you, THAT'S YOUR TEAM (unless it gave you an NFL europe team, then we just randomized again). No excuses. His favorite team to use was the Atlanta Falcons. He loved scrambling all the time with Vick. Unfortunately for him, scrambling QBs do not fare well against me. I remember one particular game because the stats were so lopsided in my favor. I was the Green Bay Packers, and he was the Atlanta Falcons. I won 42-0 and held Vick to only 14 yards rushing for the entire game. Against others, he was usually averaging close to 200 yards rushing per game with Vick. I loved seeing the head-to-head stats/records with user profiles in the Madden games. One athlete I always dominated games with was Julius Peppers (defensive end for the North Carolina Tar Heels) in NCAA Football 2002 or 2003. The Tar Heels didn't have the best team, but Peppers was worth the selection. Pass, run... it didn't matter. Peppers was all over the ball every play. Albert Pujols in MVP Baseball 2005 was also dominating. If I wasn't hitting homeruns with him, I was getting base hits or being intentionally walked. Some others include: Walter Payton (Tecmo Bowl), Bo Jackson (Tecmo Bowl), Barry Sanders and Bo Jackson (Tecmo Super Bowl), Lawrence Taylor (Tecmo Bowl), Randall Cunningham (Tecmo Super Bowl, although they don't actually use his name), Irving Fryar (WR #80 on the New England Patriots in Madden 92 for the Genesis), Eric Lindros (NHL '97 on the Genesis).

Even in a joke topic, there's always somebody who needs to be uptight and complain. Wow. Lucas a Flyer hater? Sure... or you can accept the fact that you're just 100% paranoid. Clarke as emperor is fitting for the following reasons: 1. He was a leader. 2. He was one ugly S.O.B. Sure, he didn't have Mace Windu melt his face at all, but those missing teeth were part of a face that only a mother could love. Originally, there were thoughts of Eric Lindros as Darth Vader (due to his enormous stature); however, it was decided that Lindros would be better of as Bobba Fett, as Fett did lose his head in battle. Dale Hunter was a callous and merciless S.O.B. and thus was deemed to be Darth Vader. I hope you at least got a laugh out of this thread, as it was intended to be a humorous one that would bring a chuckle or two to Star Wars fans and hockey fans alike. Sorry I didn't make a Tim Kerr snow cone machine to replace Snoopy!

Lex Luthor: Lord, you gave them eyes, yet they cannot see. If Lucas were a Pens fan, he would've assigned the role of Luke Skywalker to Sidney Crosby, rather than Wayne Gretzky. Now be nice, or I won't give you any power boosters!

According to my sources (who wish to remain anonymous), Mr. Lucas has been developing a new Star Wars movie. It's not a new movie per se, as it's more of a remake of the original trilogy of Star Wars. Mr. Lucas is apparently a very big hockey fan; likewise, some NHLers (past and present) are avid Star Wars fans as well! They are still in the stages of finishing up their casting; however, Lucas plans to have some preliminary filming done A.S.A.P. so that an official preview may be released at next year's NHL awards show. Here are some excerpts from the script. CAST Luke Skywalker: Wayne Gretzky Han Solo: Mario Lemieux Chewbacca: Stu Grimson Lando Calrissian: Grant Fuhr Princess Leia: Janet Jones Gretzky Obi-Wan Kenobi: Gordie Howe Yoda: Darren Pang R2-D2: Theoren Fleury C-3PO: Gary Bettman Ewok head tribesman: Daniel Briere Jar-Jar Binks: Jeremy Roenick Darth Vader: Dale Hunter Emperor Palpatine: Bobby Clarke Bobba Fett: Eric Lindros Jabba the Hut: Roman Cechmanek Some scenes (according to anonymous sources) Howe (Kenobi): You can’t win, but there ARE alternatives to fighting. Lemieux (Solo): Coming from YOU, that’s surprising to hear! ________________________________________________________________ Gretzky (Luke): Listen, Master Yoda. I appreciate the lessons, but I have to be leaving Dagobah for now. I must head back to Hoth and play some hockey with my friends, then get ready for the assault on the empire’s space station. Pang (Yoda): Hoth, you say? Hockey, you play? Take me, you must! Getting my gear, I shall! Gretzky (Luke): Uh, no thanks. We have enough goalies. Pang (Yoda): By my size, judge me, you mustn’t! Good goalie, I am! _________________________________________________________________ Bettman (C-3PO): Mr. Solo, sir, I must advise you: the odds of flying through an asteroid field… Lemieux (Solo): Listen, pipsqueak! I was out of commission for a while but came back to win employee of the year after back surgery, and I survived cancer. NEVER TELL ME THE ODDS! ______________________________________________________________________________ Grimson (Chewie): RAAAAAAAAAAHR! Bettman (C-3PO): Oh, quit whining, you hairy oaf! It’s a perfectly legal move! Lemieux (Solo): I’d let him win if I were you. Wookies are known to tear people’s arms out of their sockets after losing. ________________________________________________________________________________ ____ Fleury (R2-D2): Beep-blip, beep booooop! Fuhr (Lando): What did he say? Bettman (C-3PO): He said it’s been a long day, and he needs a beer. He also wants to know if you’ll give him a shine. …. Oh my! R2, I think you’ve offended Mr. Calrissian!

No Nelson Emerson???

Damn right, I'm going to fix it! I don't want to promise a specific date just yet, but it is weeks away from being finished. You guys are going to love it, and it will be much better than the original '94. There is a catch with mine, however. The rosters will be a tad different. My rosters will be accurate as of the beginning of the 1993-94 NHL season; therefore, players acquired via trades will still be on their original teams from that season. In other words, Marty McSorley will be a Penguin, rather than a King. Alexei Kasatonov will be a Mighty Duck, rather than a St. Louis Blue. It's been an on-again/off-again project; however, it will be finished this summer. I hope you all enjoy it upon its release.

I never broke any controllers from NHL '94 or any other game; however, my Saitek gamepad had a broken DIRECTIONAL PAD. What happened, you might ask? I was playing Excite Bike (NES). I tapped the left arrow to do a quick wheelie so as not to stumble over a log that was in the way. Lo and behold, the direction pad fell OFF! It fell the heck off! O-F-F! It fell off! At least my analog sticks still work.

Keep in mind that Koivu was very productive in the games he played last season. He could most certainly average a point per game -- or darn close to it -- if he gets some significant PP minutes in Anaheim. I would not be surprised to see Selanne and Koivu being linemates at all. In fact, Anaheim has quite the collection of RW this summer (Ryan, Selanne, Lupul, Perry). They will have FOUR LINES that can pass, shoot, and score. They're starting to look very much like the Detroit team of the mid-to-late 1990s, but with a weaker - albeit a solid - blue line. If Anaheim opts not to trade one of their goaltenders, then they have good goaltending depth with Giguere and Hiller. They will be a tough team in the west next season.

Don't forget Bill Cartwright (his center) and coach Phil Jackson (whose triangle offense gave Jordan the isolation he needed to utilize his talents on the offensive end of the floor). And you're right: players winning championships is nothing more than garbage talk by the media for the sake of having something to talk about; unfortunately, dumb sports fans buy into it. Dan Marino is the most talented quarterback ever to play the game; unfortunately, he never won the Super Bowl because he played for a mediocre team his entire career (the Dolphins were only truly a great team the first 2 or 3 years of his career as their best players were aging). Mark Rypien won a Super Bowl... is he better than Dan Marino? A RESOUNDING NO! Koivu will never be mistaken for Mark Messier or Joe Sakic or anybody of that caliber; however, he was a darn good hockey player. Nobody's arguing that Koivu is a hall-of-famer... just that Wags is extremely ignorant (which isn't exactly the world's best-kept secret by any means).

You'll have to excuse Wags. Evidently, intelligence, rational thought, and critical thinking are not his strong suits. He's obviously ignoring the fact that Mario Lemieux himself never won a Cup until the Pens were stacked with the likes of Tom Barrasso (whom they would've NEVER won a Cup without), Paul Coffey, Larry Murphy, Ulf Samuelsson, Ron Francis, Kevin Stevens, Bryan Trottier, Joey Mullen, Mario Lemieux himself, Jaromir Jagr, Rick Tocchet, etc. Koivu will not only provide stability to the Ducks lineup, he will also provide scoring, leadership by example, and PLENTY of faceoff wins (health permitting).

ANARCHY! ANARCHY!

I agree that the game is making progress in the instances you say it is; however, I still feel that it's taking a step backwards in the grand scheme of things. The lack of consistency in the officiating is ruining the game. Sure, it might not be ruining the game for a common/casual fan who doesn't understand all the intricacies of hockey; however, it drives people like myself nuts! As a player, a coach, an instructor, and avid fan of the game who lives/eats/drinks/breathes hockey... just makes you want to ask Scotty Bowman to spear Fraser all over again. As a goaltender, I am disgusted with how large the equipment is nowadays. It's not just the leg pads, either! The chest protectors, shoulder pads, arms, blockers, and even the gloves are huge today! It's getting out of hand. If Vladislav Tretiak were in his prime today and playing with today's pads, he'd easily post a GAA under 1.00 every season. One thing I do appreciate in today's game is the ability of the power forwards to battle for position at the top of the crease without getting cross-checked in the back all the time. Imagine how many more goals guys like Kevin Stevens, Gary Roberts, and Cam Neely would have scored if they had it that easy! This forces the d-men to actually play defense and be in position to prevent the forward from taking up that space, rather than just hacking them out of it. It's a nice change. As for my comments about Crosby, I wasn't saying that he was always tough or anything of the sort. When I say in-your-face, I mean his style of play. Like Gilmour, Crosby was always getting into traffic to try to win loose puck battles and taking the puck away from other players, and wasn't afraid to take the body to do so. Major differences between Crosby and Gilmour, however, are that Gilmour would probably shoot your dog and Crosby has a higher skill level. His demeanor towards other players is tougher now than what it used to be, but his style of play itself was always tough. Jesus... no kidding about the stone age of hockey. Dale Hunter is one of the biggest crimes against humanity in the history of western civilization. Like I said before, the game was much worse in the days of Howe/Richard in regards to stickwork. Nevertheless, Hunter did crap that would make Howe and Richard blush. Hunter was lucky he didn't play in Bobby Hull's day; I bet Hull would've intentionally shot a slap shot at Hunter's face to do us all a favor.

It was worse in the days of Gordie Howe and Maurice "Rocket" Richard. The stickwork players did to one another was gruesome. Now, as for what you see in 1996? It was quite common in the NHL; in fact, TOO COMMON. Some of the more memorable ones are Svehla cross-checking Lemieux (Mario) in the face after a whistle. Players were hooking and slashing each other all the time with the sticks. The most disgusting act I saw was Gary Suter delivering a flying cross-check into Paul Kariya's face... roughly about 4-5 seconds (no, I'm NOT exaggerating) after Kariya scored his goal! After that despicable act, Kariya suffered post-concussion syndrome. It was amazing what the refs allowed players to get away with. It was no wonder that players such as Gretzky, Lemieux, Hull, and Roenick hated the officiating! The NHL was a garage league that wanted hockey to become a combination of mud-wrestling and mobster-bat-swinging. Of course, idiot fans in those days called those superstars "babies" for complaining about the officiating. But the reality is that the NHL let players nearly get away with murder on the ice on a frequent basis. Those players didn't complain about the physicality of the game, as they were always good at shaking off checks (Lemieux with his strength to drag defenders on his back and Gretzky with his ability to roll off checks and also make people miss him). Those star players could deal with the checks; they just didn't like the extra bullshit that the league let everybody get away with. The NHL's players swung more wood than the MLB that season! I liked the NHL better in the 80s and early 90s. Back in those days, goalie pads had GOALIE PADS, not sumo wrestling gear. The game was more physical and had less stick-swinging than what you saw in the mid-90s. Nowadays, it's almost a crime to hit anybody (unless you're Ovechkin, in which case it's okay to take runs at players with your constant charging). If anybody other than Ovechkin hits you today, then you are babied by the league. I say the NHL's glory years are between 1981-1993. It's a shame those days might be gone forever. It's a shame to see the NHL go from what once was a great game into today's garbage. The inconsistency with the officiating and the discipline is just downright horrid. I was blown away by the fact that Ryan Bayda did not get suspended after those deliberate cross-checks to Letang's face in the playoffs; however, the NHL wasted no time in suspending Daniel Carcillo and Milan Lucic for what were LOVE TAPS compared to what Bayda did. The NHL should apologize to Carcillo and Lucic for being hypocrites. I'm also sick and tired of seeing so many people dive in the NHL today. Sure, diving has always been a part of the sport, but it's more prevalent today than ever before (Crosby bashers need not participate in this thread, and should just shut up rather than spewing their mindless garbage). I hate seeing a guy like Crosby get his nose dirty by hustling for the puck with his in-your-face style of play, only to get penalized because somebody decides to HOLD HIS STICK and act like they were hooked. I hate moronic fans who think Crosby is a diver just because he draws penalties (he draws penalties because he gets in your face and takes an awful lot of abuse in games). If you want to talk about divers, then look no further than Alexander Semin, Darcy Tucker, and Scott Hartnell. Take note that I did not mention Ovechkin, as he isn't a diver. Semin, on the other hand, IS a diver. Even more laughable is that the NHL is very apprehensive about officially stating that there should be a ban on blows to the head! I still shake my head in disbelief and laugh whenever a ref penalizes a player for hooking, and then penalizes the hooking victim for diving! I see moments in games nowadays that have me convinced the refs make "makeup calls". I hate to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but the refs nowadays make the dumbest non-calls and the dumbest calls! I will continue to watch NHL hockey, as I love hockey. I always will love hockey! But nevertheless, I am saddened by what garbage the NHL has become. It is still a fun and entertaining sport, but with many serious flaws today.

I wish I would have used the save state. It slipped my mind! As for videos... I don't know how to make videos of NHL '94. I know how to open and record input, but I don't know how to make uploadable videos out of them.

Before there was Ovechkin getting away with charging on the ice, there was Vincent Damphousse in NHL '91. Playing the nhl91.com rom, I was the Toronto Maple Leafs. Damphousse was the last player to touch the puck for my team. The other team had the puck while I cross-checked a player near the goal with Damphousse. DELAYED PENALTY. The LD tries to center a pass across the crease to the RD. BIG MISTAKE. The pass hit the goaltender in the back of the leg (as he was leaving the net to head to the bench). The puck hit the goaltender in the back of the leg and trickled into the net. Goal, Damphousse. The best part? No penalty was called after the goal! What is the lesson? It's simple: you can cross-check people whenever you feel like it if you're playing against a bonehead who passes the puck off of his own goaltender and into the net.

A happy 4th to everybody, and I extend this well-wishing to our fellow neighbors up north in Canada as well. This is certainly a week that tends to make us look back and reflect upon just how lucky we all are. I wish you all the best, and I hope everybody's summers are proceeding nicely.

Personally, I like the Gionta signing for Montreal. Cammalleri was a FANTASTIC signing. I think Spacek was overpaid, and Gill is a complete waste of space. Gill is terribly slow and is a liability on both ends of the ice. If he's not at center ice watching the opposition score, he's in his own end screening his own goaltender or deflecting pucks past him. Worst of all, Gill is nowhere nearly as physical as he should be. If the Habs wanted to spend money on a Pittsburgh defender, they should've thrown that money at Scuderi. Scuderi has lapses from time to time, but can be brilliant in the defensive end. Unlike Gill, Scuderi knows how to play one-on-one against forwards and keep the puck in front of him and block shots. Unlike Havlat, Gionta is an excellent forechecker and knows how to play a high-tempo and aggressive game. Havlat is a very skilled player, but he lacks in the little things that Gionta brings to the table. Gionta also knows how to put the puck in the net when you feed it to him in the slot. I wouldn't be surprised to see Gionta play on Gomez's line. Gomez is a pretty good hockey player, just an overpaid one. But nevertheless, Gionta/Gomez could be a good duo for the Habs. The Gionta signing will be a good one if Gainey plays an aggressive forecheck that will utilize Gionta's talents, as well as pairing him with players who can feed him the puck (Gomez). Cammalleri-Gomez-Gionta could be one of the best lines in the league if they put those three together. The only concern I would have about the Habs at this point is their defense and their secondary scoring. Kostitsyn brothers need to wake up next season and start playing to their potential. While I don't think the Habs defense is terrible, I also don't think it's all that great, either. Losing Komisarek will hurt, despite the up-and-down season he had last year. Habs should be just fine in goal. If Price doesn't start playing to his potential, then you simply start Halak. Halak/Price should be a good tandem. Many coaches would kill to have two good goalies.

If you look up "incompetence" in the dictionary, you'd see a picture of the Pittsburgh Pirates logo. While I will gladly join you and anybody else in poking fun at the Pirates and their attendance, I feel obligated to let you know that low attendance doesn't always lead to low profits. Despite their pathetic attendance, it's not the seats that are the money-makers in professional sports. Teams make most of their revenues off the luxury box suites (hence why the Pens needed a new arena). So even with the low attendance, the Pirates will be able to keep their head above water because the beautiful PNC park will draw what few fans arrive to the games, and they're still selling their luxury box suite tickets. Most professional sports stadiums in America have dozens of luxury box suites (some have as much as 60 or more!). If I remember correctly, Mellon Arena has less than 20. I should also point out that the MLB has a great revenue-sharing plan that actually helps pathetic teams like the Pirates out. This is why the Marlins and Rays can continue to be Scrooge-like stingy penny-pinchers and still make a profit. Quite frankly, I'm amazed that the Marlins and Rays have fielded competitive teams while being cheapskates in the front office. This leads me to believe they're quite good at talent evaluation!

A wonderful move for Calgary, provided that they sign him (I think they will convince him). With Phaneuf, Bouwmeester, and Regehr all on the same team, it will probably be the best blue line in the NHL. However, I think this means that Cammalleri is on the way out (possibly returning to the Kings?). L.A. has an awful lot of cap room. Whoever gets Cammalleri will be lucky.

Buy a hockey team, eh? I submitted a proposal to the Detroit Red Wings last night. I offered $2 (two American dollars) for Kris Draper. It's twice what they paid Winnipeg to acquire him!

I would imagine this was done to possibly groom Pogge (or any other young goaltender). Toskala himself is quite a good goalie - albeit an inconsistent one. I wonder if Toskala is trade bait to be dealt to a team such as Colorado, especially if Kolzig (who was acquired by Toronto at the deadline) doesn't retire and sticks with Toronto. As far as goalie coaches go... if you can't get Korn or Tretiak, then Allaire is the next-best thing. This was an excellent move for the Leafs.

Here are the screenshots I promised earlier. ENJOY!

Fetch me a glitch, find me a find, catch me a catch! While playing Slapshot's NHL '85 rom, I encountered a glitch I have personally never experienced before in NHL '94. The DOUBLE-ASSIST. What is it, you may ask? I was playing against my younger brother, and he scored a goal with Denis Potvin. Potvin's goal was assisted by Duane Sutter and Brent Sutter (one is #21, the other is #12). Oddly enough, though the replay shows that both Sutter brothers touched the puck and should be credited with the assist, that was not how it went. Brent Sutter was AWARDED WITH BOTH ASSISTS! This was the Islander's lone goal in a 3-1 game. Player stats show that Denis Potvin had 1 goal and Brent Sutter had 2 assists and 2 points (despite the fact that the Islanders only scored one goal). I'll post screen shots later when I get the chance.

It's somewhat neat to find bugs that you never knew about before, such as the pseudo hat trick I had with Tom Barrasso in NHLPA '93. Not sure if any of you experienced this one before. I was playing against a friend last night, and I made a long pass that would become icing if his players touch the puck. I skated behind his net, ready to get the puck. I hit the C button to cross-check his skater, who was ready to touch the puck. Does my player cross-check his skater? NO. My skater one-times the puck from behind the net and it goes around the boards and back to the blue line in the attack zone. One of his forwards grabbed the puck at the blue line, and ICING is called against me. I've seen plenty of weird stuff since the game's original release; however, this was the first time I ever encountered this icing bug.

Do you have a rapist's wit?