The View From Wisconsin

Some more awards from the Stathead:

• THE ROGAINE AWARD (Best Shootout Rating): Jussi Jokinen, Dallas. With a 10-of-13 record, he posted a 76.9% shooting percentage in the shootout. Add three shootout-winners, and he garners a Shootout Rating of 10.69. [Shootout Rating = (Goals x shooting percentage) + Shootout winners.) Second: Viktor Kozlov, NJD (8-12, 10.33); Third: Miroslav Satan, NYI (7-10, 9.90).
  
• THE PROPECIA AWARD (Goaltender with best Shootout Rating Against): Martin Brodeur, New Jersey. He stopped 29 of 38 shots against for a .763 save percentage. Add his eight shootout wins, and his GSOR is 30.13. [Goaltenders Shootout Rating = (Saves x Save Percentage) + Shootout Wins.) Second: Rick DiPietro, NYI (28.51); Third: Henrik Lundqvist, NYR (25.19).
  

THE 2005-06 AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE GOALS CREATED AWARDS

• GOALS CREATED AWARD (Highest GC total in the AHL): Dustin Penner, Portland (121.6). Kirby Law of Houston (121.2) and Penner's teammate, Ryan Shannon of Portland (113.8) were the runners-up.
  
• MOST VALUABLE PLAYER AWARD (Highest MVP Point total): Brian Helmer, D, Grand Rapids (100.3). Houston's Law (98.7) and Portland's Penner (95.4) were the runners-up.
  
• DEFENSEMAN OF THE YEAR (Highest MVP Point total among Defensemen): Brian Helmer, D, Grand Rapids (100.3). Thomas Pock of Hartford (92.4) and Andy Delmore of Syracuse (90.4) were the runners-up.
  
• GOALTENDER OF THE YEAR (Highest Goaltender MVP Point Total): Frederic Cassivi, Hershey (77.8; 68.1 MVP points). Dany Sabourin of Wilkes-Barrre/Scranton (74.5) and Mike Smith of Iowa (68.6) were runners-up.
  
• ROOKIE OF THE YEAR (Highest MVP Point total among Defensemen): Ryan Shannon, C, Portland (84.2). Runners-up were Patrick O'Sullivan, Houston (79.9) and Nigel Dawes, Hartford (66.4).
  
• SHOOTER OF THE YEAR (Highest individual Shootout Rating): Jon DiSalvatore, Peoria (5-8, 3 SWG, 6.13). Second was Valtteri Filppula of Grand Rapids 97-12, 2 SWG, 6.08) and Jarkko Immonen of Hartford (5-9, 3 SWG, 5.78).
  
• SHOOTOUT STOPPER OF THE YEAR (Highest Goaltender Shootout Rating): Adam Hauer, Manchester (8-2, 41 saves, 50 attempts, 41.6 GSOR). Second was Brent Krahn of Omaha - who saw the most shots against (75) of any goalie in the shootout; Krahn was 4-9 with 51 saves and a 38.7 GSOR. Tied for third were Mike Smith of Iowa (4-6, 33 saves, 46 shots) and Wade Flaherty of Manitoba (4-4, 33 saves, 46 shots) with 27.7
  

AHL FIRST TEAM MVP POINTS ALL-STARS

• Center - Erik Westrum, HOU (90.9)
  
• Left Wing - Donald MacLean, GRA (87.8)
  
• Right Wing - Kirby Law, HOU (98.7)
  
• Defenseman - Brian Helmer, GRA (100.3)
  
• Defenseman - Thomas Pock, HFD (92.4)
  
• Goaltender - Frederic Cassivi, HER (77.8)
  

AHL SECOND TEAM MVP POINTS ALL-STARS

• Center - Ryan Shannon, POR (84.2)
  
• Left Wing - Patrick O'Sullivan, HOU (79.9)
  
• Right Wing - Dustin Penner, POR (95.4)
  
• Defenseman - Andy Delmore, SYR (90.4)
  
• Defenseman - Curtis Murphy, HOU (89.7)
  
• Goaltender - Dany Sabourin, WBS (67.9)
  

AHL ROOKIE MVP POINTS ALL-STARS

• Center - Ryan Shannon, POR (84.2)
• Left Wing - Patrick O'Sullivan, HOU (79.9)
• Right Wing - Colby Genoway, HFD (58.6)
  
• Defenseman - Clay Wilson, GRA (62.0)
  
• Defenseman - Daniel Girardi, HFD (59.3)
  
• Goaltender - Pekka Rinne, MIL (56.0)
  

TEAM AWARDS

REGULATION POINTS AWARD (Most Points in Regulation, Eastern and Western Conference)

• Portland Pirates (43-19-18, 104 pts) and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (42-18-20, 104 pts)
• Grand Rapids Griffins (43-20-17, 103 pts)
  

SPECIAL TEAMS RATING AWARD (Best Special Teams Rating): Peoria Rivermen (5.8%). 100 of 501 on the power play; 77 PP goals allowed in 510 times short-handed; 14 SH for and 9 SH against.

SHOOTOUT RATING AWARD: Manchester Monarchs. They swept all three categories in 2005-06:

• Shootout Plus/Minus (+10)
• Shootout Rating (26-83, 11 SW, 19.1)
• Goaltender Shootout Rating (16-81, 11 SW, 63.2)

• WAYNE GRETZKY AWARD (Most Goals Created, Technical Formula): Jaromir Jagr, NYR (152.4 GC). It was the closest GC total that I've ever seen since I first developed the formula back in the mid-1990's. Runner-up Joe Thornton (Boston/San Jose) ended with 152.1 GC, essentially 0.29 goals behind Jagr. The reason? The 11-minute difference in penalties (in Thornton's favor) didn't overcome Jagr's one-point lead (157 to 156) in points plus plus-minus rating. Penalty minutes are worth only .064537 goals in the GC-Tech formula, and the additional PIM for Jags didn't drag down his GC total. Daniel Alfredsson of Ottawa was a distant third at 128.8.
  
• BOBBY ORR AWARD (Best Win Shares total): Joe Thornton, BOS/SAN (20.9 WS). This was where things got odd; Thornton's GC-Historical formula total was greater than Jagr's (144.5 to 143.4) because the value of any goal scored compared to PIM was higher than the Tech formula's PPG-to-PIM total. GC-Historical, though, is used exclusively for Win Shares, as it is (as its name implies) a way of comparing players across seasons. Jagr's 20.5 WS was not his best year (he had three 20-WS seasons with the Pens, one of them his breakout 1995-96 season of 62 goals and 162 GC. Alfredsson was third here as well, at 16.7 WS.
  
• HART TROPHY (Highest total Hart Trophy Formula points): Jaromir Jagr, NYR (139.4). The HTP system saw a larger difference between Jags and "Jumbo Joe" (123.9) than Goals Created did. That's because of Jaromir's better Fantasy Point total (see below), which is a component of the HTP formula. Dany Heatley was rated as the #3 player at 116.4 points for Ottawa.
  
• NORRIS TROPHY (Highest total HTF points among Defensemen): Nicklas Lidstron, DET (108.6). Lidstrom's teammate, Mathieu Schneider, was the second runner-up at 92.4. Dallas's Sergei Zubov was sandwiched in-between at 92.9.
  
• VEZINA TROPHY (Highest total Vezina Trophy Forumla points): Miikka Kiprusoff, CGY (127.5 VZN pts). The Vezina formula takes into account two weighings of a goaltender's performance in allowing goals, making saves and winning games. Kiprusoff was hands-down the best this year, with Martin Brodeur (NJD, 117.1), Roberto Luongo (FLA, 102.9) and Tomas Vokoun (NAS, 102.8) right behind. If Vokoun would have played in a few more games, it's conceivable that he would have caught Kiprusoff.
  
• CALDER TROPHY (Highest total HTF points among Rookies): Alexander Ovechkin, WAS (97.4 HART). He lapped the field. First of all, he beat Crosby by over 11 goals (104.6 to 93.9) in GC; he was distinctly better in Win Shares (11.2 to 7.8), and despite Crosby getting a slight edge in Fantasy Points (166.0 to 165.6), Alexander the Great bested Sid The Kid by 10 HTP (97.4 to 87.2). Henrik Lundqvist was a distant third with the Rangers at 69.9.
  
• POOLIE/FANTASY AWARD (Highest Fantasy Points Rating Total, skaters and goaltenders): Jaromir Jagr, NYR (226.6); Miikka Kiprusoff, CGY (200.0). This was developed from The Hockey News Fantasy Pool Hockey game's point system. Basically, one point per goal and assist, plus plus-minus rating, plus two times power-play goals, plus PIM times a constant; the constant used here is 0.300368 (the number of successful penalty kills per PIM in the NHL in 2005-06). The only other player to crack the 200-point mark was Dany Heatley of Ottawa, who posted a 203.8 total.
  
• GORDIE HOWE TROPHY (Most Goals, Assists and Penalty Minutes per 60 MIN): Bryan McCabe, TOR (86.74 points). This is a whimsical total that adds points to PIM, mutliplies it by ATOI and divides by 60.
  
• RON HEXTALL TROPHY (Most Points and Penalty Minutes per 60 MIN in Net): Marty Turco, DAL (28.8 points). This is the goalie's version of the Howe Trophy.
  

FIRST TEAM GOALS CREATED ALL-STARS (Based on Hart Trophy Points)

• Center - Joe Thornton, BOS/SAN (123.9 HART)
  
• Left Wing - Dany Heatley, OTT (116.4)
  
• Right Wing - Jaromir Jagr, NYR (139.4)
  
• Defensemen - Nicklas Lidstron, DET (108.6) and Sergei Zubov, DAL (92.9)
  
• Goaltender - Miikka Kiprusoff, CGY (108.7)
  

SECOND TEAM GOALS CREATED ALL-STARS (Based on Hart Trophy Points)

• Center - Marc Savard, ATL (88.7)
  
• Left Wing - Alexander Ovechkin, WAS (97.4)
  
• Right Wing - Daniel Alfredsson, OTT (111.2)
  
• Defensemen - Mathieu Schneider, DET (92.4) and Bryan McCabe, TOR (88.3)
  
• Goaltender - Martin Brodeur, NJD (97.1)
  

ROOKIE GOALS CREATED ALL-STARS (Based on Hart Trophy Points)

• Center - Sidney Crosby, PIT (87.2)
  
• Left Wing - Alexander Ovechkin, WAS (97.4)
• Right Wing - Marek Svatos, COL (31.6)
  
• Defensemen - Dion Phaneuf, CGY (58.6) and Andrej Meszaros, OTT (51.6)
  
• Goaltender - Henrik Lundqvist, NYR (69.9)
  

TEAM AWARDS

• LES GLORIEUX TROPHY (Most Points Gained in Regulation, each conference): Detroit Red Wings (51-16-15, 117 points) and Ottawa Senators (48-21-13, 109 points). With the changes in the standings, I figured we needed an award for the two teams that posted a record that would have won the league title years ago - when there was no overtime.
  
• SPECIAL TEAMS RATING AWARD (Best Net Special Teams Rating): Ottawa Senators (8.49%). STR is a combination of a Power-play Rating (PP goals, less shorties allowed, divided by Man-Advantages) and a Penalty-killing Rating (Times shorthanded, less PP goals allowed, plus shorties scored, with the sum divided by times shortanded). One is subtracted from the total, and the result is multiplied by 100 to get the rating. Essentially, the rating is a certain amount over/under the league average (which, by definition, should be zero). The higher the rating, the better the team is (theoretically) on both the power-play AND the penalty kill. The Washington Capitals were the worst in the NHL, with a -7.34% rating.
  
• SHOOTOUT PLUS/MINUS AWARD (Best Shootout Goal Differential): Dallas Stars (+15). When you outscore your opponents, 24-9, in the shootout, you're likely to win a few games. Dallas won 12 of 13 contests in the penalty shot competition, mostly thanks to Jussi "The Move" Jokkinen.
  

Trying to maintain my "hip" image in this Internet Universe, I recently put up my own "My Space" page. I've yet to understand what's so great about this whole thing; basically, there's not much for you to do if you're over the age of 29 and aren't single or don't have kids.

It's a good way of getting to know people, but I don't think it's much more than that.

There's been all sorts of stuff in the news lately about the site; from the number of sex offenders who've been using the place as a means of meeting potential victims, to the college that has banned access to the site (Del Mar Community College in Texas). It's getting a bad rap - one that may send it along the same path that Napster took many years ago.

Of course, I'm dating myself with that comment...

Today is the real "opening day" of the hockey season.

The first night of the playoffs, and the march to that big beautiful silver thingy they give to the team winning 16 games.

This is also the beginning of the playoffs in the AHL - and that big ol' fondue pot.

Nothing could be better for a hockey fan.

Isn't it nice when medical companies send you love letters? After my little back issues from last July, I got a piece of mail yesterday informing me that I was on the hook for the medications I was given after the doctor's office. After playing phone tag and "press 00 if you want to increase your chances of talking to a real, live person", I finally got the bill paid off - so I can now submit it to my insurance for reimbursement.

That "reimbursement" will be $50 less, because that would have been the cost of the meds if I had purchased them through my formulary prescription plan last year. But at least I'm going to get something back for it.

That wasn't the kick in the head today, though. Since it was still considered a new car the last two times I renewed the plates on my PT Cruiser, this was the first year I had to take my Chrysler in for an emissions test. It passed the engine computer test fine. However, when it came to the gas tank test... it failed.

I was incredulous when the guy brought it out to me. I've never owned a car that failed emissions - granted, Wisconsin's Vehicle Inspection Program has only been around for about 15 years or so, and most of my cars in that period of time have been bought new. But a car that was still under warranty and less than three years off the showroom floor?

So I trundled on over to the dealer, got the gas cap replaced gratis, and went back to the VIP place. Bad news - line was over a half-hour long. No way I was going to wait that long and risk falling asleep in my car.

A few things I didn't get to hit on yesterday that have been burning a hole in my notebook:

• Definition of frustration: You're typing along all nice and fine when suddenly your Anti-virus program throws up an alert that it's found a virus. When you look at the alert, you realize that your AV program has determined that a utility program that you paid $29.95 for a license is a virus... and has deleted it. The Anti-virus program is eTrust's EZAntiVirus, and the utility is CleanMyPC Registry Cleaner. I tried re-installing a few times, and every time eTrust dutifully deleted the program. I ended up disconnecting the computer from the internet, snoozing eTrust, then re-installing a clean copy of the program I had downloaded from Registry Cleaner's website. Seemed to do the trick, as I haven't had any problems since.
  
• Before this past week, I don't think I knew or cared what "pelvic phlebothrombosis" was.
  
• Ah, a five game winning streak, followed by a three-game losing streak, and two out of the last three. Welcome to the roller coaster ride known as "Brewers Baseball 2006". Remember to hold on to all loose articles, because the management isn't responsible for anything lost, tossed, broken or damaged.
  
• The "3" has finally appeared as the first number gas station price marquees around Southeast Wisconsin. I have this suspicion that if we have another nasty hurricane season in the Gulf region, we could be looking at $3.50 or more for gas the rest of this year. Heck, if President Bush has a hangnail one morning, gas prices could hit $4. I think we can safely forget about ever paying a buck a gallon for gas ever again - I think that's actually what the taxes and fees are on a gallon here in Wisconsin right now, anyways.
  
• On my addiction: I'm up to 202 singles in Topps Baseball Series 1. I'm actually at 54.5% of the base set of 333 - though I doubt that I'm ever going to finish the set. I'm still trying to figure out what happened with the Alex Gordon card - did someone at Topps just drop the ball, or did they do that with intent to create scarcity?
  

My neighboring college, Waukesha County Tech (WCTC to locals), has decided to cut its athletic department from its budget, instead focusing on its educational programs. As shocking as this may have been to some, I found it more shocking that WCTC had an athletic department in the first place.

I see that Mike Eaves has been named the head coach of Team USA at the Worlds in Latvia this spring. Good move by USA Hockey, in my opinion; maybe he'll have the common sense to go with younger players instead of the veterans.

• There is a push by members of the UW-Milwaukee Student Senate seeking a name change for their university - to Wisconsin State. I'm not sure I care for the idea, as the name "Wisconsin State University" makes me think of the old name of the UW system. The primary reason for the change is apparently because some students want to "get rid of the hyphen" in the school's name. By changing the name to Wisconsin State, you'd be getting rid of the "Milwaukee", too.
  
• I've been tinkering around with the Simple Runs formula, after finally updating my stats through 2005 (thanks, Mr. Lahman). I decided to go with a different formula for the years when Caught Stealing totals weren't kept: OBP x (TB + .35 x SB) / SRF. (SRF, for those of you too lazy to look elsewhere for the formulas, is the league totals for the numerator of the formula, divided by runs scored.) For those few years in the 1870's and 1880's when the NL and AA didn't track stolen bases, I went simply with OBP x TB / SRF. What bothers me is this: no matter how much I try to adjust the pre-1893 totals, James Edward "Tip" O'Neill's 1887 season with the St. Louis Browns of the American Association still ranks as the best ever season in SR - just ahead of Babe Ruth's 1921 season.
  
• You know you're turning into a road geek when you sit up all night and copy/paste maps of fifty strange sections of Interstate highway to bitmaps for reference to a document you wrote about each of the 50 sections.
  
• Brewers are 4-0 for the first time since 1987. And we all know what happened with the Brewers in 1987. (I smell hamburgers, for some reason...)
• Dear Brett: Thanks for the memories, now do like Kelly Clarkson and just walk away.
  

Dear Brett: Thanks for the memories, but I think it's time to go ride the John Deere on your farm down in Mississippi.

Dear Barry: What in the wide world of sports is going on in that room? All of these losses, right at the worst time of the season to get them. And don't look now, but there's a pack of wild Ducks breathing down your team's neck. Your squad hasn't clinched a playoff spot yet. Maybe you need to inform them of that fact.

Dear Ben: Not that we don't like Doug and Chris and all, but boy, we could sure use your arm in the near future. Especially when we're heading for Saint Louis.

Dear Prince: Now is not the time to pull an oh-fer, after Ned handed you the keys to the 1B job.

That sigh of relief that you heard last night came from all those fans whose brackets were shot when Duke and UConn lost, but still had UCLA and Florida in the finals.

Another sigh of relief came from Nashville last night, as the Preds showed up in the third period to defeat the lowly Blues. Fans of the worst team in the Western Conference are now complaining that one of our players was responsible for Patrick Lalime's torn ACL - at least, those that aren't cheering the fact that Lalime is out for the rest of the year.

Meanwhile, it's the day when time begins, as George Will likes to point out: it is Opening Day. Okay, it's actually Opening Night, thanks to ESPN, but still - today is the day that the games are for real.