Good Times Grimes

Surely this is Colin Sylvia's year...I'm going to put a lazy $100 on him to win the Brownlow. Wait.... nevermind.

Well done...some accurate predictions months before they were even rumours. Maybe this season you can predict that Frawley will re-sign and Fyfe will demand a trade to the MFC?

I was helping my Dad sign up yesterday and the site wasn't allowing him to create an account as it said his email was invalid. I ended up just using my gmail account for his membership and all was good. For the record, he is one of the "lost" members that PJ was referring to that has come back thanks to Paul Roos (and my incessant nagging).

He's managed by Alex McDonald.

Haha well Jones did excel while Neeld was coach. Whether he excelled because of Neeld's coaching or because of his own hard work though, is difficult to know

Even the best of us are wrong sometimes, Stuie. That must have been on one of my very few off days...

Thanks PJ, I've always prided myself on my modesty. It's probably my fourth best trait after intelligence, good looks and athleticism.

I love this decision; we're heading in the right direction both on and off the field. Increased membership, a great coach and CEO and new sponsors. On the field we've improved our biggest weakness (midfield) and have finally recognized our most dedicated player by making him a co-captain. I also think Grimes is very deserving of keeping his title. Now for some wins...

Great to see so many new players in that list. It shows that Roos has recruited people who work hard and are determined to get better. It'll force all of the deadweight that's been coasting on our list for years to either step up their game or start looking through the classifieds.

His injury in round 1 last year had nothing to do with his previous injury...

15 day suspension for Tortorella, $25,000 fine for Hartley. I feel for Torts in this situation. If he'd put his usual starters on the ice after having seen who Calgary was starting and the Sedins had been jumped, he would be under all sorts of scrutiny. Instead, he decided to protect his star players and counter Hartley's move. No matter how he played it, it was really a lose-lose situation for him as Hartley had played the first move and indicated Calgary's intentions. I wonder what the situation would have been had Torts not tried to get into the Calgary rooms. Would he have been fined as much as Hartley? Would either of them have been fined at all?

I've got a good feeling about Watts this year. I'd love nothing more than to see him become a star of the game and shove it up all his doubters.

But how good is Tortorella: I'm in two minds with it...I hate fighting like there was in the game tonight (completely staged), but I do think that without it there would be a lot more cheap shots/dirty plays.

So...you don't think Campbell Brown's stupid? He definitely doesn't strike me as the sharpest tool in the shed.

I'd say that given he's due to face court in February, there must have been a bit more to it than just a "misunderstanding".

It's how I look whenever the Demons are on my mind.

Limping? On crutches?

He's had lots of practice!

Improvers 1. Watts- I think this year we will begin to see the rise of Watts. I think having a coach that plays him in the same position every week will really help him to develop into one of our best players. 2. Gawn- Will be our standout #1 ruckman by mid-season. 3. Trengove- New coach, less responsibility, healthy. He will regain his pre-captaincy form and then some. Sliders 1. McKenzie- With our bolstered midfield, I think he may struggle to get a game. 2. Fitzpatrick- Came on in leaps and bounds in 2013, but is there room for him in a fully fit forward line? Would not be surprised to see him traded in the offseason. 3. M. Jones- I predict he will spend much of 2014 at Casey, a far fall from his top 5 B&F finish.

1998 vs. Richmond...I remember that mark so clearly; probably the best that I've seen live (I live overseas so have missed many of Jeremy Howe's)

Almost time for the Winter Classic...can't wait to see the Leafs and Wings go at it tomorrow. If you haven't already seen it, I highly recommend checking out HBO's 24/7 program. They've had behind the scenes access in the month leading up to the game, and have released one episode each week which gives some interesting insight into both teams. I think all the episodes are available on YouTube, the first is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-HOPxV_dlw

Can we please ban all talk of 2013 forever?

Not in my books. He's only had one good season. He doesn't take enough marks for someone his size, he is a pretty poor shot for goal, and he always taps the ball either to his feet or to the opposition's advantage (I do concede that his poor tapwork can partially be blamed on his midfield support). I'd pick Gawn over Jamar every day of the week.

I don't understand why many have Jamar ahead of Gawn/Spencer as the #1 ruckman. By the sounds of it, he hasn't done anything this preseason, while he missed most of last year. Really, he hasn't done much since 2010.