The Giants Slide to 0-4

The Giants used their same "big play" gameplan, and once again had the same result as they've been getting all year.  This is unacceptable.    They had some chances today, and for almost 3 quarters it was a close game.  But, more problems on specials, with the OL, with play calling and ultimately with defense.  Of course, my belief is that if we can't win it all, we might as well get a very high pick, rather than stumble into the playoffs.    Right now it looks like we're going for option B.   Pretty cool.   Only 12 wasted Sundays left to go.  And Will Hill is eligible to return next week.

Rangers Make Final Cuts

The strange development of Chris Kreider took another odd turn today as he was sent down along with Marek Hrivik, Oscar Linberg,  Brandon Mashinter, Darrol Powe, Conor Allen and Stubicle.  The Wolfpack is officially loaded.   Kreider is officially taking the Bernie Williams path to stardom, and I hope the Rangers aren't fools enough to trade him.   Falk made the team, which is sad.

On the bright side, JT Miller and Jesper Fast have also made the team to start the season.   We'll see what else develops from here.

This Week on the Blog

This week could be pretty eventful or distressingly uneventful.

Giants:  Face a win or man the lifeboats game today.   Although there is no law in the universe saying you can't save your season from 0 and 4 start, I don't think it's happened much if at all, and I don't want to see them try it.   Huge game today.

Rangers: Rangers will make their final round of cuts and maybe even a little trade today.   Then, later this week, they'll begin their regular season, and we'll see how long it takes for them to adjust to the new schemes.

Knicks: They finally begin camp tomorrow.   They haven't done anything CRAZY since Friday, so this could be eventful.

Yankees:  The Yanks end their season.   Goodbye to Mo and Andy.   We'll see how their offseason plan takes shape, but not much will probably happen till after the WS.  Comrade Bud hates it when the Yanks make big announcements when anyone else is playing.

Should be interesting, could be sad.

Ranger Final Cuts: a Trade on the way?

After a pretty pathetic pre-season performance the Ranger roster currently stands at 30 and they want to get down to at least 23.   So they have to send down or otherwise dispose of 7 or more players before the roster is set.  For a long time it seemed as if the Rangers would make a trade to give themselves more cap space for Stepan and Lundqvist.     Well, they got Stepan done without making a deal but they are nearly half a million dollars over the cap, and they might make that cap trade now.   Guys like Boyle, Pyatt, Asham and Powe, seem extraneous, and having them down in the AHL would only dull the development mission for the Wolfpack.   So it seems like a possibility.  I wouldn't expect them to get much back pickwise unless the deal was expanded to include some youth.   We'll see.  

Giants Tomorrow

Well it looks like another tough game for the Giants tomorrow.  I know a lot of people are soft-pedaling the Chiefs' early season success.  What can't be soft-pedaled is their coach's winning record over the Giants.   Last week, it turned out that Chase Blackburn's knowledge of what the Giants were doing was a big part of the blowout.    The Chief's coach, might know the Giants just as well.   They have to change some things to have success.

The OL is being re-imagined again, with Bass and Snee out.  Diehl is making the trip as an extra lineman, so it looks like Brewer and Mosely will be the guards, and Boothe will be the C.   We'll see how that works, and if newly signed FB John Conner is active.  They have to find a way to run the ball.

On D, they just have to get there.  It's as simple as that.  Their blitzes have been a joke.  And 75% of JPP and whatever % we still have of Tuck, just isn't good enough.

Could win this one, but could also be 0-4.  Will Hill is eligible to come back after this game.

Cano Looking for Pie in the Sky

So, in an hilarious misunderstanding of the marketplace, Scott Boras, or whoever is agenting Robinson Cano leaked or announced today that they are looking for a 10 year 305 million dollar deal.    He won't get that number or those years from anyone, let alone the Yanks.  Here's why.  First, he is already in his  30's an on the brink of decline.   Second, the Yankee roster, and several other rosters around baseball are still paying the price for 10 year deals given to presumptive (at the time) hall of famers like Jeter and Arod.   Heck, the Yankees have gotten one good year out of Mark Teixiera on what was an 8 year deal, and he was in his 20s when he made that.   Third, there doesn't need to be a third.  He's not getting that.   The Yanks should offer no more than 6 years at the outside.  Which means they will give him 7.   I don't really care what the salaries are, but they should reflect decline and injury.  Of course, if they think they can get something closer to 305 elsewhere, I'll be happy with the extra first rounder.

Stepan Signs

The Rangers today announced that they had come to terms with Derek Stepan on a two year bridge deal.    The deal is said be worth with just North of 3M per.   Obviously this was a must sign for the Rangers and makes them a much better team, but why did it have to take so long?    We'd be a much better prepared team if Richards was gone and Stepan had been through camp with the team.  We'll see what kind of shape he's in.

The Rangers are now slightly over the cap but that will be fixed with final cuts.  And speaking of final cuts,  the Wolfpack is going to have a lot of good players to start the season.

Grunwald Out, Mills In

In a shocking turn of events today, the Knicks have dumped GM Glen Grunwald and replaced him with retread Dolan crony Steve Mills.   Give his past efforts for the Knicks, they would have been better off hiring Mike Mills of R.E.M..   Holy cow, is this ever bad news for the Knicks.

Grunwald was no genius, but he was competent, and I believe, above average.  And that's pretty impressive given the acid bath that has been Knicks upper management in the Dolan era.   It is almost transparent that Dolan believes JR Smith's assessment of the Knicks' chances this year and is kicking out the architect, Grunwald, before he can get any credit.   Envy and hubris should not be corporate values at a publicly traded company.   But they so often are where the Knicks are concerned.

I shudder to think what could come next.

Yanks Get Eliminated

Well, tonight was the end of the Yankees postseason hopes.  They were eliminated while still playing their game against the Reds tonight, as Cleveland won their game.   To say the least we're about to witness a very interesting offseason.   If they stick to their budgetary guns, there won't be much they can do to get better.  Their best prospects had uniformly down years, and though JR Murphy is probably ready to rock, the OF's are still half a season away at best.

The thing the Yanks shouldn't do is trade their prospects while their stock is down for older "young" players who are already maxed.   Yet, that's what they might try to do if they think they have to compete next year.   I'd rather they just take their lumps and the high draft picks that come with them.   This thing needs a rebuild and not a reload.

I'm hoping Girardi leaves.  I'd love the Yankees to try to get Trey Hillman, the Dodger bench coach to come back home and manage the team.    We'll see what happens there.  I don't think Girardi is as friendly as he pretends to be to young players and prospects, and we'll have a bunch of those over the next few years.   Hillman was a good minor league manager for the Yanks, several years ago.  

I'm sure we'll all have more thoughts on this as the offseason progresses.

The Stepan Situation

As the Ranger pre-seasom moves along, they are still without one of their best players - Derek Stepan.    Once he finally got over the Orpik hit from 2011, he played at an elite level last year.   He makes the players around him better.    And he's sitting out right now because the Rangers had to show they are smarter than the world and passed up buying out Richards when that window was open.   They were able to lock up McDonagh but unable to, thus far, lock up Stepan.

They've had all summer to make a deal to create more cap room, but instead of getting proactive,  during last night's skate around  the Rangers rolled a tape of Glen Sather criticizing Stepan for listening to his agent, and not signing a bridge deal like Sather's other guys have.   That was bush league, and an example of Sather blaming the player instead of his mismanagement of the cap for the current situation.

As it is, right now, it looks like their best chance of signing Stepan will come next week, when the Rangers can tweak their cap space by sending down Asham, Pyatt and some others.  A trade would have created more relief.    And it will take him time for Stepan to get up to speed, and they'll be on that long road trip to start the season, where points will be at a premium.    Nice going, genius.

Knicks Sign Cole Aldrich

The Knick today announced that they have signed C Cole Aldrich.    You probably remember Cole from Kansas, where he was big enough at 6-11" and 240 to get himself picked #11 overall by the Hornets back in 2010.  Since then he hasn't earned many minutes, but was productive in 30 minutes a game down in the D league.   Looks like 6 fouls waiting (down the bench) to happen, at this point.  I have no idea if there's any upside.  Some of the other names they were looking at seemed more interesting.

Rangers Tonight

In the 4th preseason game, JT Miller will finally play, but Dylan McIlrath will not.     The Rangers are rolling the Brassard line first then a weird line that includes Miller, Kreider and Asham.   The third line is an all prospect line that features Oscar, Hrivik and Kristo.   And the fourth line will be Moore with Haley and Derek Dorsett.   That's a pretty good fourth line.    I would have rather seen Fast with Miller and Kreider.

On D, McDonagh and Girardi are back.  Marc Staal is playing with Conor Allen.    Aaron Johnson and Tommy Hughes will be the third pair.   Allen and Hughes are prospects.    I have no idea why McIlrath isn't playing, especially given how bad Falk and Bickel continued to look.

Marty Biron will start in goal and may go all the way.   Or Cam Talbot could relieve him.   It will be interesting to see how JT looks.

Rangers Tonight

After a 6 day layoff that saw the Rangers move their operation to Western Canada and raise money for flood victims, the Rangers will resume their preseason game schedule when the face Calgary in several hours.   Brassard has the night off, so Brian Boyle (ugh) is our number two C.   Fast will be skating with him rather than Lindberge who is the number 3 C.    Kristo is also on the third line.  Mashinter and Asham, are tonight's forward "muscle."  Moore and Girardi have the night off, and Staal is skate with MDZ.  

Falk and Stubicle are the third pair, and thought Hank is going the whole way in the net tonight,  who knows if he's up to that challenge so early.

Btw, we should start seeing more of the systems they've been putting in tonight, so less dump and chase.

Giants Lose 38-0

Wow.  That may have been the worst Giant game I can remember seeing.    Of course, it's not the worst I've ever seen, in fact and you can look it up, we've been shutout by the Panthers two other times in the Tom Coughlin era, in `06 and `09.    But I guess I'm wired not to remember stuff like this, so I'm grateful it won't be with me much longer.

The Giants are now 0 and 3 and a disgrace on every level.  I'm a Reese fan and he looks bad.  I'm a Coughlin fan and he looks bad.  I'm an Eli fan and he looks bad...   I don't know how you fix a terrible OL as you go along.   They've been a little leaky for the bast two years and haven't run well going on three, but today was ridiculous.   I think we just have to hope that Eli and the other keepers don't get hurt, and that JPP lets us know whether or not he is a keeper.    I was hoping this would be a season where we compete, but if we're not gonna win it all, I'd just as soon take the lumps and the higher pick and aim to reload in the offseason.

This Week On the Blog

Big weeks on the blog:

Yankees:  Today in the Bronx the Yanks will celebrate Mariano's retirement and watch Andy's last start.   And they better win and keep winning.   And even if they do,  they'll need help to make the playoffs.

Giants:  They have to win.   It will be an emotional game following the tragic events of the past week.

Rangers: They're in their Western Canada camp phase, and will start playing games out mixing lines again in a day or so.   When they do, we should see a little more of the new system.  And JT Miller is back in the mix.

Knicks:  I think they're starting camp.   The invite list is out and Meta has been chatting in the papers.

Nova!

The Yanks are down to must win games everyday in their hopes to grab a wildcard spot.    Ivan Nova was more than up to the task today as he K'd 7, including the last batter of the game, in shutting out the San Francisco Giants today.

I have to harp of this, because Ivan Nova represents everything that is right and wrong about the Yankees system.   His talent has always been there, so that's a positive reflection of the scouts. But his development was so screwed up that the Yankees lost him in the rule 5 draft only to get him back in ST a few years ago,   So, the scouts are good and the development is and has been bad.   Though Rothschild hasn't been able to help Hughes or Joba at the major league level, he or someone else there sure found the on switch for Nova.   It may have been Mo.  I'm not kidding.   The camera has often caught the two talking, and Mo has just as often been asked about Nova's progress.   Well, whoever is responsible, we now have an ace type pitcher to put at the front of the rotation next year.   With all the declines, retirements, and free agencies, who knows what else we'll have.  Go Yanks!

Giants Tomorrow

The Giants are a ridiculous 0 and 2 coming into their game against the Panthers.   This is certainly a great chance to start digging out, since the Panthers have a decimated secondary.    As much as we should be able to light them up with Nicks, Cruz and Randle,  we need to start re-establishing the run, so I'd love to see us commit to that all day,

It would be a nice day for the vaunted Giant pass rush to finally show up.   I'm starting to think JPP may never be what we was again, and may not be worth the big franchise DL contract it looked like he was in line for 18 months ago.   We should continue to be pretty stout against the run, unless the Panthers can get it to their backs out in space, like Denver did.

This is a team that a serious Giant team would decimate.   But I expect us to win a fairly close one.

On another note, you'd hope that the Giants would want to give coach Coughlin a present after the tragic loss of his brother earlier this week, but the Giants usually don't do well in those "win it for someone" circumstances.   Let's just hope they honor him by taking care of the football and limiting dumb penalties.

Thanks, Andy

Apparently, today Andy Pettitte is announcing that he is retiring from baseball.   I'm glad he's doing it as a Yankee, and will always think he never should have left to begin with.    Pettitte's career will probably remain controversial while people wallow in their PED fired sanctimony.   But, he was a good, to very good, to greatish pitcher for a long time and certainly deserving of all the love Yankee fans will show him going forward.

Injuries derailed and detracted from his career numbers, but at one point he had a decent shot at 300 wins.   He will probably not make the Hall of Fame because of the PED's admission,  but when he hangs them up after his next few starts, he will have been better than a few of the pitchers that are in the HoF.   He also had the best pickoff move I have ever seen.

It's funny and perhaps just right that he and Mariano are retiring at the same time.   Mariano has, of course. saved more wins for Andy that any closer has ever saved for a starter.    But he and Andy both owe a great deal of their success to the cutter.    Mo was able to throw it a lot and stay healthy.  Andy was not.  Of course, a starter throws a great deal more pitches than a reliever, especially one as great as Mo, so perhaps if Mo had had the Andy workload, he would have broken down, too.   Hard to say.  

Andy will go down as a Yankee great, and he really never ever should have worn another uniform.  

Rangers Tonight

While last night saw the Ranger  debut of Danny Kristo and the returns of Marek Hrivik and Dom Moore, tonight we'll see even more players from the prospect pool as Oscar Lindberg, Jesper Fast and Dylan McIlrath make their preseason debuts.   Andrew Yogan, Michael Kantor, Danny Syvret and Conor Allen will also be suiting up for the first time this preseason.   Should be fun.

Last night we saw some great skating from John Moore, Chris Kreider and Danny Kristo.  Tonight we'll see it from Ryan McDonagh,  Lindberg and the aptly named Fast.  

On a practical level, Dylan McIlrath is competing for the 7th D spot with Falk, Johnson and Stu Bickel, all of whom looked sort of lousy last night.    AV has already said that he's going to go with a bigger roster because of the Olympic schedule and the number of back to backs and 3 out of 4's they have.  So Dylan is probably going to get a serious shot.  He's paired with McDonagh tonight, and that's literally something we could see for years to come if and when Dylan is ready.    

I don't think we'll see much more of the new system tonight.   They've barely had time to install it, and last night we were still seeing some dump and chase, rather than guys skating in.   Also, there weren't enough guys in from of the Devil net least night.  Conversely, Falk was in front of the Ranger net on the first of the Devil goals, but he didn't clear the crease.   I'd like to see progress on both ends of that tonight.    Should be more fun.  Go Rangers!

This Week on The Blog

This past week ended with some thuds but let's hope for better this week.

The Yanks -  they'll continue trying to make the wild card, though the math keeps getting harder.

The Giants -  Will try out Kerry Rhodes and probably others to sure up the the roster.    Let's hope they get the OL to gel and the running game working.

The Rangers - Begin their preseason schedule.  We'll get to see the young players, including McIlrath as the week rolls on.  We'll also start seeing what Richards has done to improve.   And they've got to sign Stepan.  Enough already.

The Knicks - will probably say some outrageous things and shoot around a bit as they get ready form camp.

Giants Roll Over for Peyton

This makes two weeks in a row that they've looked unprepared to start the season.   What's up with the Giants?   What has gone wrong?  Why do the other teams seem to play harder?  They're getting beaten on both lines.  They can't run the ball.   Receive rs  are dropping passes left and right   Execution is off all over the field, and specials gave up a TD in the 4th.   Seriously, what are they practicing and how is that being prepared?     Really weird that a Hall of Fame type coach and QB can start the season like this.

Giants vs. Peyton

Okay so our 0-1 Giants are hosting the new look Denver Broncos in what is being billed as Manning Bowl 3.     I am usually one of the most optimistic people you're likely to come across, but the matchup of Peyton Manning against the Giants or really, Perry Fewell worries me a great deal.   In Manning Bowl 2, Peyton audibled to run any time he saw we were coming after him and Fewell couldn't dial up a counter move.  I see no evidence that Fewell has gotten any better.

On the other hand, I have long held that a decent physical team always has a chance against the Broncos at sea level.     This is especially true later in the season and in superbowls because the Bronco players have lost weight to be more efficient at altitude.   This early in the season, it might not matter.  

That said, Eli should light it up,  and perhaps David Wilson's breakout game will be tomorrow.  It wasn't last week.   And it will be fun to see Brandon Jacobs erasing blitzers again.

I just don't like Peyton against our D coaches.   I hope to be surprised.

Rangers Stuff

Rumor has it that the Rangers and Stepan have agreed to a two year bridge contract that will pay the ascendant young Center around 2.75 each year.   Sather said a month or so ago, that they'd re-do it after  one year, so we'll see if that's still the plan.   It's good that he didn't miss much of AV's first camp.   And let's hope he's in shape because AV is running them.

On that front, a big deal has been made about what good shape Brad Richards is in - and wouldn't that be a plus - but Rick Nash also looks like a different person.   He has a jawline for example.  We'll see if that means anything.

They've divided the campers into three groups.   The top players and the players who may be up this year comprise teams A and B.   The younger prospects, or those considered farther away or on team C. they may not get to play in the preseason games.

Martin Biron has returned to the game, but Hedberg will continue to compete for the backup job.   Maybe they can trade Biron if Hedberg, who is close with Hank, shines.

They have some highlights and streaming tape over at BlueshirtsUnited.com.   So drop by.

Giants Get Allen Bradford on Waivers

The Giants today were awarded Allen Bradford, on waivers from the Seahawks.   Bradford was a running back at USC, then was switched to LB in the NFL.  He's short at 5'11 but not small.   He's still just a third year player and he's flashed at his new position.  He should help immediately on specials, and he as that sub 7 three cone score that the Giants love.   Intriguing pick up with upside.

UPDATE:  Dan Connor was placed on IR.   That was quick.   Well in Bradford we have less experience but a guy who is definitely faster than Chase Blackburn was.

Rangers Open Camp

The Rangers opened camp today.    The first order or business were the player physicals.  Tomorrow will be the on ice testing, then they'll start practicing for their first game which is Monday.

This is the first Vigneault camp, and he is said to also run a pretty intense one, even though his personality is so so different from Coach Torts', they both seem to be committed to doing things the right way.   So stuff like whats expected in camp and practice won't change much, though what's practiced might.

Derek Stepan has not shown up yet, and he's still holding out for a longer deal, while the Rangers are still looking for a bridge deal.    Hopefully, they'll get something done in the next few days.   They should start figuring out lines going forward and they can't without their #1 C.    Good to have the rest of them back, though.

Giants Bring Back Big Jake

The Giants today shored up their protection against the blitz by bringing back Brandon Jacobs.   I have no idea what he has left as a runner or pass receiver, but he will block some blitzers and teach David Wilson and the rest of the kids how it's done.  He was part of the Giants "tough" identity through two championships, let's see if he can now restore some of that.

Wow.

The Giants just lost a game where they turned the ball over 6 times.  It was their first ever loss at the new Dallas stadium,    But as I wrote last night, you can't take game one's too seriously, particularly, under the new rules that have curtailed pre-season and offseason practice time.   6 turnovers is insane, but with any luck at all they still would have won this one. But they didn't and it will get dissected all week. The biggest culprits were David Wilson who fumbled twice, the second one leading to a Cowboy defensive score.   Then Da-Rel  Scott batted a ball to a defender for a pick six as the Giants were driving for the go ahead score with about two minutes left.   The Giants were unprepared and the coaches should look at how they prepared them.

They'll probably make a player move or three this week.    Again, forget about this one.   Two of our 4 SB wins came after losing the first game of the season to Dallas.

This Week on the Blog

Okay, this week on the blog could be a bit more exciting.

Yankees:  somehow still in the chase, and if I have time, I'll start writing about the system again.  Been busy with scripts lately.

Giants: Game 1 is in a few hours, and while not much can be taken from a game 1, we'll talk about whatever can here.  They might also make some player moves since full salaries don't have to be guaranteed after week 1.

Rangers:  Camp opens for real this week, and sooner or later they are going to have to get Derek Stepan signed.  He has not been at the training center with everyone else.   If they go for his concept expect a trade, too, to make cap room.

Knicks:  Still have to find one more guy.  Let's hope no one else gets suspended.

So that's it.  The excitement is the start of Giants season, the Yankees pennant chase, and Rangers start camp.  Oh, and my old boss, Arsenio is back starting tomorrow.  Give him a look.

Giants Tomorrow

The first game of the season rarely means much, for example, two of the four seasons that have ended with a Giant Superbowl win began with a Giant loss to the Cowboys.    So who knows?   But the run game will have a new look, last year Jacobs was gone this year Bradshaw is gone.  What's more, Andre Brown is on reclaimable IR or whatever they call it,  so it's David Wilson, Da'Rel Scott and Mike Cox. Hynoski went to Dallas, but it's unclear whether he'll play or how effectively.    What's more, it will be a re-arranged OL, so their might also be synch issues.   Could make for some tough sledding.  Still, I think we'll see some big plays in the run game.   David Wilson is the goods and can't be caught from behind.   Nor can Scott.  Not sure about Mike yet.   So that will be interesting.

It will also be interesting to see how Nicks and Cruz work and whether Myers or Ruben Randle can be an effective 3rd receiver, at least for game 1.    Eli tends to play well in Dallas, so hopefully that will continue, though he too may have to deal with OL hiccups.  It sounds like the Cowboys will target Justin Pugh, but I think he'll surprise them.   We'll find out if James Brewer can pull, too.

On D, JPP made the trip but may not play.   Same for DeMontre Moore.   The Giants were so uncertain  about DL health that they signed Adewale Ojomo from the practice squad.  He and Justin Trattou could see big action if JPP can't go.   It will be interesting to see how the new DT rotation works, and if it will be any better against the runs.

The back 7 of D have to play better for the Giants to have a chance this year.   They got gashed last year and it was painful to watch.   Prince Amukamara may be our best defender not named JPP.  He's improved a ton from his first season.    And Antrel Rolle is now a captain, let's hope that reminds him not to take dumb penalties.   Safety looks thin till Will Hill gets back.  We'll see if the linebackers have an easier time behind bigger DT's.  It would also be nice if they line up correctly.

Should be a fun game, and hopefully a Giant win, but don't put too much stock in it either way.  

Rangers Announce Traverse City Roster

The Rangers today announced their Traverse City Tournament Roster, and at first glance it's as interesting for the name not on it as the names that are on it.

On Defense, the there is no McIlrath.   Instead there are Conor Allen, Charlie Dodero, Troy Donnay, Ben Fanelli, Ryan Graves, Tommy Hughes, Samuel Noreau,  and Jimmy Oligny.     Noreau will be the enforcer, but guys like Conor Allen and Troy Donnay are also pretty interesting.  Dodero was just signed by the Wolf  Pack and it a little undersized.   We'll see how they hold up.

On Offfense, there's no Kreider, Miller or Bourque.   But there is still a lot of speed, starting with Danny Kristo, Anthony Duclair, and Jesper Fast.    Oscar Lindberg, the exciting 2-way C will also be there.  So will scoring sensation Michael St. Croix.  Some bigger forwards like Andrew Yogan and Kyle Jean are also on the squad.   Thomas Spelling will be over for the first time repping the Rangers.   And the other forwards are Josh Nichols, Paxton Leoux, Klarc Wilson, JT Barnett, and Josh Graves.

In goal, no Stacjer.  Instead the Rangers are sending MacKenzie Skapsi and Jeff Malcolm.   

In all, if the D and the goalies can hold up, the offense could make some noise.  This is a very fast teams.   Go Rangers.

This Week on the Blog

Yankees:   They're continue their late season surge.   Today they called up JR Murphy, Betances, Adams, Brett Marshall and Cesar Cabral, and DFA'd Melky Mesa.     It will be interesting to see if any of the kids get to play.

Giants: The Giants will continue to tinker with the 53 man roster as their first game approaches.   The waiver wire doesn't look great, so we'll see if they can get anything done.

Rangers:  I believe the Rangers start their first Alain Vigneault camp.  Maybe he'll finally talk to some of them.  Also, the Traverse City tourney is back and MSG is screening the games starting around Thursday.

Knicks:  They're gonna sign a big at some point.  Right?  Right?

Should be a little busier here than last week.