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That 1-0 loss really should have been at worst 1-1. The goal went in off a defenseman's auto animation. We outshot them something ridiculous too I believe, as well as TOA.

Overall though it was a great night, had a blast playing.

Yeah, definitely a good night. My opinion on it is, if we can play .500 with games against Elite teams thrown in there, we're doing just fine. And considering that every loss was by no more than one goal, the only thing you can do differently there is win. I don't know why we get matched up with Elite teams so often...if it's just the time's we play, or the number of people we have, or what...but if happens more than I would like. It's hard to dig yourself out of a hole when you're facing top teams once every 2-3 games.

But it's all the more reason that we need to win games against teams we SHOULD beat (games where we get completely robbed notwithstanding). Having two on forward and two on d last night was a great combo. When it was just Matt on D, the AI d-man made some questionable moves...and then when it was just me on forward, the AI wingers couldn't be trusted to not lose the puck every 10 seconds. Having 2 on each line gave us great balance. That was definitely a good night to build off of.

And build off it you shall. Look for my full explaination of myself in the last couple weeks to go up tomorrow, but I'll basically sum it up here saying I'm sorry for my behavior, I will improve greatly on my conduct, and I'll try to let you guys make me look like an idiot instead of me doing it myself. Even if I'm not allowed back on the main team, Gary's idea is really appealing to me.

Alright, here I go.

Please, please, please, I beg you to explain how Zone D is ineffective.

Did I say it was ineffective? If I did, I sure as hell don't remember it. I might of said they way our guys were using it were ineffective, but that's it.

And while you're at it, I beg you to explain why Man-to-man is a good defense.

Man-to-man makes sure that everyone is covered at all times, as long as you watch who you are supposed to cover. Otherwise it's as useless as not even trying.

What, you think the problem is going to go away if you ignore it? And you blatantly say you are going against the solution we are proposing, and have the nerve to say it isn't working?

Go away by ignoring it? No, we all have to face it head on. There's the problem though, we ALL have to face it the same way. If we have 4 people do one thing but the fifth guy is playing his own way, he's going to be the weak link that breaks the chain almost every time. Also, I never said I was against Zone D(see above).

Then why not GTFO? Like I said earlier, you left the team on your own accord once already. ANd you were kicked off the team shortly after that. We even allowed you to come back despite that, and you still managed to get kicked off the team again.

Why won't I leave? Because I've been here since I started in the EASHL. No matter what, I've always come back here. I might get some nights when I am pissed and get kicked or leave on my own accord, but that's because I seem to express when I'm pissed more than any of you combined.

So you're admitting to not trying to play a zone d, yet you ask "why do we have problems doing it?"

And that Friday I was the only one who stuck in my zone. As I said, if you guys think I can't play Zone D, I won't waste 1 second proving you wrong.

a team is really going to want to recruit a winger who would rather go for a hit than score goals. Makes sense to me. Ok, your turn magic.

No, I play D on 95% of the teams I go on. I just wanted to get comfortable with the hittine engine so that whenever I played D I knew when a hit would work and when a hit wouldn't work. Still havn't mastered it though, but most guys with pro cards don't have enough speed to lay anyone out from what I've seen.

As for the Third Wing Lock? That's when one of the Wings (normally weak side) stays around the low point/high slot area to be a stand-in D in case of a pinch in, thus cutting down on X-on-1s and such. Satisfied? If not, there's more.

I've been acting the way I have lately because I've been going through a lot of stress and nerve problems that have destroyed my patience and get me to blow up at the smallest things. It's been happening for a few weeks now and no one can figure out what's going on. I know it's really no excuse, but I play hockey to relax, and when I get told that I'm not doing good enough time after time when I already have little patience, chances are I'm going to explode after a while.

If anyone has any other questions that I havn't answered, let me know.

Originally Posted by Magicking610 Alright, here I go. Did I say it was ineffective? If I did, I sure as hell don't remember it. I might of said they way our guys were using it were ineffective, but that's it.

What's this then?

Originally Posted by Magicking610 I still don't understand why we do zone instead of one on one.

You said another style of defense would be better, therefore you are implying that Zone is ineffective

Man-to-man makes sure that everyone is covered at all times, as long as you watch who you are supposed to cover. Otherwise it's as useless as not even trying.

And in Zone D, each passing lane is covered, and the puck carrier is trapped. Accomplishes the same thing as man-to-man. Still doesn't explain why it's better

Go away by ignoring it? No, we all have to face it head on. There's the problem though, we ALL have to face it the same way. If we have 4 people do one thing but the fifth guy is playing his own way, he's going to be the weak link that breaks the chain almost every time. Also, I never said I was against Zone D(see above).

Are you forgetting that it's been pointed out by others, including YOURSELF, that YOU ARE THE ONE GUY BEING THE WEAK LINK? You never said you were against playing Zone D? Why don't YOU read above to the other post I quoted

Why won't I leave? Because I've been here since I started in the EASHL. No matter what, I've always come back here. I might get some nights when I am pissed and get kicked or leave on my own accord, but that's because I seem to express when I'm pissed more than any of you combined. And that Friday I was the only one who stuck in my zone. As I said, if you guys think I can't play Zone D, I won't waste 1 second proving you wrong.

Yeah, that Friday and only that Friday when you already pissed everyone off and got into a pissing match with Nate and I the days before where we called you out on it. And you were the only one? Give me a break.

No, I play D on 95% of the teams I go on. I just wanted to get comfortable with the hittine engine so that whenever I played D I knew when a hit would work and when a hit wouldn't work. Still havn't mastered it though, but most guys with pro cards don't have enough speed to lay anyone out from what I've seen.

You play D on 95% of the teams you play on? That's hilarious. I'm pretty sure lot's of people here remember you saying "I can't play D so I have to play wing!", especially last year when you were very adamant about not playing D. Sure, you SAY you don't mind playing D, but in actual situations, you don't.

As for the Third Wing Lock? That's when one of the Wings (normally weak side) stays around the low point/high slot area to be a stand-in D in case of a pinch in, thus cutting down on X-on-1s and such. Satisfied? If not, there's more.

And how does that translate to the Center playing behind the net? In case you don't remember, I said the winger should be behind the net, and you IMMEDIATELY said no, the Center needs to.

I've been acting the way I have lately because I've been going through a lot of stress and nerve problems that have destroyed my patience and get me to blow up at the smallest things. It's been happening for a few weeks now and no one can figure out what's going on. I know it's really no excuse, but I play hockey to relax, and when I get told that I'm not doing good enough time after time when I already have little patience, chances are I'm going to explode after a while. If anyone has any other questions that I havn't answered, let me know.

You're right, there is no excuse. Which is why we don't simply let you off the hook when you decide to go off on a racist tirade or make idiotic statements.

The thing is, this has been going on since last year's game (arguing with us about the stupidest things, etc.,), so why do we even want to keep you around?

Let me bring a post from the past back into light:

Okay, I recognize that I was an absolute dick last night. But in my defence, I had a really long week. Not much was going right in real life, and it led to me unwinding too much/the wrong way during hockey. My overall playing and sportsmanship really went down in the last week, I'm not going to ignore that. I'm not saying that it's a good excuse, hell, I'm not even using it as an excuse, just an explanation of why I was a douche. I'll take everything that you guys throw at me for last night. As for the team issue, honestly, we must of faced some of the worst teams that were on last night, and I'm sorry to all of you for bragging about it. I have a feeling that last night was the last time I was going to play for the team, so I guess this is my plea to give me another chance. If you let me back in Nate, just let me know when I start to become a dick and I'll stop. The main problem I had last night was that I didn't know that I was pissing you guys off that much, so I kept at it, thinking you guys didn't mind. Again, sorry about last night, and I hope that we can fix this up.

Source: http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/...postcount=1402

And did you miss the "I hope that we can fix this up"? As far as I know, I only had 1 problem in the month following that. Now, if you don't believe me, I will play an entire night with my mic off. It just seems like every time something like this happens you guys all watch me nonstop and get me for every little slip up.

Wow, I really expected something different out of Magic's "explaination". His post yesterday was somewhat apologetic...but today it was mostly defensive. Didn't see that one coming.

Originally Posted by Magicking610 And that Friday I was the only one who stuck in my zone. As I said, if you guys think I can't play Zone D, I won't waste 1 second proving you wrong.

I don't remember who played on the specific night you're referring to. But I'm sure me and Alan were there...so you surely weren't the "only one" who stuck in your zone. Just the suggestion of that is ridiculous. Sure, when we have a large group together, some might not play their position as well. But responding by getting mad and playing shitty defense yourself doesn't help anything.

If you're that frustrated, finish the game (unless we're losing 7-0 and everybody agrees to quit...although personally, I don't want to see any more games like that), and don't play with those people anymore. We've already addressed the issue of people having different expectations out of the game. Some people just want to have fun and not worry about minute details or strategies. You can't blame them for that...but they also can't expect you to just stop trying. It's a two way street.

Originally Posted by Magicking610 but I play hockey to relax, and when I get told that I'm not doing good enough time after time when I already have little patience, chances are I'm going to explode after a while.

If you ever play with me or Alan again, I can promise you, this will continue to happen. If you play poorly, we'll let you know. It's ironic that you mention a lack of patience, because our patience with poor defensive positioning and general fundamentals has become non-existent. I'm actually glad we've let the lid off on riding people about their play. Why? Because we see IMMEDIATE results on nights when people play properly.

For instance, last night, me, Alan, and statnut played 4 games. We went 4-0, winning by scores of 3-0, 2-1, 2-0, and 4-0 (when the team quit). We were fortunate to get matched up with all amateur teams (but 2 had records over .500...so rank wise, they were "better" than us), but we also beat them like amateur teams. One of the games, we had a 6 minute edge in time on attack and outshot them 25-8. Based on these numbers, I'd say our defense works just fine.

Overall though, I think you have to recognize that you've reached a point where not many people want to play with you anymore. If you were ever allowed back on the team, it would be under the condition of generally keeping your mouth shut, listening when people tell you what you're doing wrong, and not making excuses or being argumentative about why you did something. But knowing you, I don't think it fits your style or personality to abide by that...which makes me think it would be in the best interest of everyone involved if you just found a new team.

Again, I live to prove people wrong. It might take a long time to change people's opinions (if they change at all), but it I set my mind to it, I can change. Eh, your right, it might be in everybody's interest for me to leave, but only if I don't change. Just give me one more chance. Besides, as I said, I'll even play with my mic off or on as little as possible until I think people wouldn't mind me.

I sent out invites to for the new Crotxchx Panthers teams. Check your NHL 11 Inbox's people if your interested.

Originally Posted by Magicking610 Again, I live to prove people wrong. It might take a long time to change people's opinions (if they change at all), but it I set my mind to it, I can change. Eh, your right, it might be in everybody's interest for me to leave, but only if I don't change. Just give me one more chance. Besides, as I said, I'll even play with my mic off or on as little as possible until I think people wouldn't mind me.

I'd be ok with letting you play tonight...but with the knowledge that mistakes will be pointed out, and I don't want to hear much more than acknowledgment as a response. I think we've tried to be as fair as possible with the constructive criticism. You are far from the only person whose play has been critiqued. The important thing is learning from it. If we all just repeat the same mistakes, we'll never make any progress.

(This next part kinda goes for everybody)
With the understanding that mistakes will be pointed out, essentially, the choices are fix them so there's nothing to point out, or find a new team. Of course nobody is perfect, and some plays just catch you off guard. That's one thing. But what we see a lot of times is repeat offenses that give an overall impression of lack of knowledge. I absolutely recognize that we're taking this seriously, and I won't hold it against anybody if they don't want to be a part of that.

Having said that, I'm hoping for a good night tonight. I'll see you guys in a couple hours.

Nate, just make sure we have a third person along, since I have a bad connection during the weekdays (remember how I wanted the other hockey night to be Saturday? I had good reason to want it then). If my guy starts to skate around wildly, look for the arrow over my head to disappear. As you said, you wanted an acknowledgement, so I added a disclaimer to mine. Real test will be Friday if my connection doesn't prove strong enough, eh?

Thanks for the last chance, I hope I don't let you guys down.

I should be on around 9ish.

I don't have time to read all that right now since I'm about to head out, but when I saw Magic's post yesterday, I was going to make a joke comparing it to the Lebron special. Looks like we got the forum version of that, LOL.

As I told Nate and Venom just now through Xbox.com, I'll be late since I have some business to handle. It should take about an hour, give or take 20 minutes. I'll just get on and join the party as soon as I get back.

My appearance tonight all depends on what time I get to leave work. Hopefully I'll be on about 130 though, if anyone is still on.

I'm still waiting to get this from Goozex. So far no one has traded it yet, so it must be good.

Indeed it is. Can't wait to play with you. Hopefully, Franky will get it, too.

We (Nate, Alan, DarkTower, statnut) switched to Uno after hockey because the EA servers went down at 11:30 Pacific for all games "for up to 5 hours" for all EA Sports games, according to the news update. I played peekaboo on camera with a person using a fox puppet, and compared guitars with said puppeteer. It was actually really fun.

New Tuner set today. Here's what it changes.

Sept 22 (gameplay balance) *Scheduled to be deployed at 2am PDT / 5 am EDT on Sept 22th. -Increase maximum speed when hustling (L3). -Easier to generate/maintain speed doing forward crossover turns. -Decrease goalie acceleration. -Increase chance of penalty when a stick lift breaks a stick. -Decrease chance of stick lift causing a dropped stick. -Increase to slap shot power -Increase non-puck carrier acceleration and agility and decrease puck carrier acceleration and agility. -Weaken shots in certain situations that were leading to goals with too high a frequency when cutting across the middle of the ice. -Increase chance of losing balance when carrying the puck (online/HUT only). -Increase chance of losing the puck when deking or turning sharply (online/HUT only). -Increase chance of tripping on a poke check (undoing previous change that affected online/HUT).

Oh boy, this tuner is gonna piss some people off. Slowing the goalie's acceleration? I dunno if it's just me, but the goalies seem too slow to begin with. Slowing the puck carrier while speeding up everyone else, well, could be good or bad, depends on which side you are on. And last, losing the puck even more? It's hard enough to pick up as is. Everything else isn't too bad.

So, EA went from being down for 30 minutes at 2AM PST to being down for 5 hours starting at 11:30? Sounds like an EA update.

Originally Posted by Magicking610 Oh boy, this tuner is gonna piss some people off. Slowing the goalie's acceleration? I dunno if it's just me, but the goalies seem too slow to begin with. Slowing the puck carrier while speeding up everyone else, well, could be good or bad, depends on which side you are on. And last, losing the puck even more? It's hard enough to pick up as is. Everything else isn't too bad. So, EA went from being down for 30 minutes at 2AM PST to being down for 5 hours starting at 11:30? Sounds like an EA update.

I disagree. Decreasing the goalie's acceleration is a good thing because it's WAY too hard to score on normal shots (especially slap shots). If it takes him a little longer to get moving...combined with increased slap shot power, maybe we'll be able to score on something other than a shot that completely deceives him. As for slowing down the puck carrier and speeding up other skaters, I don't like that one. I think it's too easy to catch the puck carrier as it is.

Obviously, this is going to be drastically affected by what level your skater is, but I've seen countless times where the puck carrier is a good 5 feet ahead, but is caught from behind. I guess at best, this could make cherry picking less severe. I hate that they even added a "hustle button" though...and now they're making it more effective? If they were going to do that, why not just bring back the turbo button? But losing the puck more often makes sense if they're putting tripping calls back to where they originally were. Honestly, most of the changes seem to be so people will stop spamming RB and A...which is a good thing. It will be interesting to see how it plays though.

Originally Posted by n8rockerasu I disagree. Decreasing the goalie's acceleration is a good thing because it's WAY too hard to score on normal shots (especially slap shots). If it takes him a little longer to get moving...combined with increased slap shot power, maybe we'll be able to score on something other than a shot that completely deceives him. As for slowing down the puck carrier and speeding up other skaters, I don't like that one. I think it's too easy to catch the puck carrier as it is. Obviously, this is going to be drastically affected by what level your skater is, but I've seen countless times where the puck carrier is a good 5 feet ahead, but is caught from behind. I guess at best, this could make cherry picking less severe. I hate that they even added a "hustle button" though...and now they're making it more effective? If they were going to do that, why not just bring back the turbo button? But losing the puck more often makes sense if they're putting tripping calls back to where they originally were. Honestly, most of the changes seem to be so people will stop spamming RB and A...which is a good thing. It will be interesting to see how it plays though.

Yeah, you and me are basically looking at 2 sides of the same issue. I've seen a few times when the other team just goes backhand-forehand and is faster than the goalie enough, but I guess EA tried to even it out by decreasing puck control while dekeing. But yeah, when it comes to slap shots, they're useless. It'll be interresting to see how many times they get to the net, and from there, how many times it goes in. Also, does anyone know if they fixed the graphics issue where you "trip" a guy yet he doesn't do anything?

Honestly, the hustle button seems like it's broken. No matter when I try to use it, it doesn't seem any different from normal skating. Who knows, this tuner could go either way.