Author Archives: Bobby Scribe

Does Dean Lombardi Care About Winning Above All Else?

February 11, 2012 By in L.A. Kings News Tags: , , , , 1 Comment

Dean Lombardi loves the Yankees or at least he loves to talk about the Yankees.

How many times have we read or heard his quotes equating something hockey related to baseball and the Yankees. I got to thinking about that tonight. I got to thinking about the Yank of all Yankees, George Steinbrenner. George once said:

Winning is the most important thing in my life, after breathing. Breathing first, winning next.

Does Dean Lombardi agree with this? My initial answer was…I don’t know. You’ve probably seen our Quotable Lombardi page. It’s under Surly & Scribe features at the top of this site. It’s a collection of his quotes from April 2006 through the present day. We think we got most of them. He said this in December 2011:

You never see exactly what your coach sees, but for the most part, I think it’s safe to say that with the expectations this year, it becomes more result-orientated. I guess, again, this goes back to (a previous) question. Every situation is different, and the challenge for a coach, as well as players, when you have expectations it’s driven more to results. It’s harder, at times, to look for those victories within losses. That’s just the state of the franchise right now. You could look for more of those things three years ago, but we’re trying to push to the next level. And it isn’t easy. It’s a lot easier playing with the house’s money. So I think, to answer your question, you’re never going to see things exactly (the same) but I do think we’re at the stage of the franchise where you’re going to be judged on wins and losses and playoff rounds. And that’s where you strive to be. It’s a lot easier when there’s no expectations, and with every win you can get a parade. We’re not there right now, so it comes down to wins and losses. Continue reading →

Around The Media Globe, Talking L.A. Kings Hockey & Offense

February 11, 2012 By in L.A. Kings News Tags: , , 4 Comments

Here are some fresh articles around the media world that may be of interest:

The Edmonton Journal comparing the L.A. Kings rebuild and that of the Oilers

Sporting News, in a well written article, stating the Kings need more goals to reach their…goals (I see what you did there)

My favorite paragraph from this article was:

Yes, the game was fatality-free, but Sutter is either in denial or blind to the facts. Saturday was the 10th time in 56 games this season that Los Angeles lost 2-1. It was the Kings’ 11th overtime or shootout loss, and seventh since Sutter took the coaching reins. Including the defeats for which they have received a consolation point, a full two-thirds of the Kings’ losses this season have been by one goal.

Those goals are what separate Los Angeles from being an elite team, and even if Sutter wants to make the case that “probably 20” teams could use more scoring, there is no escaping the fact that his is one of them.

From earlier in the week, if you missed it, Helene Elliott preaching patience. Well, maybe not preaching.

The L.A. Kings Patience Ship Has Sailed

February 10, 2012 By in L.A. Kings News, LA Kings Hockey Tags: , , , , , , , 20 Comments

“I chose the Kings for a number of reasons.  First off, I’m a builder. And I see the foundation put in place by Dave Taylor. People sometimes come in and make things look as bad as possible to paint themselves as heroes. But, that’s not the case here…I want to know what happened this season. How can a team fall off the map like this? It’s easy to pin it on the coaches, but the players have to face responsibility, too. They brought in a different coach and that didn’t work.” (April 2006 after being hired by the Kings as President and General Manager)

I have previously analyzed Dean Lombardi’s tenure in an article called The Culture Of Winning. I am proud of that article because I was able to articulate with complete candor exactly how I felt at the time which, when I read it again, is precisely how I feel today. That article however was about looking back. This one is about looking forward.

In any employment context, whether the person is a CEO or a mail room clerk, a warning or two traditionally precedes a termination. I have wondered if hockey coaches and general managers are any different. Did Terry Murray know he was about to get fired? I don’t know. His words indicated surprise. Did Randy Carlyle? Don’t know but he seemed downright stunned. Has Dean Lombardi been warned? Has Tim Leiweke told Dean Lombardi if the mandate of making the playoffs and getting past the first round is not met, the changes will start at the top? I don’t know.

I do know this. For me (and I don’t speak for Surly as he may have a different opinion), the “patience” ship has sailed. Continue reading →

Jeff Carter, Ilya Kovalchuk & Questions Nobody Will Ask Dean Lombardi…

February 9, 2012 By in LA Kings Hockey, LA Kings news, LA Kings vs Florida Panthers Tags: , , , 97 Comments

Kings lost 2-1 tonight to the Florida Panthers. The offense was offensive. Anemic. Pathetic. I find it coincidental about 5 minutes after I screamed on twitter that the L.A. Kings need to activate the fucking defense (D1 specifically) because they are down 2-0, Jim Fox wouldn’t stop talking about it on the telecast. Maybe he was listening. Maybe it was obvious to everyone but the Kings. Maybe a team struggling to score goals needs to have that aggressive mentality from the DROP of the PUCK. Ugh.

Different topic.

I am not advocating. I am asking questions.

The L.A. Kings don’t want to sign Jeff Carter because he is a one-dimensional offensive forward?

So was Ilya Kovalchuk.

The L.A. Kings don’t want to take on that 10 + year, $5 million dollar + cap hit of Jeff Carter?

But they reportedly offered Ilya Kovalchuk $80 million for 15 years.

Jeff Carter is not a leader, he is not a Dean Lombardi “character” player?

Neither was Ilya Kovalchuk. Continue reading →

What Will Willie Mitchell’s Rumored Extension Mean For The L.A. Kings?

February 8, 2012 By in L.A. Kings News, LA Kings Hockey Tags: , , , , 71 Comments

The Mayor has heard it.

Matt Barry has heard it.

We have heard it.

Willie Mitchell is getting an extension soon.

He is 35 this April. Spring chicken he is not.

He does have a concussion history. He has been healthy this seasons. Knock wood. If the L.A. Kings past and luck is any indicator, within a few weeks of the ink being dry on that extension, we will lose Willie to the dreaded _____ body injury. You fill in the blank.

Mitchell has a cap hit of $3.5 million. That is a lot of dough for a mid 30′s defenseman but one thing Willie Mitchell brings to the L.A. Kings defense is consistency and respect. He and that extra long stick keep crashing forwards away and clear pucks from around the crease. While nobody will mistake him for Shea Weber, Willie is the reason offensive defenseman like Drew Doughty and, more recently, Slava Voynov can take the role of the active D1.

Willie has value. How much? Continue reading →

Kings vs. Panthers Open Forum: The Best Revenge Is A W

February 8, 2012 By in L.A. Kings News, LA Kings vs Florida Panthers Tags: , , , 10 Comments

Last time we played Florida, we won. Kevin Dineen whined. A lot.

(on the game recap…) “We thoroughly outplayed them. They were trying to run around and chase us and hack us and slash us. When you are getting outplayed as badly as they were, that’s the response. We walk out of here feeling very good about the way we played and we move forward from there.’’

(on the goaltending…) “Goaltending was a strong point at both ends of the ice. There was plenty of opportunities and their goalie [Jonathan Quick] certainly got them a couple of points and Theo [Jose Theodore] gave us every chance to win.’’

(on the physicality of the game…) “We didn’t need to get physical. All they were trying to do was cross=check and they [the referees] let a lot of things go late in the game. When you are outplaying a team by a wide margin, you stick with what was working for you and they had a real tough time handling our speed.’’

Sans the whining, he wasn’t too far off. The L.A. Kings did get outplayed for most of the game and Jonathan Quick was outstanding.

You may recall that was also the game we lost Mike Richards to a concussion. Continue reading →

Translating Dean Lombardi’s Trade Deadline Comments

February 7, 2012 By in Dean Lombardi quotation translation Tags: , , 23 Comments

Hammond recently gave us another C- interview, this time with Dean Lombardi. You may recall I hold a Doctorate in Lombardi Speak so I thought I would navigate us through.

I asked Lombardi whether the dynamics of the deadline will allow the Kings to significantly improve…

LOMBARDI: “As the season moves along, people have a better handle on which direction they want to go.

There are buyers and sellers

There’s two things that can happen. One, obviously, is a team just strictly downsizing, like we did five years ago, and just saying, `Let’s get picks.’

There are sellers who are rebuilding.

Secondly, you might have a philosophical change and just say, `It’s not a downsizing, per se, but we want a change to change the structure of our roster.’ So it’s not a rental, per se. It’s different.

There are sellers who are not rebuilding. Continue reading →

L.A. Kings Defense > Tampa Bay Lightning’s Offense

February 7, 2012 By in L.A. Kings News, LA Kings vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Tags: , , , , , , 31 Comments

Dustin Penner. Pencakes. I should criticize him more often. What a game from the flying fridge. Hustle & heart, getting in front of the play, aggressive on the forecheck, back checking for goodness sake and burying one off a work, work, work play by Mike Richards who fed Penner the puck. I am going to enjoy this game for a couple of days but I still don’t believe he has it in him to do it on a consistent basis.

Anze Kopitar. Kopistar. Big Kop. Our young Joe Thornton. That deflection took a deft touch and kudos to Justin Williams timing his shot so well. It almost looked like a set play. Let’s see if we get that again.

Kyle Clifford. Redemption. After an aggressive but still undisciplined penalty, Cliffy made that breakaway look easy. Deke, tuck, and the patented Clifford goal celebration. Cliffy has looked like a different player under Sutter. Catch fire, Kyle. Our young Adam Graves.

But despite these three scoring the goals, the player that gets maximum love is Willie Mitchell. Continue reading →

Kings vs. Lightning Open Forum: Who Will Suck Less At What They Suck The Most?

February 7, 2012 By in L.A. Kings News, LA Kings vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Tags: , , , , , , , 34 Comments

The Kings are near the top of the league in fewest goals against. Their offense is ranked 30th.

The Lightning are near the top of the league in offense and goals scored. Their defense is ranked 30th.

Each team sucks for different reasons.

Tonight, one team will suck less.

Who will it be?

It makes me sad to say that Jarret Stoll and Dustin Penner are very close to reaching a “dead to me” status. If I am Mike Richards, I look to my left and right and wonder what the hell I did to deserve these two as my wings.

If Jarret ever wants to wear an L.A. Kings jersey beyond this season, he will get his floating and offensively challenged ass in gear. I wonder if the arthritis and/or hand injuries he had last season have taken a toll or an unspoken turn for the worst. I don’t see him even trying to get open for the shot anymore.

As for Penner, eat more pancakes. Continue reading →

Things I Learned About Football By Not Watching The Superbowl

February 5, 2012 By in L.A. Kings News Tags: , , , , , , 56 Comments

Look, it’s no secret Surly & I have one sport – hockey. That’s it. We are monogamous, though more than a little sadomasochistic.

The problem with this super “bowl” thing (other than it makes me think of weed) is you can’t get away from it. It’s like an airborne virus…a boring one. Anyway, here is what I learned.

It’s actually not played by puppies.

A goal is called a touchdown, even though you don’t touch anything once you score and the idea is to stay upright.

A goal is 7 points. The final score of tonight’s game was 21-17. It’s a 3 – 2.3333 league.

There is also a “field” goal, which is less than a goal. It’s like hitting the post and getting almost half a goal. I hope Gary Bettman isn’t reading this. Don’t want to give him any ideas.

The team called the Patriots is from “New England.” I am glad the dipshits lost. Pick a State.

This is their trophy. Continue reading →

Dean Lombardi Made A Surprise Call To Don Meehan…

February 5, 2012 By in Surly & Scribe Skits Tags: , , , , , 26 Comments

Surly called me up from wherever the fuck he is with his fiance to tell me he has a transcript of a call between Dean Lombardi and Don Meehan. So I asked him…

Me: What, from the summer? What the fuck am I supposed to do with that now?

Surly: No, dumb shit. From a couple of nights ago. I must have forgotten to take the tap off Lombardi’s phone and when I checked out the recorder and transcriber machine before I left, I found gold!

Me: You tapped his phone?

Surly: Yes…

Me: Did I know that?

Surly: Do you want this fucking thing or not?

Me: Send it over.

So, here it is boys and girls.

[phone rings]

Meehan: hello?

Lombardi: Hey jerkoff… Continue reading →

The Edmonton Oilers Are Like That Ugly, Rich Girl In High School

February 5, 2012 By in L.A. Kings News Tags: 12 Comments

I do some of my best thinking when I’m angry. So, I was reading about the Oilers and it got me thinking…

Did you know this girl in high school? The one you would never date but her daddy was rich, she wore nice clothes, drove a real nice car, was popular and hung out with the “hot” versions of the other rich girls but she came with two major drawbacks – one she was ugly and two she thought she was all that because of her family’s money. I knew this girl in high school and her name was Edie (pronounced “EE-DEE”). More and more, I think the Edmonton Oilers are her.

Edie dated this kid. Everybody knew him and he was well liked. Not really a jock but a good athlete, had a 70′s hairstyle which we could never figure out but it worked for him, some even thought he and Edie were a good fit together and she had finally found someone compatible but for some reason, out of the blue, she dumped him. Poor guy, he cried and cried, he must have really liked her, go figure. He started dating other girls and finally landed a hot little mama from L.A. whose daddy was even more rich but who had some emotional baggage, was kind of that dumb smart girl who could never really get out of her own way and get it together but knew how to party and was fun. Anyway, back on topic, he ended up cheating on the L.A. girl and he got back together with Edie. She seemed happy. He was happy or so we thought until we heard she may dump him again…as long as we don’t have to watch the fucker cry, we don’t care. Ryan Smyth. Continue reading →

L.A. Kings vs. Carolina Hurricanes Open Forum

February 4, 2012 By in LA Kings vs. Carolina Hurricanes Tags: , , , , 37 Comments

We are in Carolina. They have a 19-25-9 record and they are last in the Eastern Conference. That doesn’t mean they suck…well, they kind of suck but they’re still a good team. Hell, they have beaten the Bruins 3 times this season.

Their captain and center Eric Staal leads them in points. Their coveted left wing Tuomo Ruutu leads them in goals. Goalie Cam Ward has a goals against average of 2.80 although the fucker is in fuego the last 5 games and the Canes are 3-1-1. In other words, we are playing a bad team who is hot. Continue reading →

“Your Friggin’ (butt) Is Up In The Air”?

February 3, 2012 By in L.A. Kings News, LA Kings Tags: , 10 Comments

I hate Rich Hammond’s parentheses. I want to beat him over the head each time he does it. After the game against the St. Louis Blues, we got this from twiggy.

(on struggling with breakout passes…)

SUTTER: “First period, it’s tough to make the first pass when your friggin’ (butt) is up in the air, from getting knocked on it. After that, we were fine.’’

What? The word used clearly was not “butt”. Hammond’s Amish filter on Insider either reframed the word “ass” or Rich has some fucked up idea of an ass synonym. Good grief, I hope he isn’t using antonyms. This is the problem with censorship. The filter kills the message.

Back to the quote. Let’s assume Rich’s fetish didn’t exist and the quote actually was, “it’s tough to make the first pass when your friggin’ ass is in the air, from getting knocked on it.”

Okay… Continue reading →

The Blues vs. Kings Post Ga…

February 3, 2012 By in L.A. Kings News Tags: 7 Comments

I get home around 7:30 from wo…

I kiss the wife and kid, grab a beer and sit down to watch the…

I watch the Kings get outworked and outplayed for most of the fir…especially along the boa…

In the second, our boys gain some momen…but then Doughty gets caught between the do I skate back or throw the “hipcheck the shit out of you” and…

Not all his fault of course because the damn forwards on the other end of the ice were…

1-0.

But no quit thankfully and we get plenty of…

Brownie had a beau…

Williams had a beau…

Several grade A scoring chances but could not fini…

Could not fini…

Could not fucking fini… Continue reading →

Top 10 Other “Amazing” “Coincidences” Scott Howson Should Know Are Neither

February 2, 2012 By in L.A. Kings News Tags: , , , 18 Comments

Boy oh boy. Nothing like communicating something really stupid and then realizing it was stupid, followed by realizing you wrote said stupid for the world to see and then scrambling to remove stupid except to find that someone smart took a screen shot of stupid.

(Foul! Cheats! Bastards! Oh wait, the timekeepers work for the NHL?)

The most interesting comment is of course:

“It is an amazing coincidence that with the Kings on a power play at STAPLES Center and with a mad scramble around our net in the dying seconds of the third period of a 2-2 hockey game that the clock stopped for at least one full second. I can only think of two ways in which this would have happened. Either there was a deliberate stopping of the clock or the clock malfunctioned.”

After reading this, I decided to take it upon myself to point out the top 10 things of which Scott Howson should be aware that, while on the surface may seem amazing and/or a coincidence, really are neither. Continue reading →

Drew-sanity! Kings Beat Blue Jackets In A 3-2 League

February 1, 2012 By in L.A. Kings News, LA Kings vs. Columbus Blue Jackets Tags: , 54 Comments

Drew Doughty giveth!

Though he was a -1 and, at times, sucked on D tonight.

We won in regulation!

With 0.4 seconds left against the worst team in the NHL…

What? I didn’t see anything. The clock didn’t stop…the clock, er, paused…besides, the only clock that matters is that of the time-keeper.

Dustin Penner scored a goal!

And he will now take the next 7 games off…

We had two power play goals!

Holy shit, we had two power play goals, I don’t care who we were or are playing. The power play has been clicking at a decent pace in the past many chances (28% in the last 9 games).

We are 14-0-1 in games we have scored 3 or more goals. It’s not about defense. It’s not about offense. It’s about balance.

Scribe’s Three Stars: Continue reading →

Poor Greg Wyshynski, Rich Zach Parise

January 31, 2012 By in Zach Parise to LA Kings love Tags: , , , , , 30 Comments

Surly and I like Greg Wyshynski. He is a good writer and runs a successful website for Yahoo Sports’ Puck Daddy that has the more than occasional sense of humor and doesn’t always take itself too seriously. Hey, anyone who gives Ryan Lambert a job has to enjoy laughing and be playing with someone else’s money. As far as we can tell, Greg has one glaring character flaw and that is his undying allegiance to the New Jersey Devils. Today, Greg gave us this regarding Zach Parise. It is a double shot of lamentation with a chaser of concession.

At the Board of Governors meeting in Ottawa last weekend, it was confirmed that the New Jersey Devils are being subsidized as a financial train wreck forwarded revenue payments as their ownership group continues to battle and they face an $80 million debt obligation that could lead the team to bankruptcy.

So, good times then …

Indeed.

News on the state of New Jersey increased the speculation about captain Zach Parise leaving the State of New Jersey before he hits unrestricted free agency next summer. But according to the NY Post,word around the League is that Parise will remain a Devils through next month’s trade deadline. Continue reading →

L.A. Kings & Jeff Carter. A Match Made In…

January 31, 2012 By in L.A. Kings News Tags: , , , , , 70 Comments

The Jeff Carter saga has been an interesting one in Columbus. After he signed a long-term, cap friendly, career contract with the team that drafted him in 2003, 11th overall, he was shown little brotherly love from the Philadelphia Flyers. In that respect, his career path has paralleled that of his friend and fellow former Flyer, Mike Richards, although the latter, as we know, had the good fortune of coming here to L.A.

That is also where the similarities end.

While Mike Richards was upset at the trade but stepped up, accepted it and has been, in all respects that we as fans have seen, a pleasure to have on the ice and off, Jeff Carter went into hibernation, would not talk with anyone (I believe for weeks) and it finally took a trip by Rick Nash and (if I recall correctly) either Scotty Arniel (who has since been fired) and/or Scott Howson to finally come out of the cupboard under the stairs and accept the fact Philadelphia just didn’t love him anymore.

Fast forward to today.

Jeff Carter has only played 30 games with the Blue Jackets. He was injured from the word “go” early in the season and on January 9 suffered another injury - a separated shoulder. He is currently week to week. Still, in those 30 games, he has 10 goals and 7 assists. He is also a -9. Continue reading →

“Old Time Hockey” Brawl Between Ontario & Bakersfield

January 29, 2012 By in Ontario Reign ECHL Tags: , 17 Comments

So after Bakersfield’s Ian McKenzie lays out Ontario’s Kevin Estrada, this ensues…

A few observations:

1. This was fun to watch. A little like 12 monkeys fucking a football but fun.

2. If you’re going to be the third man in and start shit, expect shit.

3. “Cats and dogs living together”? Wasn’t that a Bill Murray line from Ghostbusters? Continue reading →

A Thank You To All Our Readers And Some Changes To S&S

January 29, 2012 By in LA Kings Hockey Tags: 40 Comments

Since Surly & I cannot say thank you enough, thank you for continuing to come here, reading our work and talking puck with us.

It’s fun watching this site grow. We started S&S in September of 2009 (hence the number “9″ on the back of my Scribe jersey) for the love of the Kings but also in part because we didn’t care for the strict moderation and censorship of opinion that is so prevalent on message boards and other blogs and sites.

In the first 15 months through the end of 2010, we got about 170,000 visitors. In 2011, we tickled 600,000. Now, in 2012, we are heading for more than 1,000,000 per year. 1,645 articles and posts in less than 2 and 1/2 years. Just under 16,000 comments to those articles. We have been quoted and linked by Yahoo Sports’ Puck Daddy, ESPN, NBC Sports’ Pro Hockey Talk and numerous hockey media sites as well as hockey blogs and message boards throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. Continue reading →